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Campaigning body the Children's Media Foundation has launched an initiative to attract a £30m funding pot to establish a separate commission for children's television and film, possibly financed by post-Olympics National Lottery funding.
Foundation member Nigel Pickard, chief executive officer of CEO Zodiak MEAA/UK Kids & Family, said the funding sum was equivalent to the revenue lost to broadcasters following the ban on advertising food to children, and would help to fund more television production in the UK. He said: "In the past five years, production has dramatically decreased in the UK and the sector is struggling to stay afloat."
Pickard described the proposal as "audacious" but said: "Across the political spectrum there is acknowledgement that there is market failure; children in the UK stand to lose seeing themselves on television."
The UK is home to internationally recognised TV (and book) brands including Peppa Pig, Little Princess and Shaun the Sheep. However, Ofcom suggests that just 1% of the content broadcast to British children is now made in the UK, with much of it outsourced to countries such as Singapore, which has poured £1bn into its animation industry.
The Children's Media Foundation said its five-year plan could bring revenue returns for successful shows and help drive growth in the industry. Producers are also waiting to hear further details about proposed tax breaks for film and television production that would help keep more film and animation production based in the UK.