Matchlight Wins RSA Support from Scottish Enterprise

New Glasgow-based television production company Matchlight has been awarded £40,000 by Scottish Enterprise under the Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) scheme.

The award has already helped Matchlight create five new jobs in Glasgow. It is hoped that the company will grow over the next three years creating twenty permanent jobs and many more freelance opportunities for programme makers across Scotland. Over that period, via RSA, Scottish Enterprise will provide up to £250,000 worth of support to the company.

Matchlight is the largest indigenous production company to have opened in Scotland since the Scottish Broadcasting Commission identified a shortfall in network commissioning from Scotland for both the BBC and Channel 4. Matchlight is a joint venture between six leading Scottish programme makers and DCD Media plc, one of the UK’s largest independent television groups. The company is headed by Creative Director Ross Wilson, an International Emmy and BAFTA Award winning documentary producer/director, and Managing Director David Smith. The new company has already secured commissions from the BBC and Channel 4 as well as development support from both Channel 4 and the BBC.

Scottish Culture Minister, Mike Russell MSP, said: "The independent sector is vital to establishing a strong production base for Scotland's broadcasting industry, as well as being an important source of employment. I am therefore delighted that the Scottish Government’s Regional Selective Assistance programme is being used in this way. I congratulate Matchlight on its funding award, and I hope that it, and other independent companies in Scotland, will make an increasing number of quality television programmes in the years to come."

Matchlight’s Creative Director, Ross Wilson, said: “Matchlight is the first indigenous production company of scale to open in Scotland for several years. The BBC and Channel 4 have both moved to increase the volume of network television they commission from Scotland and Matchlight hopes to seize that initiative by making TV that’s popular but also clever, engaging audiences across the UK and beyond. I’m delighted that Scottish Enterprise have seen the value in our proposal and backed it with meaningful financial support across the three years to 2012.”

Matchlight’s Managing Director, David Smith, said: “Scotland has a reputation for making great TV and we want to help ensure it continues to do so for many years to come by adding to Scotland's long-term production capability. We are looking to achieve significant growth over the next three years, creating jobs and opportunities for both permanent and freelance programme makers across Scotland. The RSA support that Scottish Enterprise has provided, alongside the creative partnership we have formed with DCD Media, will be vital to our achieving this goal.”

DCD Media’s Acting CEO and Chief Creative Officer, David Green, said: “We believe that Matchlight combines the outstanding talent, experience and ambition necessary to rapidly become a key player in the TV production sector in Scotland. We are thrilled that Scottish Enterprise share this vision and decided to support the realization of the company’s full potential over the long term.”