Global investments in film and TV production reached $220.2 billion in 2020

 

By Emmanuel Legrand 

Video streaming platforms, film and TV production studios and independent production companies have invested $220.2 billion in film and TV production and in the licensing of new content in 2020, up 16.4% year-on-year, according to the study ‘An Industry Transformed’ published by London-based research and analytical service Purely Streamonomics.



  The company forecasts that spending in film and TV programmes will grow 13.5% to $250bn in 2021. "Amidst the global pandemic, audience demand, production spending, and TV budgets reached all-time highs," reads the report. "With big changes in the industry, including a recent wave of media mergers, even more growth is on the horizon."

  In 2020, output from Motion Picture Association studios (Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.) accounted for 34.5% of the total (or $75.9bn), down from 39.1% in 2019 ($74.0bn), while independent production sources accounted for 65.5% of the total ($144.3bn), up from 60.9% in 2019 ($115.1bn).

Stakes keep getting higher

  On average, the production cost for a series in the US increased by 16.5% between 2019 and 2020, from $51.2m to $59.6m. "As audiences continue to grow, and more competition enters the market, the stakes keep getting higher," notes the report. "In order to stay competitive, producers face pressure to up their production spending. As a result, budgets have risen in recent years, especially for TV shows."

  The US accounted for the bulk of the investment in film and TV production with a total of $149.3bn in 2020 (up 16.1% y-o-y), followed by Europe ($32.6bn), Asia ($27.7bn), Latin America ($5.2bn), Africa and Middle Eat ($2.8bn) and Oceania ($0.9bn).

  The Walt Disney Company was the largest investor in content, at $28.6bn in 2020, followed by Warner Bros Discovery ($20.8bn), Netflix ($15.1bn), Amazon-MGM ($11.8bn) and Fox ($11.3). 

A boom in subscriptions

  It must be noted that aside from Netflix and Amazon, the biggest tech companies have had so far limited investments in film and TV production: Apple comes in with $6.0bn in 2020, Google with $1.8bn, and Facebook with $1.4bn.



  The report estimates that there were 1.1 billion subscriptions to SVoD services in 2020, up from 642 million in 2019, a massive growth fueled by an explosion of new platforms, including Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Discovery+, Star and Paramount+. 

  "As demand for streaming services steadily increases, new major streaming platforms continue to enter the scene. At the same time, existing platforms continue to gain traction," reads the reports, which forecasts 1.6 billion subscriptions in 2025 in the world.

Dominance of Netflix

  Netflix is by far the most popular video streaming platform in the world with over 208 million subscribers in 2020, followed by Amazon Prime Video (200 million) and Tencent (123 million), but Disney+, launched in November 2019, is catching up quickly, with 103.6 million subscribers at the end of 2020. Other platforms with significant audience include iQiyi (101.7m, Youku (90m), and HBO Max (63.9m).



  The study concludes that 2020 "underlined the film and TV industry's resilience" but warns that "it's only the start." 

  It continues: "Disruption is the new normal. New streaming platforms continue to enter the market. Content spending continues to reach new highs. Spending on indie content continues to rise. TV budgets are escalating. Despite surging budgets and spending, there’s so much headroom for growth, as audience habits change and demand increases. Are there enough stories and talent out there to meet this demand?"