UK indie growth up 10%

UK independent producers recorded £310m (US$606m) of international sales last year, according to producers’ association Pact’s Independent Production Consensus 2007/2008.

Some 84% of these commissions by international broadcasters to UK indies are to the United States and nearly three quarters (72%) are factual or factual entertainment based shows. 18% of these commissions are for entertainment programming.

The UK independent production sector continues to grow with revenues now reaching £2.14b, up nearly 10% last year. This compared to £1.1b in 2005 and £1.95b last year. Much of this growth comes from companies such as All3Media, Fremantle, Endemol, Hit Entertainment and IMG.

Factual commissions have seen the most pronounced growth of 14.8%, up from 12.1%, while factual entertainment shows have fallen from 20.4% in 2005 to 14.4% this year. Some 33% of all commissions by UK broadcasters are drama-based and 23% are for entertainment series.

Meanwhile, new media revenues have surprisingly not increased. While revenues between 2005 and 2007 increased from £19m to £42m, this has now fallen to £39m. Some of this can be attributed to the group commissioning strategies of BBC Vision and Channel 4.