Commercial broadcasters in Europe’s top five markets have seen content budgets drop 19 percent since 2016 to now fall below streaming spending in a “cut-throat” market, Ampere Analysis
Europe’s commercial broadcasters “must resist content cuts and embrace streaming to reclaim lost ground,” especially as streaming giants are moderating their content spending growth, according to research firm Ampere Analysis.
A new forecast, unveiled Monday, predicts that after reaching the same spending level as commercial broadcasters for the first time in 2023, spending by subscription video-on-demand platforms will hit 10 billion euro ($10.9 billion) in Europe’s five major TV markets, namely the U.K., Germany, Spain, France and Italy, in 2024. “This surpasses the investment made by the region’s commercial broadcasters in original and acquired content [that] face major challenges of strong competition from deep-pocketed streamers, increased pressure on their own content budgets, and falling viewer engagement levels,” it said.
But the broadcasters have an opportunity at a time when spending growth by increasingly cost-conscious streamers moderates.
According to Ampere’s Media Consumer Behavior Tracker, which conducts biannual interviews with 2,000 consumers, commercial broadcasters have seen an average 16 percent decline in consumer engagement across Europe’s big five markets since 2016. Their content spending budgets have fallen by 19 percent since then, “even as they continue substantial investments in film and TV content,” the firm said. It also highlighted a decline of nearly 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) in the linear TV advertising market over the past decade.
“Despite these obstacles, commercial broadcasters have demonstrated adaptability by intensifying their focus on streaming strategies,” according to Ampere. “The next few years present a strategic opportunity for broadcasters amidst a slowdown in spending by the major streaming services. Investment by global streamers in European-sourced content is forecast to grow by 8 percent year-on-year in 2025, compared to an average annual growth rate of 35 percent between 2021 and 2024.”
