Producers’ revenues from non-TV sources have doubled over the past five years as income from domestic TV commissions continues to fall, according to Pact’s annual census.
Revenues from diversification into areas such as UK feature films, TV producers' management and event production, and advertising were up by £34 million in 2025, representing a 116% increase since 2022.
Meanwhile, domestic revenues fell by £98 million to £1.99 billion, driven by a 4.7% drop in UK primary commissions to £1.65 billion.
Pact attributed the latter to a small decline in PSB spend and a larger fall in multichannel spend, impacted by a contracted advertising market, a shift in viewers away from broadcast TV and continued inflationary pressures on productions costs.
PSBs’ share of primary commissioning revenue remained steady at 85.9%, or £1.42 billion.
Nations and regions productions represented 52% of total spend, up from last year’s 48% and boosted by a second consecutive year of growth in Scotland.
Primary N&R commissions generated £1.25 billion, a 7% increase, with international broadcasters accounting for 35% of commissioning spend, offsetting a 10% decrease from UK PSB network commissions.
Overall, indie TV sectors revenues were up by 4.1%, or £149 million, to reach £3.8 billion, driven largely by a record £916 million from international SVoD commissions.
Players such as Netflix, Disney and Amazon now account for 72% of international TV revenues, driven by high-value productions such as The Gentlemen [main picture], Steal, Dept Q and Legends.
Total international TV revenues rose for the first time since the post-Covid rebound of 2022, growing 16% year-on-year to £1.57 billion – 41% of the total market.
Pact warned however that companies with revenues under £25m account for only 15.5% of total international commissioning revenue.
Companies with more than £70m in annual revenues represent 8% of the number of producers but accounted for 45% of total revenues, in line with previous years.
One in five producers are in the £5m to £10m bracket and this part of the market doubled its share of revenues year-on-year to 6%.
“Pact’s 2026 census underlines once again the strength of the UK production market in attracting inward investment, but also its vulnerability to declining domestic spend,” said the trade body’s chief executive Nigel Warner.
“While it is welcome to see the proportion of investment in the nations and regions holding up, it is concerning that the pressures on new and smaller indies remain acute.
“A new settlement for a strong and sustainable BBC is urgently needed. The entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive the UK’s independent sector’s success, but we need to see growth in domestic PSB investment to help all parts of the production sector to thrive.”
Pact’s report is based on the responses of 91 production companies, representing 83% of total industry revenues.
