The UK TV industry has revamped its Diamond diversity data monitoring system and those working on TV shows will now only have to fill in one form that can be linked to future projects.
In the past, all people working on UK TV shows would need to fill in the monitoring form for each show they work on, but Diamond, which is run by the Creative Diversity Network (CDN) and backed by all the broadcasters plus Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery, has partnered with The Everyone Project around a decade after its launch for a big revamp.
The new Diamond will also allow broadcasters for the first time to analyze diversity on both linear and streaming shows while being “better able to report on intersectionality,” according to the CDN.
There will be a new question set and individuals will find it easier to edit and control their data to reflect any change of circumstance, the CDN said, while there will be multiple tech and privacy improvements. New partner The Everyone Project has worked on similar systems in Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
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For around a decade, Diamond has been used to create reports that have informed the British TV industry’s approach to diversity, pushing it to improve in areas like disability representation and representation of Black people working behind the camera.
The new Diamond will roll out for the first time next year. Until then, the CDN will continue to report on data gathered under the existing Diamond data system.
“Step change”
CDN boss Miranda Wayland said: “Diamond 2.0 marks a step change in how we understand representation in UK television.”
She added: “For the first time, production companies and broadcasters will be able to see a fuller, more nuanced picture of who is working in our industry, across roles, genres, nations, and regions, and across linear and streaming. This enables more meaningful analysis of progression, intersectionality, and long-term change, not just snapshots in time.”