Calls Made To Protect UK Video

It has been said that the UK video industry "punches above its weight" and a call has been made to protect it from IP theft while the importance of investing in new productions has been stressed.
Today, Luke Johnson, Chairman of private equity house Risk Capital Partners Ltd and former Chair of Channel 4, addressed Britain’s video industry leaders in a fireside chat with British Video Association (BVA) Director General, Lavinia Carey, at the Welcome Collection Conference Centre in London.
Mr Johnson believes focus needs to be given to the video industry to ensure it continues to deliver the revenues needed to invest in new productions, as well as protecting the video industry from IP theft and other business models which do not allow content creators to get a fair price for their products.
He said: "The video industry is an incredibly important part of the economics of how film and television is produced and it is a key part of the economic infrastructure of the UK but it is not just about money. It is about the UK’s impact on the world. Culturally, the strength and vibrancy of our creative and media industries punch well above our weight and add to our influence in the world. To just give all that away would be a tragedy."
Meanwhile Ms Carey, Director of BVA,reflected on a year of rapid change for the video industry, which has seen increasing numbers of viewers take up digital video services from a growing range of new platforms, enabling audiences to access video entertainment in more ways than ever before.
Discussing the BVA’s role in 2011, Ms Carey said: "As the industry evolves, the BVA has repositioned video entertainment this year to ensure it is not just seen as a physical product but also an online proposition, whether to stream or download to own.
"BVA has sought to encourage the media and politicians to recognise that physical and digital content are not in competition with each other but rather co-exist, delivering video entertainment to viewers in ways that suit their lifestyles both at home and on the move.
"This distinction is a crucial step in improving understanding amongst government and regulatory representatives about convergence of platforms and the importance of the video industry within the audiovisual ecosystem as a whole.
She concluded :"We must continue our efforts to ensure this is not undermined by potentially detrimental legislation and the effects of copyright theft."
(LB)