Spend on original programmes by public service broadcasters has dropped by 12% over the last four years, with Channel 5’s contribution almost halving in that time, an Ofcom report has found.
Although last year saw an increase on spend of 2%, this was not enough to offset the wider trend of declines. In most cases original content also declined as a proportion of overall spend.
C5 has seen continuous declines in this area since 2006, with spend dropping a further 13% last year. The channel spent £62m on original content in 2010 compared with £122m in 2006. This accounts for just 38% of its total spend, compared with 57% in 2006.
Channel 4 has also experienced a significant drop in its investment in original content, dropping by a quarter over four years and 9% in 2010, meaning in 2010 68% of the total went towards first runs, compared with 74% in 2006.
A source close to C5 stressed that much of this data dated from before Northern & Shell’s takeover of the company last summer, indicating that new owner Richard Desmond was keen to invest more in UK content, particularly for specific programmes or genres. But acquisitions, such as CSI, will retain their central role on the channel, he added.
A C4 spokesman also explained away the figures, noting that much of its fall had occured last year, and that a “late upturn” had enabled the broadcaster to up its investment by £50m. “However, due to the time it takes to get content on-screen, we were not able to invest all of the increased revenues in original content and a disproportionate amount was spent on acquisitions,” he explained.
Although C5 and C4 saw the worst declines, they were not the only broadcasters to do so. ITV has reduced its spend by 15% over the four-year period, resulting in total investment dropping from 91% to 88%.
The BBC has since 2007 outspent the combined commercial PSBs, although it too has seen drops. Both BBC2 and the digital channels (which the report does not break down individually) have reduced their spend since 2006 – 11% and 8% respectively – but BBC1 was flat, meaning overall the corporation’s spend dropped by 4%.
However its relative outlay has increased, with original content accounting for 92% last year, compared with 87% in 2006.
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