Irish firm moving mountains
28 August 2011 

Big Mountain Productions has recently brought three highly popular television series to Irish viewers, writes Siobhán Brett.

The economic downturn has been bad for most businesses, but it has been good for television audiences, as more people choose to stay at home and preserve their cash.

That’s had knock-on benefits for Philip McGovern and Jane Kelly, the directors of Big Mountain Productions, whose latest production hit Irish screens last week. The firm’s Genealogy Roadshow on RTE One is the third Big Mountain series to air in just over a month, following The Tenements on TV3 and Traffic Blues on RTE One.

McGovern said that the firm was having its busiest summer yet, despite the downturn.

‘‘Broadway was at its busiest in the 1930s. Recession is sometimes good for showbiz. People need to clear the head, have a break," he said.

A husband-and-wife team, McGovern and Kelly set up Big Mountain in 2005.They had both worked in the sector and saw an opportunity for a niche production company that could win business at home and abroad.

‘‘By creating our own company, we could do a lot more than we could anywhere else," said Kelly. ‘‘Philip and I each have about 20 years’ experience across a huge range of programme-making in RTE, the BBC and elsewhere. We absolutely know what we are doing. That gives broadcasters a lot of confidence."

The firm quickly won its first commission, but McGovern said that selling programming wasn’t an easy process.

‘‘A couple of factors have to work. Idea is key. Equally key is the team that makes it, how it’s delivered.

‘‘The broadcaster is trusting a slot to the company, so we work very closely with the broadcaster. Because we both come from senior positions in serious broadcasting, we understand the meaning of editorial rigour, we understand the collaborative process. The broadcaster has a need, we have a need and we align those needs."

Big Mountain’s Traffic Blues, a series following the work of the Garda Traffic Corps, ran on RTE One on Sunday nights from July 3 to August 7, and had an average viewership of 439,000, or a 32 per cent share. ‘‘It was number one on the RTE Player every Monday and Tuesday," according to McGovern.

Traffic Blues was recently sold to ABC in Australia. The completion of a second series of the programme meant there were now 12 episodes to sell, strengthening the business proposition, McGovern said.

The Tenements explored the history of the slums of Dublin and was presented by actor Bryan Murray. It has been well-received, with 261,000 viewers in its firstweekonTV3.

The first episode of its most recent production, the Genealogy Roadshow, aired last week on RTE One. ‘‘We’re taking a roadshow clinic and applying modern technology to help people find out their backgrounds," said McGovern.

‘‘It’s a good example of Irish content blended with general interest - it’s a very interesting idea, we’re very excited about it."

Access-driven documentaries such as Traffic Blues are one side of Big Mountain’s work. The other side is format creation. ‘‘Formatted entertainment is huge business,"

said Kelly. ‘‘The television content business globally is worth over €2 billion, and formats make up a large and growing part of that."

Licensing programme formats was the most desired and lucrative avenue for production companies to take, but took the most time, said Kelly.

‘‘You need to have a proven concept and you also need to have traction, either in your home market or elsewhere, which further proves concept. Then you can sell on.

‘‘Format, and licensing of format, are of particular interest to us in terms of revenue. Think of some of the most successful formats out there; Come Dine With Me, for example, has sold 4,000 episodes in 20 countries."

McGovern and Kelly are the two sole shareholders of Big Mountain, which is based in Dundalk and Newry. ‘‘We self-invested," said McGovern.

‘‘We kept everything very tight. Every project we took on board was self-contained; we could contain costs. In our business we pre-sell and we stage-pay, depending on cashflow.

‘‘The trick is to get the business, to get the commissions. When you get the commissions, you pre-sell, you sit down with the broadcasters, go through the budget and work out the stage payments to go with the spends," he said.

‘‘I suppose we’re into phase two now. We’ve just appointed a head of finance and a head of production. And we have to go about really good key hires, the same level as us, who can move us on," said McGovern.

The company has worked closely with Enterprise Ireland, the state jobs agency, from the start. The enterprise body funded a feasibility report and also backed a development researcher. ‘‘We took on all the advice and business support available to us, while also developing our own strategies for growth," said Kelly.

Big Mountain has seven full-time employees and other recruitment is on a project basis. Each project has its own bank account and its own production manager, although it works through Big Mountain overall.

‘‘There can be anything from a team of ten right up to 100,’’said Kelly. ‘‘Our intention is to have more shows on a bigger scale, employing more people. We want to keep creative and technical personnel in Ireland.

‘‘In our business, there are a lot of people out there who need to work," she said, adding that the Regional Development Centre (RDC) in Dundalk was instrumental to the company’s start. ‘‘Having the main part of an RDC within a college campus is enormously invigorating. You have exposure to other businesses at different stages of growth."

Two of Big Mountain’s staff came from Dundalk Institute of Technology. ‘‘It’s fantastic to be able to crew up locally," said Kelly. ‘‘You’re nothing if you can’t recognise talent around you and utilise it."

The couple are now focused on hiring two further key members of full-time staff, bringing to nine the number of people working in the company. They will also be hiring people to assist in programme research.

Kelly said that she expected the return on investment in the key staff to come within the next year. ‘‘Up until now, Philip and I brought in all the business for the company, two or three series a year. Our key hires will do the same."

Kelly agreed: ‘‘The recession has severely hit broadcasters, which has a knock-on effect for producers. But I think passionate people with great ideas will always win out. We are so dedicated to making our business work. In many ways, we have tunnel vision. We’ve stuck by the plan and we are making it happen. There are business people right across Ireland who are doing exactly the same thing as us."

The main challenge for independent television production in Ireland, they said, was sectoral.

‘‘Irish people consume Irish content; they like to see Irish stories," said McGovern.

‘‘As a business, we have to work on really good stories for Irish people, but also include universal values that will appeal to a wider audience in terms of format. That’s our challenge."

Kelly said: ‘‘We also love challenging the perception that creatives can’t make money. That is our mission. It’s absolutely possible, but it can’t be done from a standing position. Our creative instincts are very much informed by our business sense. We always want to get the next commission, the next series, and so we ensure that we make this series the best we can."