David Attenborough, MasterChef, Top Gear and Dragon’s Den lead the way in Britain’s £1.9bn TV export bonanza as sales hit record levels
Exports of British TV shows such as Frozen Planet II and Top Gear have reached record levels.
The call from abroad for our programming saw sales reach almost £1.9 billion last year, up 22 percent year on year.
Research shows that the move to streaming services was responsible for much of the increase.
For the first time, more than half of programs were sold to international streaming and on-demand platforms, compared to 39 percent the year before.
Among the most exported shows were BBC nature series Frozen Planet – narrated by Sir David Attenborough – and Serengeti, and ITV dramas The Ipcress File, starring Joe Cole, David Tennant’s Litvinenko and The Suspect, starring Aidan Turner. Other best-selling shows include MasterChef, The English, All Creatures Great and Small, Dragons’ Den and Midsomer Murders.
One of the most exported shows was the BBC nature series Frozen Planet – narrated by Sir David Attenborough (pictured)
Actor David Tennant is depicted as Alexander Litviinenko
The total of almost £1.9 billion for 2022/23 is the highest since the report from Pact – the trade body representing television producers – began in 2017.
The majority of revenue, 60 percent, came from completed programs and not from other sources, such as sales of program formats.
Money from these completed shows was up 11 percent to £1.108 billion, breaking the £1 billion mark for the first time.
Format sales for shows like The Traitors also rose 22 percent, while co-production sales rose 69 percent.
The US market is still the most important for British TV programmes, worth £525m or 28 per cent of all exports, although growth has been flat.
The next most valuable were Australia, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Canada, Spain and Italy. China was the 12th most valuable. There was strong growth in show sales to Spain, up 79 percent to £40 million.
One of the most exported shows was the ITV drama The Ipcress File, starring actor Joe Cole
Exports of British TV shows such as Frozen Planet II and Top Gear have reached record levels
Pact said scripted drama remains the “key driver of international content sales” for UK businesses. It represented 49 percent of sales, followed by entertainment at 21 percent and actual at 18 percent.
John McVay, CEO of Pact, said: ‘These strong sales figures once again highlight that British India continues to produce quality television programs that the rest of the world wants to watch.
“However, we expect that this is likely to be an exceptional year and that next year’s report will reflect global financial uncertainty and rising production costs.”
Rebecca Glasshow from BBC Studios said: ‘Even during a period of market disruption, we’re seeing an appetite for high-quality content around the world.’