Pinewood, Warner, Sky Sound Alarm Over “Studio Tax” Threat To UK Status As Hollywood Rival
21.12.2023 - 13:17
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Pinewood, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), and Sky have sounded the alarm over a so-called UK film “studio tax” that they argue could torpedo Britain’s status as a rival to Hollywood.
The companies raised concerns about “extreme” business rate hikes for sound stage facilities, arguing that the UK’s competitiveness and the development of new studios could “collapse” unless the government takes action.
Their fears were voiced in written evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into the health of Britain’s high-end film and TV industry. Deadline has been following the business rates battle since February and the interventions from studios represents an escalation in tensions over the issue.
Sky, which has recently opened doors to Sky Studios Elstree alongside NBCUniversal, said the changes are a threat to the “profitability, and therefore viability, of studios throughout England and Wales.”
The Comcast-owned company explained: “If these new rates are actioned the building of new production studios and the expansion of existing ones will become financially unviable, causing knock-on impacts on large and small productions.”
It added: “There is extreme disparity between film studios business rate changes and all other industries, which has the potential to negatively impact a successful and globally competitive sector.”
Pinewood Studios, home to shoots including Deadpool 3, said business rates hikes will “likely reduce the level of new development.” WBD, which operates Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, where Wonka was filmed, said it was a “key issue impacting the UK’s competitiveness.”
The British Film Commission, which has been coordinating industry lobbying against the price rises, said in its