Everyone TV warns of risk to UK storytelling following report by O&O
ETVF: Everyone TV, the organisation behind the UK’s free streaming platform Freely, has warned of a risk to UK storytelling and called for urgent reform to secure the future of public-service broadcasters (PSBs) following a report by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates (O&O).
The report, released to coincide with the Edinburgh TV Festival in Scotland this week, found that PSBs remain the leading source of UK original production, accounting for 71% of UK original content investment in 2024 and 85% of all original hours in 2025.
It also noted that independent production companies are reliant on PSBs for their future growth, finding that prodcos launched between 2016 and 2025 that received their first or early commissions from PSBs have subsequently generated an estimated £3.1bn (US$4.23bn) in revenue across the wider TV commissioning market over the past five years.
More than 600 new indie production companies have received commissions from PSBs over the past decade, according to the report. Of the 235 independent production groups commissioned by PSBs in 2025, 76% were classified as small producers, with around £365m invested in small and micro-producers.
Of the producers receiving their first or early PSB commissions between 2016 and 2025, 79 are now generating more than £10m in annual turnover.
O&O’s research also determined that PSBs are more likely to take creative risks and develop new ideas, finding that 63% of external PSB drama commissions were new IP in 2025, with more than 1,100 hours and £350m of external new IP commissioned across genres. It additionally concluded that PSB investment sustains production across the UK, noting that 63% of PSB hours are made outside London, while helping attract international finance.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Everyone TV, said: “The UK TV sector’s global success is not an accident. It is built on a public service broadcasting system that takes creative risks, backs new ideas and gives talent and production companies across the country the chance to grow into successful businesses with international reach.
“This report shows that PSBs do not just commission programmes; they enable the skills, talent and formats that power the wider TV economy, travel around the world and reinforce the UK’s reputation as one of the most creative and competitive TV markets. As the way people watch TV continues to change, it is vital that we protect what holds that system up, while carefully planning free TV’s evolution for the future. That means keeping British content free, easy to find and widely available.”
Mark Oliver, chairman of O&O, added: “The PSBs act as anchor investors in the UK production ecosystem. As detailed in the report, PSB commissions underpin production capacity across the UK, international expansion and exports, and the skills, talent and creative reputation that attract inward investors.
“But the stresses are showing: PSB revenues and commissioning budgets are under pressure at a time of higher production costs and constrained third-party finance. PSBs and producers alike are integral to the UK’s position as a globally competitive audiovisual hub. Alongside the steps they can take together to safeguard that success, policy action is needed to support the sustainability of the PSB system.”
In a time of fierce competition from the global streaming platforms and financial headwinds, O&O warned that if PSB commissioning declines further, the UK could face a spiral of decline, with fewer new producers securing first commissions, regional production and training suffering, and more rights, revenues and creative value moving away from the UK, potentially weakening its position in the global landscape.
The report argues, however, that there is an opportunity to strengthen the PSB system for the future, calling on the government, PSBs and the wider production sector to work together to ensure the UK remains a global centre for TV.
As the UK moves towards a streaming future, the report also highlights the importance of ensuring this evolution strengthens rather than weakens the foundations of the UK’s PSB system.
