PSBs and the Production Pipeline: What's at Stake?

In an independent report commissioned by Everyone TV, we look at the role the public service broadcasters (PSBs) play in the UK production sector – and what is at stake as DCMS consults on reform of the PSB system. In a market with more players and fiercer competition than ever, we find that the PSBs remain the foundation on which the wider sector is built.

• The majority funder: PSBs accounted for 71 per cent of UK original content investment in 2024 – £2.8 billion of £3.9 billion – and 85 per cent of all original hours

• Backing new ideas: 63 per cent of external PSB drama commissions are new IP, and successful shows are given the time and stability to grow

• Made across the UK: 63 per cent of PSB hours are made outside London, sustaining screen clusters and local economies

• A launchpad for producers: PSBs have commissioned 602 new-entrant labels over the past decade, and 79 producers they backed early now turn over more than £10 million a year

• Underpinning global success: PSB-originated IP drives record UK exports and helps attract inward investment and co-funding

But that investment is under real pressure: PSB linear advertising revenue fell 13 per cent in 2025 and licence-fee income is around £1.2 billion lower in real terms than at the start of the Charter. Skills, IP and regional capacity take decades to build and are slow and costly to replace – so the choices made now will shape British television for a generation.

Click here to read the report in full.