British TV Sector Revenues Hit $5.1 Billion Last Year Driven by U.S. Streamers: It ‘Underlines the Strength of the U.K. Production Market’

British TV sector revenues hit £3.81 billion ($5.1 billion) last year, largely driven by U.S. streamers. The results were published by Pact, the U.K. producers trade group, who noted the figure represented a £149 million (4.1%) increase on 2024 revenues. They say it is driven primarily by streaming investment into the U.K. International TV revenue accounted for 41.1% of total revenue in 2025, a figure of £1.57 billion, an increase of £214 million (15.8%) year-on-year. It is the first time the figure has grown since the post-Covid rebound 2022. Pact noted that SVOD platforms such as Netflix, makers of “The Gentlemen” and “Black Doves,” and Amazon’s Prime Video, who boast “Clarkson’s Farm” and “L.O.L. Last One Laughing U.K.,” have continued to grow their commissioning budgets, resulting in all-time high investment into the country. Popular on Variety Conversely, however, revenues from domestic TV have fallen below £2 billion for the first time in five years (a 4.7% drop year on year) driven by a drop in U.K. commissions. Pact put this down to a small decline in spend from public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV and a “larger decline” in multichannel spend. While international commissions accounted for 35% of all primary commissions, U.K. PSB network commissions decreased dropped from by 10% to 58%. However £1.42 billion – at 85.9% the majority of revenue — still comes via PSB commissions. According to Pact’s data producers are becoming increasingly canny about diversifying, with non-TV revenue growing by £34 million last year thanks to U.K. feature films, management and event production and advertising, among other revenue streams. Secondary rights revenue also grew by 12.7% to a record £575 million. “Pact’s 2026 census underlines once again the strength of the U.K. production market in attracting inward investment, but also its vulnerability to declining domestic spend,” said Pact CEO, Nigel Warner. “While it is welcome to see the proportion of investment in the nations and regions holding up, it is concerning that the pressures on new and smaller indies remain acute. A new settlement for a strong and sustainable BBC is urgently needed. The entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive the U.K.’s independent sector’s success, but we need to see growth in domestic PSB investment to help all parts of the production sector to thrive.”