European Broadcasters invest €15 billion in content

For the first time ever, a study commissioned by the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT), quantifies the aggregate programming spend of Europe’s commercial broadcasters. The study, Audiovisual Content and Online Growth, pegs the contribution of commercial broadcasters to the European Digital Economy at €15 billion annually.

Philippe Delusinne, CEO of RTL Belgium and president of the ACT, said these findings were new and contributed to the overall knowledge about the significance of the sector: “We know that European television is an €84bn sector – but we did not know until today how much of that revenue is reinvested in sport, news, entertainment or movies.”

“When the contributions of public broadcasters, and of smaller operators, are also taken into account” Mr Delusinne added, “we conclude that overall around 40% of broadcasters’ revenues are reinvested in the next season’s schedule. Quite simply, great programme content isn’t cheap. The media business will continue to invest and to innovate so as to ensure that the strengths of our sector are also reflected in the online world”.

The report also shows the strong consumer take-up of the hundreds of new services launched by commercial broadcasters online, part of the legal offer of content widely seen as a vital tool against piracy. The report concludes by looking at the many different ways in which content can cross frontiers today, and tomorrow – providing there is quantifiable consumer demand.

The study is available at www.acte.be