Report: Germany Tops Euro Programming Expenditures

October 7, 2009 World Screen

LONDON: A new study from Content Economics Research states that European broadcasters spent 12 billion euros on original content commissions in 2008, led by Germany with 3.1 billion euros.

The U.K., the report notes, was the second-largest investor in original content in the region. However, the ad downturn has resulted in British broadcasters cutting their program spend. James Healey, the director of research at Content Economics Research, states: “The U.K. content industry has been in poor health for some time as the investment in content on the five main terrestrial channels has been declining since the mid 2000s.”

The report goes on to say that broadcasters across the region are struggling, with RTL, TF1, ProSiebenSat.1 and Antena 3 all either cutting spending or being more efficient with how they use their program assets. Italy appears to be the least affected, the report concludes, as a result of the strength of the local ad market and the role played by Mediaset.

Healey notes: “Viewers around Europe have already started to notice that there are an increasing number of repeat programs on TV. This is likely to be a long-term trend as broadcasters reduce their programming costs. Similarly, viewers should expect to see more (of the cheaper to produce) quiz shows and documentaries in their program guides, and fewer (of the more expensive) dramas.” 

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