Italy records lowest TV & film production spend in seven years

TV and film production spend in Italy has fallen to a seven-year low, according to the latest figures revealed by local producers’ association the APA.

The country found that spend from cinema, TV and video-on-demand (VoD) services fell 7.4% in 2025 compared to the previous year to stand at €2bn (£1.67bn).

Of this, film and TV scripted production spend fell to €740m, down 5.5% and below the average annual growth rate of 7.7% recorded between 2018 and 2025.

The APA, which revealed its findings at MIA in Rome, attributed the decline to ongoing uncertainty around public funding.

The Italian government is in the midst of a lengthy process of overhauling its public funding system for film and TV, which caused many producers to put local films and TV shows on hold in 2025.

The APA said this process “hampers producers’ ability to plan ahead, increases financing costs and reduces margins, placing pressure on all companies, particularly smaller businesses, with consequences for liquidity and investment capacity”.

The data presented by the APA also confirmed a declining market share for linear television, both free-to-air and pay-TV, in the face of growth by global streaming platforms.

Online video accounted for 21% of the Italian market in 2020 and now represents 43%.

The report highlighted popular Italian series including Rai’s Sandokan, produced by Lux Vide, and La Preside by BiBiFilm, which both attracted average audiences of more than 4.6 million viewers. On Netflix, The Apartment’s production of The Monster Of Florence (ll Mostro) recorded 9.7 million global views in its first week.

The report found that the audiovisual sector generated total revenues of €16.8bn in 2025, a 3.1% increase on the previous year. Online video was the main driver, with free services up 15% and paid services up 10.3%.

Employment also continued to grow, with 128,336 people involved in audiovisual activities in 2026, a 3.3% increase compared to 2024.