Netflix and Amazon double spending on UK shows

Netflix and Amazon have almost doubled the amount that they spend on UK made TV shows over the last year to £280.0m.

Netflix Inc.

$756.03

13:09 31/10/24

0.30%

$2.29

Shows like The Crown and Good Omens drove annual sales for the UK's production sector to a new record of over £3.0bn, revealed Pact (the body that represents UK independent TV production companies).

Netflix and Amazon paced the 87.0% increase in spend by overseas on-demand services firms from £150.0m in 2017 to nearly £300.0m.

Already in July, Netflix announed that it made more than 40 productions in the UK last year.

“It is boom time for British production,” said Kate Harwood of Euston Films according to The Guardian.

It is also likely that new platforms coming out such as Apple and Disney could also invest in UK production and add to the tremendous period of opportunity to tell a huge range of stories with many different outlets.

Disney, which records part of the Star Wars films in studios in the UK, is likely to spend more on its programming for Disney+ which includes the latest $100m Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

Netflix has grown thanks to the creation of more content and has 151.0m global subscribers, with 11.0m in the UK, while Amazon’s Prime Video has 85.0m subscribers worldwide and more than 8.0m in the UK.

Jane Root, founder and chief executive of British producer Nutopia, said the changing media landscape was “incredibly good for independent producers”.

She told the Financial Times that her company, which a few years ago was mainly working for public service broadcasters and US cable networks, was now making shows for Netflix, Amazon and Disney+, “so we are right in the heart of this transition”.