Step Lively

After years of languishing in the background while broadcasters danced off with program rights, the U.K.'s independent production community suddenly went from wallflower to belle of the ball this summer. The Cinderella-like transformation can be traced to the U.K. government's endorsement of the long-discussed Communications Bill in July. The new law addresses a number of significant issues for the U.K. media sector, including foreign ownership of British broadcasters and whether industry giants Granada and Carlton should be allowed to merge (both were greenlighted). But for indies, the most relevant portion pertains to the program supply market.