Total UK television production sector revenues fell by £392m (8.4%) to £3.61bn in 2023, according to producers alliance Pact’s annual Census.
Pact said the decline is especially compounded when high inflation is taken into account, but total revenues remain well above pre-pandemic levels.
A number of factors, including smaller commissioning budgets, a downturn in the advertising market and rising UK inflation, led to a decrease of £183m in domestic TV revenues (8.3% on 2022), which stood at £2.02bn.
Total UK commissioning revenues decreased by 10.2% to £1.78bn, primarily due to a 35.4% decline in revenues earned from multichannel commissions.
International TV revenues also fell, decreasing by £209m from the previous year (14.7%) driven by fewer commissions by linear TV broadcasters.
However, international digital commissions remained stable, declining by only £12m in 2023 to £684m with the UK continuing to attract global SVODs as a destination for high-value productions such as The Crown and Criminal Record.
The figures also showed that producers have diversified in response to tough market conditions. Non-TV revenues grew sharply by 51.3% year on year to £181m. TV producers’ management and event production businesses in particular showed strong growth.
Share of spend on productions outside London rose to 52%, surpassing the 50% mark for the first time. The English Regions in particular experienced strong growth, accounting for nearly one third of spend.
John McVay, Chief Executive, Pact, said: “We have seen two strong financial years as the industry rebounded following the pandemic. The 2024 Census shows how many producers are really feeling the impact of the financial crisis and tough market conditions, but also that producers are resilient and are able to diversify during these tough times. Next year’s Census will give us a clearer idea of the longer term impact of the uncertainty of the past few years.”
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