MUMBAI: 2019 has seen a significant boost in high-end television productions made in the UK. The UK ‘high end’ TV 2014-2019 report by analyst Ben Keen states that investment in UK shows using the high-end TV tax credit has doubled since 2014. Spend per hour is up: Average spend/hour has risen by 60 per cent since average budget allotted to shows has nearly doubled – partly due to average number of hours per show increasing substantially.
There has beena 56 per cent increase in HETV productions commissioned solely by streamers in 2019. Number of shows with third party involvement, or co-commissions, has nearly doubled, up 17 per cent. In fact,third parties now contribute more to thefunding of Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) dramas than PSBsthemselves. The trend shows no sign of slowing.
Owing to this spike in collaboration between traditional broadcasters and SVoDs, investment in UK TV dramas has more than doubled since 2014, hitting a record high of £2.6 billion (US$3.5 billion)in 2019, up 31 per cent from 2018 and over 3X the 2014 total.
Sole commissions have also increased across the sector, with PSBs, pay-TV operators and SVoD streamers all increasing activity. The BBC alone commissioned 26 HETV shows.
Number of shows per year is up 25 per cent since 2014, and total number of HETV productions rose 19 per cent to 142last year. Hours made per year increased 59 per cent since 2014.
The report states that co-commissioning is more important for drama HETV productions than any single broadcaster or streaming platform. Amazon, AMC, Netflix, PBS, HBO & Hulu have been the most important partners for PSB productions; 28 different partners since 2014.
Streamers like Amazon, Netflix & Hulu have become increasingly important partners for PSB drama productions. Netflix participation in PSB co-commissioning peaked in 2017, but active in 2019 with four in year-to-date.
The report further highlights that third parties – like global streamers have become increasingly important to funding of PSB dramas via co-commissioning. A record £664million was invested in making original PSB drama last year, but 56 per cent was contributed by third parties – like global streamers. As a result, original drama hours on PSB channels have stabilised since HETV tax break was introduced in 2014.
The average spend per hour for all HETV productions has increased, jumping almost 60 per cent to £4.1m last year. However, total number of screen hours of HETV productions fell to 643 – fewer than in 2016.
On the other hand, with their production budgets boosted by higher third-party spending, PSBs themselves actually reduced their direct spend per hour by £45,000, while increasing the hours of drama they were able to air compared with 2018.
