Fears end of EU subsidies will stop filming in Northern Ireland
GoT and other major shows could suffer if funding dries up
BRITAIN's decision to vote for Brexit yesterday has triggered fears that it could spell the end for hit TV show Game of Thrones - which gets a big chunk of its funding from the EU.
As Brits wake up to the news that 52 per cent voted in favour of leaving, concerns have been raised about what might happen to one of the world's most popular current programmes if funding is withdrawn.
One of the HBO drama's key shooting locations is Northern Ireland, where it films its Winterfell scenes, including last Sunday’s epic "Battle of the Bastards".
According to the US website , HBO helps fund the epic production — said to cost about $10 million an episode in Season 6 — with money from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund.
HBO would not comment on the possibility of a Brexit impacting production of the show, which is or has been filmed in Spain, Croatia, and Malta, in addition to Northern Ireland. (It has also shot in Iceland, which is not an EU member state.)
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Northern Ireland Screen, the national film agency for Northern Ireland, also declined to comment.
But with "Thrones" already renewed for Season 7, with an eighth and possibly final season likely, the Starks and Lannisters may need to find themselves looking for alternate ways to help finance the expensive show.
And it wouldn’t be the only production potentially affected if the UK votes in favour of the referendum.
When asked if a Brexit would put financing for shows like Game of Thrones and other productions at risk, Peter Chase, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Brussels office, said "Absolutely".
"It might be up in the air for U.S. studios who want to film in the UK," Chase told Foreign Policy.
"There are EU programs to help fund all of this. If the UK is no longer part of the EU, that has the potential to go away."
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