Though a yearslong diet of budget cuts, corporate mergers, course corrections and C-suite retrenchments have dimmed the optimism of many TV industry professionals as commissioning numbers continue to dwindle, Banijay Entertainment ‘s head of scripted Steve Matthews insists now is the time to think big.

“I do think that there is optimism at the moment, in terms of a little bit of creative risk. Things are not as grim as they were a couple years ago,” Matthews said on Tuesday, speaking at Rome’s MIA Market .

After several painful years in which streaming platforms were hampered by “terribly conservative” decision-making, according to the Banijay exec, those very same streamers are pushing back, insisting that they’re “not quite like that anymore.”

“I think it’s improving. I think th

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