Both the BBC and ITV on Monday unveiled measures aimed at assisting the U.K. independent production sector suffering from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “This is an unprecedented event, which is causing massive disruption in the market, for broadcasters, production companies, talent and freelancers," said BBC group commercial director Bal Samra. "It’s at times like these that the creative industries need to pull together — to make sure the sector we return to at the end of the pandemic is as rich and vibrant as the one we have now." The BBC's five-point plan will, claims the corporation, "provide investment in purposeful activity and enable production companies to continue a pipeline of quality ideas and programs, in both the short and.