UK TV exports shoot to £1.326BN in 2016
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Editor
| 04 February 2017

There may a lot of angst about how the UK will shape up in a post-Brexit world and how the world will see the country, but for the TV industry at least in 2016 it was a case of cool Britannia.


According to data released by Pact — the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companies — UK television programmes generated sales to international markets in 2015/16 rising to £1.326 billion, a 10% increase on the previous report period.

The UK Television Exports Report showed that the US remained the UK’s largest export market, with sales increasing by 16% in 2015/16 to almost £0.5 billion.

Australia was the second largest market, with sales of £106 million. Yet despite what may be seen as logical success in English-speaking markets, the report also observed a noticeable increase in activity in the Chinese market, which was up 40% on 2014/15. Moreover, a co-production treaty between the UK and China signed in December 2016 means that this figure could be set to rise even more in years to come. Europe was the biggest market for sales of formats, and exports to France grew 5% to £73 million in 2015/16, making it Britain’s biggest non-English speaking market and its third biggest overall.

Exports of finished television programming remained the largest source of revenue at £668 million, in line with 2014/15. However, sales of digital rights increased 79% to £248 million. This figure was almost a fifth of total revenue, making it the second largest source of TV revenue.

The UK Television Exports Report survey*also highlighted the increasing importance of digital rights, particularly on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon. Respondents strongly affirmed that there would be further opportunity for growth from this area.

British innovation and creativity are considered among the greatest assets of the sector and the report showed that there was important future growth potential for the industry, remarked Mark Garnier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for International Trade (DIT) and author of the report’s foreword. Commenting on the report, he said: “From The Night Manager to Downton Abbey, UK TV exports continue to go from strength to strength and UK programmes are some of the most recognisable and eagerly anticipated in the world… From small creative digital and animation companies to major production houses, the UK leads the world in television production and I look forward to continuing to work with the sector to grow UK exports.”

Looking forward, the report also noted that the industry saw economic and political uncertainty, particularly in Europe, as one of the obstacles to further growth next year. Currently, respondents remained confident that TV export revenues would increase next year from further sales in both established markets such as the US and newer markets in territories such as Asia, Latin America and Russia.

Added Pact CEO John McVay: “UK television content continues to be highly sought-after around the world. The impressive level of year-on-year growth demonstrates that the sector is embracing the challenges of the global marketplace and is adept at exploiting new opportunities. However, with Brexit on the horizon, continued support from the government will be crucial if we are to ensure that UK companies can carry on punching above their weight on the world stage”.