Everyone agrees: the U.K. is and will remain a production hotspot. TV bosses from Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky, Disney, and Paramount Global on Tuesday hailed the knock-on impact of investment in the British and wider European market at the Royal Television Society’s London Convention on Tuesday.
'Baby Reindeer' Star and Emmy Winner Richard Gadd Signs Multi-Year, First-Look Deal With Netflix
The conversation, which included Disney’s Nami Patel, senior vp, strategy and business development, The Walt Disney Company EMEA, and Sarah Rose, president, Channel 5 and U.K. regional lead, Paramount, repeatedly steered toward investment in the U.K.’s booming creative industry.
“In the last five years, in this market, we spent about £3.5 billion,” Patel said. “In the next five years, we’re looking to spend about a billion a year.” She continued: “This market is still very buoyant in terms of attracting investment. We’ve actually supported about 32,000 jobs through our investment in the last five years.”
“Big hits like Deadpool & Wolverine ,” Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s hit blockbuster that filmed at London’s Pinewood Studios, “the knock-on impact of that investment is huge, and really does support the creative industries. I think you have to recognize there are challenges. We’re also working at the grassroots [level] and work in partnering with the British Film Institute and BFI and the National Film and Television School to try and develop skills to bring and attract new people into the industry. It’s evolving and it’s rapid.”
Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. and Ireland president Andrew Georgiou said streaming service Max, formerly HBO Max, will “definitely” launch in the U.K. in 2026. The question, he continued, is what partnership will prevail for that to happen. “There is good reason for us to be having discussions about launching with Sky,” Georgiou said, alluding to the fact that Sky has been the home of HBO’s content for years now. Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz added: “We’ve had a long-standing successful partnership with Max, and we have hope.”
Netflix's Ted Sarandos Says "Audiences Don't Care About Windows," Touts 'Baby Reindeer,' 'Supacell' for "Authentic" Britishness, Audience Focus
Georgiou took the opportunity to hail WBD’s Paris Olympics coverage after the company nailed an exclusive TV rights deal across Europe: “There was 100% growth in linear audiences,” Georgiou said. “We broadcast the Olympics in 47 markets, 19 different languages… It is a huge logistical operation and challenge for us. It outperformed all of our expectations on all of our platforms. Our results were fantastic.”
The foursome discussed how content geared towards local stories also often comes out triumphant. “If you ask Netflix, I’m sure they’ll say they tried to recreate Squid Game a thousand times and they just can’t,” Georgiou said. “It’s a genuine local story that found a global audience… The local content is what drives a large part of these streaming platforms.”
“It goes back to the creator and their truth and what they are trying to tell,” added Frot-Coutaz. “One of the things that the streamers have done, is that some of these shows which probably have never found an audience before, have found an audience… That’s the good thing, but it’s also few and far between that this does happen. At the end of the day, the bulk of what you are going to do is catered to your audience in your country.”
The RTS London Convention is taking place at Kings Place in the U.K. capital all day Tuesday.
Pamela Anderson to Receive Golden Eye Honor at Zurich Film Festival
Local News
Comments / 0