A new report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee is calling for urgent measures to support the U.K.’s film and high-end television industries, including a levy on global streamers.
The report is calling on the U.K. government to increase the assistance it provides the industry, including tax incentives to maintain inward investment and measures to halt the decline in domestic production of films and high-end television.
In high-end TV, “competition from high-budget overseas production is driving up costs, revenue models are changing due to the terms offered by streamers and commissioning budgets of public service broadcasters are being squeezed by a fall in the license fee and drop in advertising revenue.”
The measures being sought include enhanced tax incentives for domestic high-end TV. Further, global streamers operating in the U.K. should be required to pay 5 percent of their local subs revenues into a cultural fund to help finance drama with a specific interest to British audiences.
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, said: “Big box-office blockbusters made in Britain have showcased the U.K.’s world-class film and high-end television industry like never before. But the boom in inward investment of recent years now risks crowding out our many talented independent British producers. While streamers like Netflix and Amazon have proved a valuable addition for the industry and economy, unless the government urgently intervenes to rebalance the playing field, for every Adolescence adding to the national conversation, there will be countless distinctly British stories that never make it to our screens. From independent production through to cinemas, all parts of our film and high-end TV sector, and the talented people that make it such a success, are going through a turbulent time. To neglect just one part puts the entire ecosystem at risk, so it’s therefore vital that the government goes further and faster across the board to support an industry that is so important to both our economy and our soft power overseas. Today’s report sets out a way forward for the Government to put the name of the U.K. film and television industry up in lights around the world as the very best place to do business and to work, by offering the right tax incentives, tackling skills shortages, improving worker rights and making sure the rise of AI is a positive force, not a disincentive to investment.”
Animation UK has issued a similar plea on the part of that sector, noting: “As the report highlights, rising costs, market failure in public-service commissioning, and an overreliance on inward investment are threatening the creation of culturally British content. These same pressures are already having a chilling effect on the U.K. animation sector, which punches far above its weight economically but remains vulnerable due to underinvestment and a lack of targeted support.”
Kate O’Connor, executive chair of Animation UK, said: “This is a pivotal moment. The Committee’s report makes clear what we’ve been saying: our world-class content industries face a systemic crisis. For animation, the warning lights have been flashing for some time. We fully endorse the Committee’s calls for stronger support but urge them to build on their recommendations by ensuring the distinctive needs of the U.K. animation sector are embedded into future evidence, analysis and policy. Animation is one of the most geographically diverse and export-ready parts of the screen sector. With the right conditions, not handouts, but smart, targeted policies, it can thrive, drive growth, and tell British stories to the world. But without action, we risk losing that voice, that talent, and that future.”
