Sky production staff braced for redundancies | Media | The Guardian
News, sport and entertainment teams called to staff meeting next week as union claims workers worried over costs of Premier League rights deal
Sky production staff in news and sport are braced for redundancies ahead of a meeting with management next Tuesday.
Staff have not been told what is on the agenda at an Agility and Flexibility meeting called by Sky Production Services director Darren Long. They have been told only to expect an important announcement at the meeting at Skys Isleworth offices.
However, several sources say they expect an announcement about forthcoming redundancies.
The redundancies are understood to be part of a wider reorganisation of the unit driven by the shift towards more entertainment programming. New working patterns are also expected to be part of discussions.
Around two thirds of Production Services, totalling about 600 people mostly working in studios and post-production, including those on Sky News and Sports, have been called into the meeting.
A spokesperson for entertainment and media union Bectu said: People are saying, Sky have spent this mega-money on football deal, and have linked that with cuts and economic savings.
Members feel worried about their future at Sky, it is a developing company and there is a lot of capital investment going on at Sky Studios, and people naturally link that type of development to economic stability.
People are now concerned that their jobs and livelihoods are at risk.
In February, Sky paid £5.14bn to retain rights to broadcast its package of Premier League football matches. The deal means Sky is now paying £11m a game, up from £6.6m under its previous deal.
Mathew Horsman of consultancy Mediatique told Radio 4s Media Show on Wednesday that the broadcaster had already raised subscriptions twice this year and would have to make cuts to fund its outlay on new content.
There may be not that much to put the prices up a lot more, but there are costs they can cut, he said. Sky will be cutting costs on other forms of content and money they pay to channel groups who supply channels to the Sky platform.
Sky has also invested heavily in original content, including big budget drama series such as Fortitude, under the strategy of Sky entertainment channels director Stuart Murphy.
A Sky spokesperson said: As Europes leading entertainment company, operating in a fast-moving industry, Sky continually reviews its business to ensure we are working as effectively as possible and providing the very best service to our customers.
Separately, it is understood that Sky News is expected to lose some editorial production jobs later in the summer.
About 30 or more could go following plans to integrate Sky News digital and television operations.
Although some staff could transfer to new roles, it is understood that those who do not or are not able to make the move could face redundancy. A consultation period with staff began at the end of January but the results are not expected until after the general election. Sky says the process will not result in a loss of headcount.
Executive producers have already been asked to reapply for their jobs, which will be turned into heads of content roles working across both TV and online.
Quote:
News, sport and entertainment teams called to staff meeting next week as union claims workers worried over costs of Premier League rights deal
Sky production staff in news and sport are braced for redundancies ahead of a meeting with management next Tuesday.
Staff have not been told what is on the agenda at an Agility and Flexibility meeting called by Sky Production Services director Darren Long. They have been told only to expect an important announcement at the meeting at Skys Isleworth offices.
However, several sources say they expect an announcement about forthcoming redundancies.
The redundancies are understood to be part of a wider reorganisation of the unit driven by the shift towards more entertainment programming. New working patterns are also expected to be part of discussions.
Around two thirds of Production Services, totalling about 600 people mostly working in studios and post-production, including those on Sky News and Sports, have been called into the meeting.
A spokesperson for entertainment and media union Bectu said: People are saying, Sky have spent this mega-money on football deal, and have linked that with cuts and economic savings.
Members feel worried about their future at Sky, it is a developing company and there is a lot of capital investment going on at Sky Studios, and people naturally link that type of development to economic stability.
People are now concerned that their jobs and livelihoods are at risk.
In February, Sky paid £5.14bn to retain rights to broadcast its package of Premier League football matches. The deal means Sky is now paying £11m a game, up from £6.6m under its previous deal.
Mathew Horsman of consultancy Mediatique told Radio 4s Media Show on Wednesday that the broadcaster had already raised subscriptions twice this year and would have to make cuts to fund its outlay on new content.
There may be not that much to put the prices up a lot more, but there are costs they can cut, he said. Sky will be cutting costs on other forms of content and money they pay to channel groups who supply channels to the Sky platform.
Sky has also invested heavily in original content, including big budget drama series such as Fortitude, under the strategy of Sky entertainment channels director Stuart Murphy.
A Sky spokesperson said: As Europes leading entertainment company, operating in a fast-moving industry, Sky continually reviews its business to ensure we are working as effectively as possible and providing the very best service to our customers.
Separately, it is understood that Sky News is expected to lose some editorial production jobs later in the summer.
About 30 or more could go following plans to integrate Sky News digital and television operations.
Although some staff could transfer to new roles, it is understood that those who do not or are not able to make the move could face redundancy. A consultation period with staff began at the end of January but the results are not expected until after the general election. Sky says the process will not result in a loss of headcount.
Executive producers have already been asked to reapply for their jobs, which will be turned into heads of content roles working across both TV and online.