Sky urges UK government to cut red tape and protect creative sector
Sky has called on the British government to loosen its regulatory grip on the creative industry, a move which it believes could boost the economy by £10bn.
In a report released alongside Public First and Oxford Economics, the British broadcaster said the creative industry’s ability to innovate is at risk as regulatory demands drink up time and resources.
One day each week its technology resources are tied up with regulatory requirements, coming at a “significant cost” to the business, it said.
“This time and effort could be better placed elsewhere, such as developing new services or optimising existing business practices to boost productivity,” the report read.
By way of solution, Sky has suggested an ‘Innovation Impact Assessment’ for new regulations to consider their impact on innovation, as well as improving skills, tax incentives and studio production spaces.
As a result, the media and entertainment sector could add £10bn to the UK economy by 2033, Sky said.
“We face a unique opportunity for the UK to be a global powerhouse of creative production, scaling up to meet growing demand both at home and overseas,” said Sky chief Dana Strong.
“If our industry and the UK Government work together to invest in skills, innovation, and key infrastructure, we will succeed in creating more prosperity for communities across the country.”
British creative content is in high global demand and this is set to grow by 50 per cent by 2033.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer is set to address the Royal Television Society conference held in Cambridge on Wednesday evening.
She is expected to expand on plans to boost the creative industries by £50bn and create one million additional jobs by 2030, as well as pledging to protect those reliant on free-to-air services as more TV content shifts online.
Frazer is expected to say: “This government wants to encourage the sector to keep embracing innovation and technological development.
“But we’re not going to pull the rug from under the devoted audiences of Freeview channels. We want terrestrial television to remain accessible for the foreseeable future.”