Data shows ‘entrepreneurial’ production companies are adapting in tricky market
Data from Pact shows the indie sector achieved its highest non-TV revenues and the secondary rights revenues in history, as the indie trade association painted a nuanced picture of market conditions.
In 2025, the total income from non-TV sources (including social media and other digital activities, advertising, films and corporate work) reached a record £258m. This represented a 15% rise from 2024 (£228m), and more than double the 2022 total of £119m.
Secondary rights revenues also grew by 12.8% year on year from £510m in 2024 to £575m in 2025, as primary commissions slow down. International finished programme sales remain the biggest category, rising 29.2% to £198m.
Despite significant growth within these revenues streams, they represent a small proportion of the overall production sector income. This reached £3.81bn, up 4.1% (or £149m) from 2024, and the highest figure since the Covid rebound in 2022 (£3.94bn), indicating some market recovery.
But there was a £98m (5%) contraction in revenues generated from PSBs, which fell below the £2bn mark for the first time in five years (£1.99bn). This was driven by a drop in primary UK commissions, which fell £81m to £1.65bn.
The domestic revenue decrease was mitigated by a marked rise in international commissions (up 12.2%), with streamer investment in the UK at an all-time high.
International TV revenues rose £214m - growing for the first time since 2022 - while international non-TV revenues grew by £34m. Combined, the international revenues reached 1.57bn, up 15.8% on 2024’s £1.35bn to represent 41.1% of total revenues.
International digital commissioning revenues grew by 7.9% to reach highest figure to date - £916m.
But international commissions remain concentrated among larger producers, with indies earning over £25m accounting for 84.5% of international commissioning revenue.
Pact chief executive Nigel Warner praised indies’ “innovative and entrepreneurial” spirit as they look to diversify their revenues, while highlighting that the “core” investment still comes from the PSBs and international streamers.
“Members are looking at ways to raise revenues which includes exploring the various digital opportunities out there as supplementary sources of income. Part of our job is to help members understand the new environment and support them in developing models to approach that.”
He added: “What this [report] demonstrates is a good mixed ecology of different types of commissioning models… which has benefitted the UK production sector and the overall health of the UK broadcasting system for many years.
“From a producer point of view, having those opportunities to work with different types of commissioners at various points in their business cycles can be really important.”
Warner also flagged the difficulties facing smaller and nations and regions-based production companies, which might not have the scale to win business from the global SVoD players.
“[The challenges] are not a surprise because we know from many of those companies that they are heavily reliant upon investment from the PSBs and that is the area where budgets are being most squeezed. It’s very clear that is where the downward pressure is coming on those incomes, and that is having a significant effect on those indies,” he said.
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