Download "Works on television in Europe 2023 data"

This brand-new report: “Works on television in Europe 2023 data” has just been published by the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. This report provides an analysis of films and TV content broadcast in 2023 by a sample of 1 663 European TV channels from 25 European Union countries, i.e. 436 000 single broadcasts.

Key findings include:

• Over 138 000 different works (all origins) were broadcast in the EU in 2023 (works considered : films and made-for-TV works excluding sports, news, games, talk shows, reality shows, music, education, religion. For TV series: 1 season=1 work). This figure includes over 88 000 different European works. On average, over 12 000 different works (including almost 6 500 European works) were broadcast in a given country.
   
• European works accounted for 51% of all works broadcast in the EU in 2023, surpassing US works (40%). (This report does not intend to measure the quotas foreseen in the AVMS directive. In particular it focuses on  the number of films or TV show seasons and not duration). Regarding European works, EU27 works accounted for 75% and other European works (mainly originating from the United Kingdom) made up 25%.
   
• A higher share of European works for unitary documentaries, a lower share for films: The share of EU27 works was generally higher for documentaries than for fiction works and, among documentaries, the share was higher for unitaries than for series. Among fiction works, the share of EU27 works was higher for series than for films. Documentaries tended to be primarily national works, while the majority of films were EU27 non-national.
   
• In most countries, European non-national works prove to be key to the share of European works.
  Generally speaking, high-production countries (France, Germany, Poland, Italy) had a higher-than-average share of European works, and of national works among European works, but Spain was an exception. Other “smaller” production countries such as Austria, Finland and Sweden also achieved a higher-than-average proportion of European works.  In most other countries, European non-national works were key to the proportion of European works, whatever this level was.
   
• A higher share of European works on public TV channels. 
  The share was also higher for TV channels with an audience share of 1% or more.
   
• European coproductions circulated significantly better than 100% national works: all types of works included, a European coproduction was broadcast on TV in 2.8 countries vs. 1.4 for a 100% national work.
   
• The exports of European works in the European Union are led by three countries: the United Kingdom, France and Germany: the United Kingdom is by far the primary exporter of European documentary and fiction series; France leads films exports and Germany unitary documentaries exports.
   
• The top 20 of the most exported works mostly includes theatrical films. 9 out of the top 20 most exported films were directed or produced by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp. 12 of the 20 most exported EU27 TV fiction series were children animated TV series, of which 11 had France as the main production country. 15 of the 20 most exported EU27 documentaries were historical documentaries.

Origin of works broadcast on TV in the EU (2023)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory analysis of media-press data

Top 20 most exported EU27 works on TV (2023)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory analysis of media-press data

Based on preliminary data collected by the European Audiovisual Observatory, cinema attendance in the European Union and the United Kingdom reached an estimated 643.0 million admissions in 2022. This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 63%, and 249.0 million tickets more than in 2021. A similar rebound was observed when considering the European Union only (EU27), where ticket sales hit an estimated 525.8 million in 2022, 205.7 million admissions more than in 2021, +64% year-on-year.

While these preliminary results represent a clear improvement compared to 2021 (when cinemas were shut down intermittently in several markets), they still fall significantly short of pre-pandemic levels. In the EU and the UK, ticket sales for 2022 were 34.5% below the 2017-2019 average, accounting for an estimated loss of 338.9 million tickets. A similar decline compared to the pre-pandemic average (-34.9%, -281.7 million admissions) was observed for the European Union only (EU27). The figures show that the European theatrical sector has not fully recovered from the crisis in 2022, amid audience hesitancy and other side effects of the pandemic.  

Cinema attendance in the European Union and the UK, 2013-2022 - provisional

In millions; provisional estimates; calculated on a pro-forma basis for the 27 EU member states and the UK

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Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Overall admissions for 2022 grew in the large majority of territories for which data were available, with significant differences across individual countries. However, in all markets analysed, ticket sales failed to match the numbers registered before the COVID outbreak. In the EU, the year-on-year increase in attendance was significantly above average  in Latvia (+241%, + 1.2 million admissions), Slovenia (+143%, +1.0 million), Lithuania (+124%, +1.7 million), the Slovak Republic (+110%, +2.2 million) and Germany (+85%, +35.9 million). Conversely, interannual growth was comparatively low in Poland (+51%, + 13.4 million admissions), Spain (+33%, +13.7 million) and Croatia (+32%, +0.8 million). France recorded the largest admission volume in Europe for 2022, with a total of 152.0 million tickets sold (+59% on 2021).

Denmark was the EU country showing the highest degree of recovery against pre-pandemic attendance levels, as admissions made up as much as 82% of the 2017-2019 average. A relatively strong recovery was also observed in the Czech Republic where admissions for 2022 represented 81% of the pre-pandemic average, Bulgaria (77%), Austria and France (73%). On the other hand, recovery was more limited in Italy where only 47.9 million tickets were sold in 2022, representing less than half of the average attendance levels between 2017 and 2019.

Outside of the EU, ticket sales went by up 58% in the UK, to 117.3 million admissions, 43.3 million more than in 2021 and corresponding to 67% of pre-pandemic levels. In Türkiye, ticket sales jumped to an estimated 35.8 million admissions in 2022, a whopping 189% increase on 2021, but only accounting for 53% of the 2017-2019 average.

While it is too early to analyse admissions by origin, preliminary data suggest that in the EU and the UK  the box office was mainly driven by the success of US studio hits, including Avatar: The Way of Water (US), Top Gun: Maverick (US) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (US).

Compared to 2021, the market share captured by domestic films increased in half of the 24 EU markets for which 2022 data were available, rising above the 2017-2019 average in 16 territories. France registered the highest market share for national productions in the EU (41%), ahead of the Czech Republic (37%), Denmark (30%), Finland and Germany (27%). Outside of the EU, the market share for national films decreased to 30% in the UK (including US studio-backed productions), which compares to 42% in 2021 and an average 44% between 2017 and 2019. Independent UK productions only captured 8% of GBO takings, up from 6% in 2021 and compared to a pre-pandemic average of 12%. Türkiye saw the domestic share rising from a record low of 23% in 2021 to 51% in 2022, slightly below the levels registered in previous years.  

Key cinema data in European countries, 2021-2022 - provisional

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1) Based on admissions except for GB and IE where it is based on GBO. Includes minority co-productions with the exception of CZ, DK, NL, NO and SE.
2) National market share for UK qualifying films based on GBO. Includes minority co-productions and US studio-backed films.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Link to this data in the form of an Excel table.

Notes: 

• Data have been collected with the collaboration of the EFARN (European Film Agency Research Network).
• All 2022 figures are provisional.

Our next cinema figures will be released just before the Cannes International Film Market.
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