Strasbourg, 17 December 2024

A new edition of the report "Audiovisual fiction production in Europe - 2023 figures" has just been published by the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. This report analyses how many feature films and series for TV/SVoD have been produced in Europe, their origin, international co-productions and the main commissioners and producers. The author of this report - Audiovisual fiction production in Europe - 2023 figures - is Dr Agnes Schneeberger, an analyst in the Observatory's Market Information Department.

This new report states:

• In 2023, TV fiction production in Europe has reached a turning point - across all formats, the number of titles fell by 6 %.
• The long-standing boom in high-end series (13 or fewer episodes per season) has come to an end; the number of titles stagnated in 2023 (-2 % compared to the previous year).
• More than half of the fiction titles produced in Europe in 2023 were commissioned by public broadcasters (55 %), followed by private broadcasters (31 %) and global streaming services (14 %).

Downturn in European TV/SVoD fiction production

The post-pandemic recovery has not stabilised the European market for TV fiction in the long term. After a brief period of growth, the production and publication of original TV fiction is in decline. Compared to the previous year, a decline of 6 % in fiction titles produced in 2023 contrasts with an equally large decline in episodes (-6 %) and stagnation in hours (-3 %).

On average, over 1,200 titles, 23,000 episodes and 14,000 hours (title refers to either a TV film title or a TV series season. Animated films are not included) are produced in Europe (countries included: EU27, United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland).
Over 2,000 production companies/groups produced at least one fiction title between 2015 and 2023, but only 3 % of them in each of the last nine years.

Despite the downturn, some of the basic characteristics of TV fiction production in Europe remained unchanged. Telenovelas/soaps account for the majority (61 %) of the hours produced. And more than half (58 %) of all titles produced were series with 13 or fewer episodes per season.

Public broadcasters commissioned 55 % of the titles and 39 % of the hours

More than half of the fiction titles produced in Europe in 2023 were commissioned by public broadcasters (55 %), followed by private broadcasters (31 %) and global streaming services (14 %). Due to their larger share of daily soaps and telenovelas, private broadcasters produced more hours (57 %) than public broadcasters (39 %). Global streaming services accounted for 5 % of the hours, as they do not invest in long-running TV series.
10 % of all TV fiction titles produced in Europe in 2023 were co-productions. On average, over 100 TV fiction co-productions are produced in Europe every year, almost exclusively high-end TV series and films.

The report "Audiovisual Fiction Production in Europe - 2023 Figures" download.

Image: © European Audiovisual Observatory