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A kind of film company

Funders, broadcasters and streamers

Funders, broadcasters and streamers: who works there and what each of them does

These are the organisations that back other people's films and programmes rather than making them. A small number of executives decide what gets developed, commissioned, co-financed or bought, and a producer learns their names early.

In the UK the main ones are the BFI's Lottery funding, BBC Film and Film4, the national and regional screen agencies, and the broadcasters and streaming platforms that commission series and co-finance features. Their development money is usually recoupable on the first day of principal photography, so a funder is a partner in the project with a say in it. A producer's relationship with a commissioner is built over years and several projects, most of which will not happen.

  1. Commissioning editor

  2. Development executive

  3. Talent executive

  4. Business affairs

  5. Acquisitions

  6. Content operations

  7. Assistant or coordinatorEntry-level job

Drawn from MFJF's own Foundations courses: Start Here (who makes it: departments, companies, freelance and employed), Development Intern at a Production Company (from first read to green light; who you will deal with, and where this goes) and How to Become a Producer (the funders, the schemes; the map), with MFJF's financing a feature film and script development maps. The words are My First Job In Film's. © My First Job In Film 2026.

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Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Development Intern. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to. See your whole MFJF journey, step by step →

  1. My MFJF JourneyOne page for everything MFJF has built, in the order you need it.
  2. My Reading ListThe books, blogs and bodies you have saved, in one place.
  3. Start the Stage 1 course: Development InternTwo hours on what the job is, how people get in and what to do first.
  4. Get on the HotListPut yourself in front of productions looking for crew.
  5. Join MFJF DayPlayersDay work on productions for crew with the credits and the skills.
  6. The career planner: Development InternWhat to do, learn and be able to do, from no experience to paid work.
  7. The career guide: Development InternThe job, the day, the way in and the pay, in one guide.
  8. See how it all fits on the career maps17 maps of how films get made: the people, the process and the departments.
  9. Who works whereEvery department on a shoot and every kind of film company: who is in each and what they do.
  10. Industry EssentialsThe books, industry bodies, websites and blogs worth knowing, department by department.
  11. Read the MFJF Survival GuidesStraight answers to what everyone starting out asks: how long it takes, what you get paid, and what to do every day.
  12. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  13. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.

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