{"id":3415,"date":"2026-07-02T10:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:07:53","slug":"award-winning-independent-factual-producer-proper-content-shutters-citing-market-conditions-there-simply-isnt-the-commissioning-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415","title":{"rendered":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tAward-winning factual producer Proper Content is set to shutter amid tough market conditions.<\/p>\n

Read more Nagraj Manjule\u2019s \u2018Khashaba\u2019 Unveils Teaser, Worldwide Release Date From Jio Studios (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tFounder David DeHaney, who set up the company in 2016, announced the decision to cease trading and appoint an administrator on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis has been a very difficult decision,\u201d says DeHaney. \u201cWe have had nearly 10 years of making some of the industry\u2019s most talked-about shows; entertaining programmes with social purpose. And that is exactly what I set out to do. But we want to do more, so much more, and the current environment does not support us in making that step-change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tProper Content, one of the industry\u2019s few Black-led independents, was known for a wide-range of factual content ranging from recent BBC documentary \u201cP Diddy: Rise and Fall\u201d to royal docuseries \u201cThe King\u2019s Guard\u201d for Channel 5, which ran for two seasons, to the multi-award winning Channel 4 show \u201cThe School That Tried to End Racism,\u201d which took home a BAFTA, a Venice TV Award, a Rose d\u2019Or and a Grierson Award.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite growing the company to a turnover of \u00a36 million ($8 million) the economic landscape proved too tough to continue.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are extremely proud of what we have achieved with Proper Content,\u201d said DeHaney. \u201cWe have held up a lens to society in so many different ways, and to such a variety of audiences. As a growing indie, we couldn\u2019t have done more. Yet, for a company like ours, at this stage in its development, going to the next stage is incredibly challenging. There simply isn\u2019t the commissioning risk, or the time or space to let companies stretch their wings in new ways. And, as a result, companies get \u2018stuck\u2019 \u2013 which doesn\u2019t feel like a good, or a creative place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Screen Australia Launches Audience-Intelligence Programs With Tatino Films, Publikum<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have achieved what we have achieved despite this,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is not the central reason for our decision. We feel we have so much more to offer and aren\u2019t fulfilling that potential. That is why we are closing. The reality is that the market has changed dramatically in recent years. Commissioning budgets have tightened, development cycles have lengthened and the opportunities for growing indies to scale have become increasingly limited. Those pressures have affected many companies across the sector and have undoubtedly contributed to the position we find ourselves in today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy priority at the moment is continuing to work proactively with our freelancers and staff, as well as our broadcasting customers and collaborators, to ensure that the closure has as little impact as possible. I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has worked with and supported us over the last decade. Together we have told some incredible stories, built a remarkable company and achieved far more than I could ever have imagined when we started in 2016.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhile Proper Content is coming to an end, my passion for storytelling and creating ambitious new projects remains undiminished. I am excited about what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs well as a downturn in commissioning budgets that has roiled the industry over the past three years, the U.K. \u2013 like other major markets \u2013 is grappling with a surge of consolidation, from the recent Banijay\/All3Media merger to the ongoing acquisition of public-service broadcaster ITV by Sky and Warner-Bros. Discovery, which owns a number of free-to-air and pay networks in the U.K., being bought by Channel 5 owner Paramount.<\/p>\n

Read more Rosal\u00eda\u2019s Brilliant \u2018Lux\u2019 Tour Brings Cross-Disciplinary Delight and Splendor to L.A.\u2019s Kia Forum: Concert Review<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Award-winning factual producer Proper Content is set to close citing challenging market conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1102,2296],"class_list":["post-3415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-bbc-2","tag-channel-4-2"],"yoast_head":"\nAward-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Award-winning factual producer Proper Content is set to close citing challenging market conditions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"BBC,\",\"Channel 4\"],\"articleSection\":[\"TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415\",\"name\":\"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=3415#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer","og_description":"Award-winning factual producer Proper Content is set to close citing challenging market conditions.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019","datePublished":"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415"},"wordCount":624,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp","keywords":["BBC,","Channel 4"],"articleSection":["TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415","name":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019 - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-02T10:07:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4b11c166149862c027e9d94632aac7a0.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3415#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Award-Winning Independent Factual Producer Proper Content Shutters Citing Market Conditions: \u2018There Simply Isn\u2019t the Commissioning Risk\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}