Advanced Television; Report: Blue Lights boosted Northern Ireland economy by £20m

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The BBC Economic Impact Report for Northern Ireland shows the drama series Blue Lights has had a positive impact on the economy across its first two seasons, alongside other network productions made in Northern Ireland.

The report which was published to coincide with the centenary of the BBC in Northern Ireland, highlights the contribution that the BBC makes to the development of the creative industries in Northern Ireland and provides an outline of the local independent production sector as it currently stands.

The report highlights how much some of the biggest BBC titles made in Northern Ireland have contributed to the local economy over the last few years: --The police drama Blue Lights has generated an estimated £20 million in GVA (gross value added) to the Northern Ireland economy across its first two series.

• It is estimated that across the four series of Hope Street, £17.5 million has been generated in GVA for Northern Ireland through employment and spending in the supply chain.
• Entertainment series Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind have generated around £6 million GVA to the Northern Ireland economy across the five series it has filmed in Belfast.
• More than 280 jobs have been supported through Blue Lights and Hope Street alone.

The report also shows that more than 80 per cent of the production budget for the first two seasons of Blue Lights was spent within Northern Ireland. The series, made by Two Cities Television, employed an average of 59 cast of which 83 per cent were either born in or a resident of Northern Ireland. Of the 246 crew, more than 87 per cent were local. Based on the spend, the report estimates that the programme has generated more than £20 million in GVA for Northern Ireland through employment and spending in the supply chain, which will have supported the equivalent of approximately 150 FTE opportunities in the local economy.

Around 71 per cent of the spend on Hope Street, made by Longstory TV, was retained within Northern Ireland. It is estimated that the four series have generated £17.5 million in GVA for Northern Ireland through employment and spending in the supply chain, which supported the equivalent of about 134 FTE opportunities.

Since its move to Belfast, Mastermind, made by Hindsight and Hat Trick Productions, has also made a significant contribution to the local economy. The report finds that between 51 per cent and 59 per cent of the production budget was spent within Northern Ireland and each series employs around 40 local crew. In addition, Mastermind has supported new entrant programmes on almost every show, including the CINE (Creative Industries New Entrants) scheme. It is estimated that series 17-21 will have supported approximately 49 FTE opportunities in the local economy.

In 2023/24, the BBC invested £112 million in to Northern Ireland. Approximately £58 million of this was invested in local services via BBC Northern Ireland and a further £42 million was invested by BBC Network services – the largest investment in network content in Northern Ireland in this charter period. In the same period independent production companies supplied 100 per cent of both drama and comedy from Northern Ireland, and almost 60 per cent of factual programming.

Much of this is underpinned by the BBC’s partnership with Northern Ireland Screen to strengthen and support the sector. Now in its tenth year, the partnership has seen the BBC doubling its network TV spend in the region since 2015/16, resulting in some of the BBC’s biggest dramas coming from Northern Ireland, including Line Of Duty, Bloodlands, The Fall and, more recently, Blue Lights, which has already been commissioned for two more series.

This increase in network commissioning in Northern Ireland, which in turn benefits the creative industries in the region, has also been bolstered by the BBC’s Across The UK strategy, launched in 2021. Aimed at putting more budget and decision making into the nations and regions of the UK – and responding to the need to get closer to audiences to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the UK – the strategy has led to a number of deliberate investments into Northern Ireland. Earlier this year the BBC went further with a refresh of its value for all strategy, with a renewed focus on backing the best of home-grown storytelling.

Recent unscripted network co-commissions with BBC Northern Ireland include Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland (Keo Films/ Walk On Air) and, through a partnership between BBC NI and BBC Three, The Fast And The Farmer-ish (Alleycats TV), Made Up In Belfast (Afro-Mic Productions), Hunting The Catfish Crime Gang (Strident Media) and the recent series Teen Predator/ Online Killer (DoubleBand Films), all utilising the skills of the Northern Ireland independent sector.

Northern Ireland has also been used as a location for a range of scripted content in recent years, including, in Drama, seasons two of Showtrial, season two of World On Fire, Woman In The Wall, Conversations With Friends and, in Children’s, season one and two of Pickle Storm, season two of A Kind Of Spark, Silverpoint and Nova Jones.

The report states that the BBC has also supported 20 indies in Northern Ireland this year through funded ideas development and strategic development. These include the Diverse Talent Development Fund, Small Indie Fund, the Comedy Regional Partnership Scheme and the Production Management Skills Fund. And the recent Hot House scheme, meanwhile, resulted in commissions across network and BBC NI for five Northern Ireland-based indies.

In addition, the BBC also committed to double the number of TV commissioners based outside of London as part of a change in approach to TV commissioning. In Northern Ireland this has included two new assistant commissioners in children’s animated content and documentaries. The BBC’s Controller of Youth Audience for iPlayer and BBC Three is also based in Belfast. With these roles comes a greater ability to co-commission content with the existing Nations commissioners, which drives greater value for audiences in Northern Ireland as well as sharing the unique perspective of Northern Ireland across the UK.

Speaking at the Belfast Media Festival, BBC Director General Tim Davie said: “Today there can be no doubt about the world-class offer of this sector, and the creative firepower of this nation. Big, multi-series BBC dramas like Blue Lights have played a key role in helping to drive and embed that change, and returning series like Hope Street are vital in both showcasing the skills on offer here and providing a career pathway for individuals to develop. But perhaps most important of all is the fact that shows like these are telling the unique, authentic stories of this place and its people. I believe a thriving and sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland needs the BBC at its heart. A BBC that, in its second century here, is more committed than ever before to working with the sector and backing its future.”

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