British TV Network ITV Creates $150 Million Disability and Race-Based “Diversity Commissioning Fund” To Create More “Minority” Content
British Television giant ITV is commissioning £80 million ($105 million) towards a disability and race-based fund to promote productions companies that are more diverse as well as create more diverse content on its network.
If you are unfamiliar with ITV it is the oldest commercial network in the United Kingdom and is the host to programs such as Good Morning Britain, Dancing on Ice, The Voice UK, Coronation Street, Doc Martin, Emmerdale, Grantchester, Sanditon, Belgravia, and others.
The TV giant also operates the streaming service BritBox in a joint venture with BBC. They also have their own streaming service ITVX.
ITV has forged an £80M ($105M) Diversity Commissioning Fund to be spent over the next three years on shows produced by or related to Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people or disabled people.
According to ITV, in order for TV programs and productions to qualify for the fund, they “must meet either the first criteria, or two of the remaining criteria:”
- Diverse company ownership or leadership – senior individuals in company ownership or leadership roles (including through co-production partnerships) involved in shaping creative or operational strategy within the production company (e.g. Managing Director, Creative Director) must be Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled.
- Diverse creative leadership – at least two individuals in senior creative decision-making roles off-screen involved in shaping and making the programme (e.g. writer, producer, director) must be Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled.
- Diverse stories and portrayal on-screen – subject matter and stories are from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled perspective, and/or starring Black, Asian or minority ethnic or disabled actors in lead roles.
- Diverse salary spend – at least 20% of total salary spend off-screen on the production must be on Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled creatives.
For production companies to qualify for the fund they must meet at least one of the following criteria:
1. Diverse company ownership or leadership – senior individuals in company ownership or leadership roles (including through co-production partnerships) involved in shaping creative or operational strategy within the production company (e.g. Managing Director, Creative Director) must be Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled.
2. Diverse creative leadership – at least two individuals in senior creative decision-making roles off-screen involved in shaping and making the programme (e.g. writer, producer, director) must be Black, Asian or minority ethnic and/or disabled.
“ITV is committed to creating content by, with, and for everyone, connecting and reflecting modern audiences,” said ITV Group Diversity and Inclusion Director Ade Rawcliffe “We want more people of color and disabled people to be able to tell their stories and get opportunities in senior production roles.”
Rawcliffe added, “With this reserve fund, we’re working to speed up progress in a sustainable way, and play our part to change the structure of the industry.”
From this pot, at least 20 million pounds ($26 million) will go toward content made by Black, Asian and minority ethnic- and disabled-led production companies. ITV has also created a new 500,000 pound ($660,000) development fund to develop ideas that will qualify for the Diversity Commissioning Fund.
ITV CEO Carolyn McCall stated, “We want to keep up the momentum and drive more progress at ITV and across the industry, so that our audiences can see their broad range of experiences and perspectives reflected in our content.”
Currently, ITV claims they have 14.2% off-screen and 17.5% on-screen representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic creatives, and 4.5% off-screen and 9.6% on-screen representation of disabled creatives.
Affirmative action initiatives such as this have been widely criticized by scholar Thomas Sowell.
In an essay titled “Affirmative Action around the World,” he asserted, “Despite sweeping claims made for affirmative action programs, an examination of their actual consequences makes it hard to support those claims, or even to say that these programs have been beneficial on net balance—unless one is prepared to say that any amount of social redress, however small, is worth any amount of costs and dangers, however large.”
What do you make of ITV’s newest race and disability-based initiative?
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