Tag Archives: U.K.
One-Day Event to Focus on U.K. Animation Tax Break
The UK’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC) will host a one-day event exploring the implications of the upcoming U.K. Animation Series Tax Break for animation producers and their global partners.
CMC Animation Exchange, Planned for April 4 at the BIS Conference Centre in Westminster, the CMC Animation Exchange event will zero in on the various elements of the new tax incentive, which will come into effect next month. Sessions include overviews on how to qualify, how to account, how to work with funding bodies and broadcasters, and how it will affect foreign partners such as co-producers.
The event will feature expert speaker such as Sarah Muller (CBBC), Jonathan Berger (Harbottle & Lewis), Liz Brion (Grant Thornton), Irene Weibel (Nelvana Studio), Canada), Mark Dhrami (Alphanim, France), Kate O’Connor (Creative Skillset) and Rosemary Klein (Rights TV). Oli Hyatt, Chair of Animation UK, will open the event.
The Children’s Media Conference
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‘City of Friends’ Gets Chummy with U.K. Auds
Norwegian kids’ entertainment producer CreaCon Group’s hit CG preschool series City of Friends has proven popular with audiences in the U.K. since debuting in the country last October on Channel 5’s Milkshake. The show has reached more than 1.3 million viewers and is currently ranked the fifth most popular Video on Demand show across all Channel 5 programming. These rankings reflect an increase of viewer share for kids 4-9 of almost 40% since the launch.
Carl Christian Hamre, CEO CreaCon Group commented, “City of Friends continues its incredible trajectory of growth in both the UK and in other international markets. We are delighted that our audience in the UK has responded so positively to the show and we are looking forward to launching our UK licensing programme in 2012 to support the show’s popularity.”
City of Friends is based on the adventures of real-life Norway state police officer Carl Christian Hamre, who created the stories for his young son and went on to found CreaCon Group, one of the country’s largest children’s entertainment production companies which spans TV production, licensing, live events, music, publishing and digital operations. CreaCon produces the series with animation by French studio Action Synthese.
City of Friends
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New Tax Credits Introduced for U.K. Animation
The U.K. government announced yesterday that it’s working on offering tax credits for high-end dramas and animation produced in the country. Chancellor George Osborne outlined a new tax credit system for creative media industries including animation and drama production in the U.K., according to the BBC. The plan is likely to reflect the existing tax credit model available to film producers, which generated spending of more than £1billion (US$ 1.6 billion) in the U.K. last year.
Bristol-based Aardman Animations, producers of Wallace & Gromit and the upcoming movie The Pirates! Band of Misfits (co-pro with Sony) is among the supporters of Animation U.K., a lobby group that has been campaigning for improved conditions for the country’s animators in the face of subsidized international competition. Osborne said it was the government’s “determined policy” to keep Aardman in Britain.
Last month, Aardman execs admitted they had been considering moving production abroad to cut costs.
“We have seen a dramatic decline on UK television of home produced animation and we now have a shot a reversing that trend,” said Miles Bullough, head of broadcast and development. “This tax credit would be transformational for our industry. The credit will create thousands of U.K. jobs and our research shows that there will be a long term financial gain the for the U.K.”
Osborne hopes the changes would prevent that from happening, not just for animators but for high-end drama productions.
“Not only will this help stop premium British TV programs like Birdsong being made abroad, it will also attract top international investors like Disney and HBO to make more of their premium shows in the U.K.,” he said. “It will support our brilliant video games and animation industries too. It is the determined policy of this Government to keep Wallace and Gromit exactly where they are.”
Animation UK was thrilled by the announcement.
“Overseas animators have long received support from their governments and hopefully now our industry will be able to compete on a level playing field,” said the org’s chairman Oli Hyatt. “It would have been a crime for it to disappear from the UK and that was a very real threat. Today’s announcement will hopefully guarantee the long term survival of our industry and ensure it continues to be an industry we are proud of.”
Wallace & Gromit
In 2009, exports of children’s TV shows that were made in the UK were worth £150m, according to the Department of Culture Media and Sport. The U.K. is the second biggest exporter of television content in the world, with exports worth more than £1.3 billion per year.
These new tax break proposals will be subject to state aid approval and a consultation process, but could be introduced by April 2013.
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Statins Cost Four Times More in U.S. Than in U.K.
FRIDAY Jan. 13, 2012 — Widely used cholesterol-lowering statin drugs cost about 400 percent more in the United States than in the United Kingdom, a new study shows.
Prescription drug costs are a major issue in the ongoing debate about health costs in both the United States and the U.K., noted the researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program.
For this study, they compared 2005 data from 280,000 people aged 55 to 64 in both countries and found that statins were prescribed to nearly 33 percent of those in the United States and more than 25 percent of those in the U.K.
In the United States, the estimated annual cost of statins ranged from a high of $ 1,428 for simvastatin to a low of $ 314 for lovastatin.
The annual cost of statins in the U.K. varied from a high of $ 500 for atorvastatin to a low of $ 164 for simvastatin.
The total estimated annual cost for U.S. statin users with private insurance was more than $ 69 million, compared with nearly $ 16 million for statin users covered by the government in the U.K.
“In addition to differences in overall statin use and per-unit costs, another significant factor contributing to the disparity of costs appears to be the availability and utilization of generics,” lead author Dr. Hershel Jick, director emeritus of BUSM’s Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, said in a Boston Medical Center news release.
The study appears online in the January issue of the journal Pharmacotherapy.
More information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about controlling cholesterol with statins.
Posted: January 2012
Nickelodeon Land Opens Doors in U.K.
The UK’s biggest amusement park, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool has opened Nickelodeon Land, a new six-acre area, costing £10.3 million ($ 16.9 million), offering 12 major themed rides based on Nick shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Rugrats.
One of the new park’s highlights is the SpongeBob’s Splash Bash, where guests board vehicles nestled amongst special SpongeBob corral which begin to spin. All onboard are in for a soaking as each rider is equipped with individual water cannons for blasting their friends and family both on and off the ride. Naturally, Patrick, Squidward and Sandy are in on the fun too, whirling madly around. SpongeBob fans are spoilt with two more attractions based upon the legendry sponge! The Krusty Krab Order Up and the Bikini Bottom Bus Tour.
To find out more about the new park, visit www.pleasurebeachresort.com.
Bend the Airwaves in a pure adreniline rush
Join Tommy, Chuckie and Angelica on a Adventure Soaked Log Flume Ride
Twist and Splash with Spongbob as you jellyfish your way through Bikini Bottom
Soar High Above the Jungle with Diego and Rescue Pack
Streak Along a Lightening Fast Track on this Classic Wooden Coaster
