Pact: UK TV exports break £2bn barrier
November 19, 2025
Exports of British-owned TV programmes such as Doctor Who, Ludwig, Nightsleeper and All Creatures Great and Small, returned to growth after several unsettling years in global markets, breaking the £2 billion (€2.2bn) barrier for first time (£2.02 billion in 2024/25 compared with £1.82 billion in 2023/24).
Pact’s annual UK TV Exports report, compiled by 3Vision, found that while conditions remain challenging, businesses are working harder for revenues and finding more innovative ways to window and sell content. The proportion of library TV sales increased by four percentage points to 44 per cent, which suggests back catalogues are providing a budget-starved market with an economic solution to finding great content.
US Retains Top Spot
The US remains the largest destination for UK TV exports, up 34 per cent year-on-year, despite US media companies creating significant challenges over the past three years.
Many of the countries that showed a decline last year have returned to growth, most notably with Italy (64 per cent increase versus 23 per cent decline in 23/24), and France (61 per cent increase versus 21 per cent decline in 23/24).
Elsewhere in Europe, Poland (26 per cent), Belgium (27 per cent) and Spain (18 per cent) all achieved double-digit growth.
Outside Europe, Mexico, South Africa and China saw the steepest declines in exports, falling 56 per cent, 53 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Only China and Japan have shown consecutive years of decline.
As a whole, North America recorded the highest year-on-year growth with 32 per cent, reaching an all-time high of £977 million. Europe (18 per cent) and Australia (17 per cent) both showed strong growth whilst Latin America and Asia continued their downward trend, falling 28 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. Sub-Saharan Africa showed a significant fall with revenues falling by 50 per cent year-on-year.
TV Exports By Type
Finished programme sales remain the largest contributor to overall exports (53 per cent), with sales growing by 5 per cent to £1,069 million after last year’s decline, although this figure remains below 2022/23 levels.
International production continued its upward trend, rising by 8 per cent to £349 million, while formats and co-productions grew 13 per cent and 5 per cent respectively year-on-year, reaching £244 million and £126 million respectively.
There was a significant increase in the ‘Other’ category of revenue, relating to non-programme consumer products, to £212 million, representing 11 per cent of total exports.
TV Sales by Service Type
Against the expected direction of travel, TV sales to broadcasters continued to increase (up 4 per cent to 54 per cent year-on-year), leading to the same percentage decline in sales to VoD services.
TV Sales By Genre
Scripted drama continued to dominate, accounting for 46 per cent of revenue, with its share of total exports up 3 per cent year-on-year.
Entertainment’s share fell by 3 per cent after a 6 per cent gain last year, now representing 24 per cent of exports. Comedy and Factual saw small declines in their export shares, whilst Kids experienced 2 per cent growth.
Commenting on the report, Pact CEO John McVay OBE, commented: “The report shows that yet again despite the global economic challenges, British TV content continues to be attractive to international audiences. Although experiences for each distributor varies, the strength and quality of library catalogues is proving to be important as we navigate these difficulties over the coming years.”
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