BBC Studios extends furlough scheme for freelancers to 31 August
BBC Studios, the principal commercial arm of the BBC, has confirmed it will extend its use of the Government’s furlough scheme for fixed term contract (FTC) and PAYE freelancers through to August 31st, and has begun writing directly to those impacted and who have not already returned to work.
BBC Studios has furloughed around 600 FTC and PAYE freelancers working on productions which were paused under Government rules.
It will be reducing the number of those on furlough before the end of July, by bringing them back to work on several productions planned to restart over the coming weeks and months.
Around 70 productions were paused. Among those continuing were The One Show, Gardeners’ World, Countryfile and Springwatch as well as one-off live events like the VE Day 75th Anniversary and Trooping the Colour. Top Gear is already back in production and EastEnders will begin filming again over the coming weeks with other productions starting up again as soon as it is practical to do so.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About BBC Studios
BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group. Formed in April 2018 by the merger of BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios, it spans content financing, development, production, sales, branded services and ancillaries. BBC Studios’ award-winning British programmes are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms. It has offices in 22 markets globally, including seven production bases in the UK and production bases and partnerships in a further nine countries around the world. The company, which makes 2500 hours of content a year, is a champion for British creativity around the world and a committed partner for the UK’s independent sector. BBC Studios has revenue of £1.4bn, and returns around £200m to the BBC Group annually, complementing the BBC’s licence fee and enhancing programmes for UK audiences.