Spend on European Originals Topped $22 Billion in 2022

Total spend on European original works, outside of news and sports, hit €20.8 billion ($22.6 billion) last year, according to a new report from the European Audiovisual Observatory.

Audiovisual services’ spending on original European content—A 2012-2022 analysis found that spending on original content in Europe increased faster than the region’s audiovisual sector revenues.

Expenditure by the global streamers saw gains in 2022, rising by 70 percent in 2021 to reach €4.9 billion ($5.3 billion) and accounting for 24 percent of all spend on European originals. Scripted still dominates, at 83 percent, but did see a slight decrease. Netflix remains a key investor in European originals, accounting for 45 percent of streamer spending, but that was down from 58 percent in 2021 as other players, notably Prime Video, increased their expenditure. In 2022, Netflix shelled out €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) on European originals, twice as much as Prime Video’s €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion).

Broadcasters also upped their investments, with originals accounting for 35 percent of expenditure, with sports rights at 28 percent and acquisitions at 26 percent. Private broadcaster expenditure was €8.6 billion ($9.3 billion), with pubcaster spend at €7.2 billion ($7.8 billion).

Overall, the U.K. received the biggest investment in European originals with spend of €5.9 billion, a 28 percent share, followed by Germany at 19 percent, France at 15 percent and Spain at 9 percent. At the SVODs, the U.K. also was they key hub, followed by Spain and then France.