UK multichannel programming spend rockets to £623 million

Commercial multichannel broadcasters spent £623 million on content last year, a 31% year-on-year increase.

A report compiled by Oliver & Ohlbaum for the Commercial Broadcasters Association (COBA) showed that investment in original first-run programming increased sharply last year, as did money spent on acquisitions of finished shows.

Many multichannel broadcasters, notably BSkyB, have upped their programming spend.

COBA members include Discovery, BSkyB, Fox International Channels, NBCUniversal, QVC, SBS, Sony, Turner, Viacom and Disney.

The group said these companies spent over £500 million on original programming last year, more than that of Channel 4 and Five combined.

COBA members with international interests also spent considerably more on their UK, than European, operations. The cumulative spend by members on UK channels was £2.1 billion compared to £287 million across the rest of Europe.

The report concludes that the UK multichannel sector contributes £4.2 billion a year to the UK economy.

COBA officially launches its Economic Impact Report at the House of Commons this Wednesday.