US streaming services now fuel majority of UK television production
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New detail from Pact's latest census shows the UK's independent TV production sector is growing more reliant on global streaming platforms even as its traditional protections come under threat. Chief executive Kate Phillipson-style figurehead David Warner, presenting the figures for the first time since succeeding long-serving John McVay, revealed that subscription streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ now account for 72.3% of all primary commissions from outside the UK, up from just 27% a decade ago. This shift matters because it coincides with mounting pressure on the "Terms of Trade" rules that have let independent producers retain rights to shows commissioned by British broadcasters since 2003 — protections now being questioned as Channel 4 explores an in-house production arm, Sky moves to acquire ITV, and the BBC's director-general queries whether the rules remain fit for purpose.
The Pact Census recorded UK broadcaster spend falling 4.7% to £1.99 billion, its lowest level since 2020, while total sector revenue rose 4.1% to £3.81 billion — its second-highest figure ever, behind only 2022. International revenue climbed 15.8% to £1.57 billion, now 41.1% of the total, while non-TV revenue (covering publishing, talent management and film) hit a record £258 million and the secondary rights market grew by £65 million to £575 million. Warner warned this growing dependence on rights revenue and international finance reflects genuine strain on domestic commissioning, and said Pact remains in "continual discussions" with broadcasters to safeguard the Terms of Trade, citing a new agreement reached with Paramount's Channel 5 in March.
- Streamers now drive 72.3% of UK producers' overseas commissions, up from 27%
- Domestic broadcaster spend falls to £1.99bn, lowest since 2020
- Producer rights protections face new threats from Channel 4, Sky-ITV, BBC
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Tv shows made by British production companies are increasingly funded and commissioned by American streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, rather than by traditional UK broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. This matters because British television has long relied on a system where independent production companies make programmes for domestic broadcasters while keeping ownership of the rights, which allows them to earn money from selling shows abroad.
The organisation that represents these independent producers, called Pact, publishes an annual census tracking where the money in the industry comes from. Its findings feed into a wider debate about whether long-standing rules protecting British producers still make sense at a time when broadcasters themselves are under financial pressure, facing changes in ownership and considering new ways of making programmes in-house.
This shift matters to viewers and the industry alike because it affects what kind of British programming gets made, who owns it, and whether money generated by successful shows stays within the UK production sector or flows increasingly to overseas platforms.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Independent producers and their trade body make the case that the Terms of Trade introduced in 2003 have been a genuine British success story, allowing production companies to retain rights to the shows they make and build sustainable businesses on the back of international sales, formats and secondary revenue rather than relying solely on broadcaster commissions. They argue this rights retention is precisely why the sector has grown resilient enough to weather falling domestic broadcaster spend, diversifying into publishing, talent management and overseas finance, and that unpicking these protections now would strip smaller and regional producers of the leverage that lets them compete with much larger streaming platforms and vertically integrated broadcasters.
The case against
Broadcasters exploring changes, including Channel 4's interest in an in-house production arm and a consolidating ITV/Sky landscape, argue that rules designed two decades ago for a pre-streaming market may no longer reflect commercial reality now that subscription platforms dominate commissioning and international finance. From this perspective, public service broadcasters that fund content but cannot retain its rights are increasingly disadvantaged against deep-pocketed streamers and each other, and reforming the Terms of Trade could let them build the scale, owned intellectual property and long-term investment capacity needed to keep commissioning UK content at all as traditional revenues decline.
Full account
The UK's television production sector generated £3.81 billion in revenue over the past year, according to the annual census published by Pact, the trade body representing British independent producers. The total, up 4.1% (£149 million) on the previous year, is the second-highest figure ever recorded, trailing only the Covid-era rebound of 2022. The growth was driven almost entirely by rising investment from international backers, chiefly US-based streaming platforms, even as spending by the UK's home-grown broadcasters continued to slide.
International revenue climbed to £1.57 billion, a rise of roughly 16% year-on-year, and now makes up just over 41% of the sector's total income — its first period of growth since the post-pandemic surge in 2022. Pact credited subscription streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, with expanding their commissioning budgets in the UK to record levels, pointing to titles such as Netflix's 'The Gentlemen', 'Black Doves' and 'Adolescence', and Prime Video's 'Clarkson's Farm', as evidence of sustained appetite for British-made content. Streaming platforms have also come to dominate commissioning from outside the UK, accounting for well over two-thirds of international primary commissions by value, a dramatic shift from roughly a decade ago when such orders were dominated by pay-TV and cable networks buying for their overseas channels.
That international strength has masked a weaker picture at home. Revenue from domestic UK television fell under £2 billion for the first time in several years, a decline of around 4.7%. Public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV still account for the bulk of domestic commissioning income, but their share of primary commissions has shrunk noticeably as international orders take up a larger slice of the pie, and spending from multichannel broadcasters fell even more sharply. Pact attributed the domestic squeeze to a combination of factors: a softer advertising market, viewers continuing to migrate away from traditional broadcast schedules, and persistent inflation in production costs, all of which have piled pressure on smaller and mid-sized independent producers who rely more heavily on UK commissions.
Facing that domestic squeeze, producers have increasingly turned to other income streams. Revenue from non-television activities — including feature films, talent management, events and advertising work — grew to its highest level in over a decade, while income from secondary rights, such as international format and distribution sales, rose by more than a tenth to a record sum. Presenting the findings for the first time since succeeding long-standing chief executive John McVay, Pact's new boss Nigel Warner welcomed the sector's ability to attract inward investment and diversify its revenue, but warned that this entrepreneurial adaptation should not be mistaken for underlying health. He renewed calls for a new funding settlement to secure a financially sustainable BBC, cautioning that continued erosion of domestic broadcaster spending risks lasting damage to smaller production companies across the UK's nations and regions.
Where outlets differ
Framing of the headline figure: one account stresses that overall sector revenue is the second-highest on record (behind 2022), while the other emphasises the growth rate and streaming's role in driving it.
The two reports cite the domestic decline slightly differently — one frames it as UK broadcaster spend falling below £2bn for the first time in five years, the other as the first time since 2020, though both point to the same underlying figures (roughly £1.99bn, down 4.7% from about £2.09bn).
One source highlights a specific statistic that subscription streamers accounted for 72.3% of all primary commissions from outside the UK (worth about £916m), up from around 27% a decade ago, and draws a historical contrast with 2010s-era cable network commissioning — detail largely absent from the other account, which instead focuses on the share of PSB network commissions falling to 58%.
The programme examples used to illustrate streaming investment differ: one cites 'The Gentlemen', 'Black Doves', 'Clarkson's Farm' and 'L.O.L. Last One Laughing UK', while the other highlights 'Adolescence' and 'Agatha Christie's Seven Dials'.
One report gives additional causal detail for the international revenue rebound, noting post-Hollywood-strike recovery and a rebound in finished-tape sales following a sharp decline in 2024 caused by production backlogs — context not mentioned in the other account.
Emphasis on the BBC funding warning differs: one report foregrounds Pact's caution against the BBC facing 'managed decline' as a headline concern, while the other includes it within a fuller quote calling for a new BBC settlement alongside broader remarks on regional investment and support for smaller indies.
Figures for non-TV and secondary rights revenue are presented differently (absolute totals and prior-year comparisons in one account versus percentage/monetary growth increments in the other), though the underlying numbers are consistent.
Coverage
- Variety — British TV Sector Revenues Hit $5.1 Billion Last Year Driven by U.S. Streamers: It ‘Underlines the Strength of the U.K. Production Market’
- Deadline — International Revenues Of $2.1B Boost British TV Makers, Census Finds, As Pact Warns BBC Must Avoid “Managed Decline”