UK Media Industry 2025: Challenges and Opportunities So Far

The UK remains Europe’s largest media market, with revenues across film, television, advertising, and digital content projected to reach £121 billion by 2028 (PWC). Yet 2025 has been a year of contrasts. On one side, the country continues to attract blockbuster productions and strong growth in digital advertising. On the other, domestic TV commissions and mid-budget films are under pressure, creating instability for many media professionals.

The Domestic Production Squeeze

For decades, independent production companies ("indies") supplied much of the UK’s TV programming. They developed dramas, documentaries, and entertainment shows commissioned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and more.
However, in 2023, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky all reduced spend on big-budget drama and factual programming, with commissioning levels falling to their lowest since the pandemic. These cuts, driven by falling ad revenues, licence fee freezes and rising costs, have left broadcaster budgets under significant pressure in 2025 (The Guardian).

 

This has serious knock-on effects:

• Fewer homegrown shows being made.

• Smaller indies facing closure - more than 70% are thought to be at risk if conditions don’t improve (economicsobservatory.com).

• Freelancers (camera operators, editors, sound engineers) experiencing long gaps between jobs.

It’s a sobering reminder that while the UK’s creative reputation is global, the bread-and-butter work for many professionals depends on domestic commissions.

Blockbusters Keep Rolling

At the other end of the spectrum, UK studios such as Pinewood, Leavesden, and Shepperton continue to host major Hollywood and streaming productions. Projects like Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and The Rings of Power bring in billions in foreign investment, keeping facilities busy and sustaining parts of the workforce (variety.com).

However, these productions are not a panacea. They are high-intensity but temporary, and while they employ thousands during filming, they don’t provide the steady flow of work that UK-based professionals relied on from domestic TV and mid-budget projects. The result is a “feast or famine” cycle, with a few massive projects alongside long stretches of inactivity for many workers (variety.com).

Digital Advertising on the Rise

One clear growth area is digital and social media advertising:

• UK advertising spend rose 8% in Q1 2025, reaching £10.6 billion (Creativebrief.com).

• Social media ad spend alone is projected at £9.95 billion in 2025, a 13% increase year-on-year (sproutsocial.com).

• Big brands, including Unilever, are reallocating budgets away from TV towards social media, with some planning to double their digital share of spend (videoweek.com).

But there’s a catch. Much of this money flows directly to platforms such as Meta, TikTok, Google, and Amazon. Only part of it goes to UK agencies and creatives producing the actual campaign content. For media professionals, that means:

• Opportunities in short-form branded content, live streamed events, and corporate video.

• Challenges because budgets per project are often smaller than for TV adverts, requiring crews to adapt to faster, lower-cost production.

In short, digital growth is real, but it doesn’t replace the steady, higher-budget work of traditional commissions.

Policy and Future Outlook

There are signs of support for the domestic sector. Starting in April 2025, the UK government introduced a new tax credit for independent films. Films with a budget of up to £15 million can claim a 53% credit (effectively around 40% after tax) on up to 80% of their qualifying UK production costs (British Film Commission, UK Government Policy Note). This is designed to revive the mid-budget domestic market, which has been squeezed by soaring costs and global competition.

At the same time, calls are growing for additional measures:

• Extending tax relief to scripted TV drama.

• Exploring levies on streamers (such as Netflix) to support local production (deadline.com)

• Planning support for new studios to increase capacity.

Meanwhile, the UK’s export strength remains intact. The country is the world’s largest exporter of unscripted TV formats, accounting for around one-third of all global adaptations (Financial Times). This shows that UK creativity still travels well, but sustaining that success requires investment in the pipeline of new ideas at home.

Adapting to a Shifting Industry

For many UK media professionals, 2025 has been a difficult year, with many freelancers caught in a downturn in domestic production. Yet the industry is not standing still. Growth in digital advertising, strong inward investment, and supportive tax policy all point to opportunities for those able to adapt.

The sector remains a cornerstone of the UK economy, contributing nearly 6% of Gross Value Added (GVA) - a measure of the economy’s total output (local.gov.uk). The challenge is ensuring that growth in digital and blockbuster projects translates into sustainable opportunities for the workforce that underpins the UK’s global reputation for creativity.

 

Ratcliffes Insurance Brokers supports media professionals and production companies with specialist cover designed for an evolving media industry.  We are a chosen Honorary Patron of ACO trusted by Camera operators across the country.

Explore our Media insurance and see how we can support your next production.