Co-pro investment in PSB drama hits record levels

Third-party broadcaster and SVoD funding into PSB drama has grown almost three-quarters according to research by broadcaster body COBA. 

Its report found funding from other co-pro commissioners and platforms hit £132m in 2022 - up from £78m in 2018 (a 69% increase), and the first time that investment has topped £100m per year. 

The report from the body representing commercial broadcasters and on-demand services used a finding from Ofcom’s 2023 Media Nations report that third-party spend reached its highest levels in 2022 as its jumping off point.

The independent report, Sizing co-production investment in UK PSB drama, was produced by media sector consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates.

According to the report, SVoDs and commercial broadcasters helped drive the overall total investment of UK PSB drama production to £809m in 2022 – for which PSBs’ own contribution was £339m – up from £581m in 2018, a 40% jump (O&O rounded the figures in their findings). 

The remaining £337m derived from other ‘third party’ avenues such as tax relief, deficit financing from distributors and producer equity. Broadcast estimates these figures are around £162m from UK tax credits and approximately £175m from deficit financing and other third-party means.  

Of the £581m invested in co-pro drama in 2018, PSBs contributed £261m, alongside £78m from co-producer contributions, and £243m from other third parties. 

Co-producer investment from other broadcasters and SVoDs now accounts for an estimated 16% of total PSB drama production value, while producer equity and tax reliefs are worth 42%.  

As a result, total third-party funding accounts for 58% of total PSB drama spend, highlighting the vital role of both PSBs and non-PSBs, according to COBA. 

There has been a long debate over whether the co-pro tap from external broadcasters and SVoD services would be turned off prior to the pandemic, promulgated by leading UK figures such as Undeclared War and Wolf Hall creative Peter Kosminsky.  

However, US companies have continued to co-commission as well as sole finance UK drama, with notable recent examples including Disney+’s landmark deal with the BBC for Doctor Who.  

Adam Minns, COBA’s executive director, told Broadcast the report’s findings were a strong indication of the value of how “closely intertwined the drama ecosystem is” in the UK. 

“PSBs and non-PSB broadcasters and SVoDs all have a vital role to play,” he said. “This mixed ecology is driving the sustained growth of the UK TV production sector, fostering the cross-fertilisation of talent, building critical mass, and providing investment and jobs right across the country.” 

Methodology 

O&O calculated levels of co-pro spending associated with PSB drama using Ofcom data, its own producer database to identify first-run original drama across PSB channel schedules and conducted title-by-title research to determine whether they received co-production finance. 

Estimations on relative PSB contributions to co-pro and non-co-pro drama were then applied to arrive at the figure of the direct PSB spend on co-produced drama. O&O also used past research on average financing of dramas to estimate the overall level of third-party funding associated with co-pro and non-co-pro PSB drama.