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Scripted TV budget bands: what they are and what they change
The short answer. Every scripted TV production under the Pact and Bectu agreement sits in one of four budget bands, set by the budgeted cost of one broadcast hour and stated in your deal memo. For productions that started principal photography from 1 January 2024, Band 1 is up to £1.25 million an hour and Band 4 is above £8 million. The band changes very little in the agreement itself. It changes more on the published rate cards.
Band 4 gets talked about on scripted TV jobs as if it were a different set of rules. It mostly is not. The band is a measure of how much the production is spending, and the rules follow it in fewer places than people think.
What follows is from the Pact and Bectu agreement for scripted TV, effective 1 January 2023, and the joint Pact and Bectu guidance issued on 8 December 2023.
What does the agreement cover?
All scripted television produced in the UK by a UK independent production company, or by a non-UK company engaging UK-based crew in the UK. Television includes made-for-TV features, subscription television and video on demand.
It does not cover multi-camera productions in a studio or on outside broadcast, features, continuing drama and soaps, factual programmes including those with dramatic reconstruction, documentary, or light entertainment. Feature films have their own agreement.
What is a budget band?
Each production falls into one of four bands, based on the budgeted cost of one broadcast hour, excluding breakage. The producer tells you the band in your deal memo, so that is where to look.
The thresholds were revised once, from 1 January 2024. The joint guidance settles which set a production uses: one that started principal photography before January 2024 stays on the 2023 bands, and one that started on or after 1 January 2024 uses the new ones.
| Band | Started before 2024 | Started from 1 Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | Up to £850,000 | Up to £1,250,000 |
| Band 2 | £850,000 to £3m | £1,250,000 to £3m |
| Band 3 | £3m to £7m | £3m to £8m |
| Band 4 | Above £7m | Above £8m |
All figures are per broadcast hour.
What does the band change in the agreement?
Less than you might expect. The working day and overtime, turnaround, night work, sixth and seventh days and travel are written the same way for every band. Beyond defining the bands, the agreement mentions them in two clauses, both about bank holidays, and both for Band 4 only:
- If you are contracted over a period that includes a UK bank holiday but are not required to work it, a Band 4 production pays you your basic daily rate for that day. The agreement gives no such payment on the other bands.
- A Band 4 production cannot ask you to take paid leave on a UK bank holiday. On the other bands, the producer can nominate bank holidays as days of paid leave and deduct them from your holiday entitlement.
Working on a bank holiday pays double time whatever the band. The joint guidance adds that all UK bank holidays must be observed, including those in Scotland and Northern Ireland when crew are working there, and that the UK production base decides which holidays are observed, regardless of where the filming is.
What does the band change on the rate cards?
This is where the band earns its place. Published rates for scripted TV crew are set by band. Two examples, both for lighting crew:
The lighting technicians' rates. The Pact and Bectu lighting technicians' pay increase of 20 December 2024 sets a day rate for each band:
| Band | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | £324.70 | £332.81 |
| Band 2 | £334.07 | £342.42 |
| Band 3 | £349.67 | £358.42 |
| Band 4 | £368.11 | £377.31 |
The card says its rates apply to a standard ten hour working day, and that they include holiday pay. It also sets chargehands at the electricians' rate plus 20%, on Band 4 only.
The best boy rates. Bectu's best boy rate card of April 2024 sets best boy rates as a multiple of the electricians' rate in the same band. On Bands 1 and 2 one multiple applies across the best boy roles: 1.30 on Band 1 and 1.35 on Band 2. On Bands 3 and 4 it splits by role: 1.45 for an office or rigging best boy, 1.35 for a floor best boy.
So on the same lighting card, each band pays more than the one below it, and the rules you are paid under stay the same. These two cards are the only ones this article covers.
Does TimeMachine cover scripted TV?
Yes, in beta. Since version 2026.11 the app has a long form mode beside the APA one, built from the Pact/Bectu agreements: scripted TV in its four budget bands, and the major motion picture terms for film. You pick the agreement when you set up the job, and it stays fixed for the life of the job.
For a scripted TV job you also pick the band from your deal memo, and the app shows the thresholds that apply to your production's principal photography start date. In the calculation, the band sets one thing: Band 4's bank holiday rights. On a Band 4 job, a bank holiday you are contracted over but not asked to work, entered as a rest day, is paid at your basic daily rate. On the other bands it shows as not payable, with the clause. The band also decides which published reference rate the app shows beside your rate, where it has one for your role, along with whether that figure includes holiday pay. It is shown, not filled in: your rate is the one from your deal memo unless you tap to use the reference.
It is a beta because a few readings of the agreements are still unconfirmed. The app flags them wherever they affect your money, so check your figures against your payslip, and send anything that looks wrong to the feedback address below. Nothing about the beta appears on your invoices or timesheets.
Is the scripted TV agreement still in force?
The agreement took effect on 1 January 2023 for a minimum of three years, to 1 January 2026. After that date either side can end it on six months' written notice. We have not been able to confirm its status since 1 January 2026, and TimeMachine's scripted TV mode is built on the 2023 agreement. The agreement also provides for Pact and Bectu to agree clarifications every six months; the only joint guidance reflected here is the December 2023 guidance. Your deal memo is the document that says which terms your production is using.
TimeMachine is an independent tool for UK film and television crew. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Advertising Producers Association (APA), Pact or Bectu. It references the publicly available APA Recommended Crew Terms and the Pact and Bectu agreements as a reference only. TimeMachine's long form mode is in beta. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.