British TV’s International Co-Productions Plummeted Last Year, Underscoring Panic About Funding Crisis​on February 6, 2025 at 2:33 pm

British TV drama executives have been panicking about a sharp fall in high-end international co-productions. BFI data published today confirms the anecdotal evidence.

Though the headline figure from the British Film Institute’s annual health check on the UK film and TV sector is encouraging (investment is up 31% to £5.6B ($7B) after the 2023 strikes), scratch the surface and the data supports concerns about a funding crisis in British storytelling.

The BFI figures show that spending on co-productions stood at £19.6M last year, less than half the £44.2M recorded in 2023 and nearly 60% down on 2022’s £48.3M. The £19.6M figure is much closer to the £15.6M spent on co-productions in 2021, suggesting that the post-pandemic boom in collaboration between UK broadcasters and U.S. streamers is over.

UK broadcasters and producers have been warning for some time that money has been draining out of co-produced projects like Sky/Peacock series The Day of the Jackal and Industry, which airs on the BBC and HBO. The BBC said it was a major factor in a “perfect storm” of issues that has meant some greenlit series have been left with a funding gap.

At the same time as the co-production bubble bursting, spending on domestic shows has fallen 25% from £797.7M in 2023 to £598.2M last year. The £598.2M figure was the lowest domestic spending has been since 2020.

The BFI’s report underlines the UK’s growing status as a service industry — a place where major Hollywood productions come to take advantage of tax breaks, a skilled workforce, and similar storytelling sensibilities. Inward investment accounted for 82% of UK production spending on high-end television and 87% of spending on feature films.