Zinc Media secures £1.9m worth of new commissions

TV and multimedia content producer Zinc Media said on Friday that it has won a further £1.9m of new commissions for 2021 over the last five weeks, coinciding with the easing of lock-down restrictions.

Zinc Media stated £1.4m came from the recommission of two returning series and a one-off documentary, while a further £500,000 came from Tern TV and its new Zinc Communicate unit.

The AIM-listed firm stated its pipeline had continued to build, with a number of high-value productions at "advanced or highly advanced" stages of discussion with channels after networks were hesitant to green light costly programmes during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zinc Media noted that it had one previously commissioned programme worth £800,000 cancelled due to Covid-19, with a further £500,000 of programmes delayed until 2022 as a result of the UK's latest lockdown.

Chief executive Mark Browning said: "Winning nearly £2.0m of new business in five weeks is an excellent strike rate for the group. We know we have a strong pipeline, and this burst of commissioning gives further confidence to this.

"It is frustrating for our hard-working teams that we have had one big show cancelled due to Covid and some revenue delayed because we have been unable to film in line with our original plans. However, the group has a strong pipeline, including some very large opportunities. As the market unlocks, and these programmes get commissioned, the Group will see revenues build back to pre-Covid levels."

As of 0905 BST, Zinc Media shares were up 1.41% at 72.0p.