What does the rise in energy prices mean for the broadcast industry?
Sadly, there isn’t a price cap on energy bills for businesses. Fortunately, we were able to secure a fixed rate for energy with our supplier, giving us some security. However, like every business, we will see some impact to our overheads and operating costs.
Our suppliers have passed on increases and in turn we have renegotiated supplier contracts to mitigate some of our overheads. We are continually looking to work smarter as a business, eliminating any doubling up of effort. We have also introduced more flexible working options and increased salaries to help and support our staff to cope with increased costs.
For our production and post production customers, changing the way they operate may be something of a new norm; continuously leaving equipment on and operational may need to be reviewed. For GB Labs, efficiency across the board is at the heart of what we do, and we have always been committed to providing solutions that require less energy and reduce the need for cooling.
There is no doubt that price increases will be a challenge for the broadcast industry, especially in a time when consumers are making decisions about their own expenditure, we are already seeing cuts in household budgets that could have a knock-on effect on trips to the cinema or the number of subscriptions to a streaming service per household. That said, with people less likely to have disposable income, staying in may be the new going out and consumers will be very grateful for new and exciting content