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Soho Stories: Episode 3: Mergers and Acquisitions and Megabucks

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Episode 3: Mergers and Acquisitions and Megabucks

Mergers and Acquisitions and Megabucks

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Soho Stories, Mergers and Acquisitions and Megabucks

Paul Jackson charts the changing fortunes of the independent production sector since 2000.

Aided by some of the biggest UK indies, Paul Jackson traces the sector's growth globally and as an export industry. From August 2009.

A mere seven years ago, there were some in the industry who dismissed the independent production sector as unsustainable. However following government intervention in 2003, it is now the envy of the world and British television has become responsible for some 53% of all format hours on the planet. 

However, with the emergence of a worldwide digital market, its future is once more uncertain. In the final programme of the series, Paul Jackson is joined by the likes of Simon Cowell (X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent), Peter Bazalgette (Big Brother and Deal Or No Deal), Lorraine Heggessey (The Apprentice and The Bill), Paul Smith (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Slumdog Millionaire), Jimmy Mulville (Have I Got News For You and Outnumbered), Steve Morrison (Skins and George Gently), David Frank (Wife Swap and Faking It) and Henry Normal (The Mighty Boosh and Gavin & Stacey) to follow the changing fortunes of their industry during the 2000s and to discuss what is needed to maintain our artistic and business supremacy in the future. 

With plot twists worthy of Ashes To Ashes, as much tension as Britain's Got Talent and a payday to rival Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Paul Jackson draws on his own experiences in the television industry to trace the development of a sector that today earns the country almost half a billion pounds a year in exports alone.

Producer: Paul Kobrak.

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Television executive and broadcaster Paul Jackson charts the rise of independent producers

Television executive and broadcaster Paul Jackson charts the rise of independent producers, from the isolated minnows of the early 1980s to the global monoliths of today

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