Deadline: Streamer Spend On British TV Topped £850M For First Time Last Year, Pact Research Finds, As John McVay Accuses Channel 4 Of “Snarkiness” Over ‘Adolescence’ Row

Story from Deadline:

Streamer spend on British TV shows comfortably topped $1B last year, according to Pact’s latest census, with chief John McVay rowing in behind the American giants to accuse Channel 4 of “snarkiness” over the Adolescence row that rocked the Edinburgh TV Festival.

Advanced Television; Forecast: UK SVoD revenues to overtake pay-TV by 2029

Story from Advanced Television:

The UK video entertainment market is holding its course, with total consumer spend expected to rise 2% in 2025 to £11.4 billion according to Futuresource Consulting’s latest Video Insights UK report, which highlights SVoD as the powerhouse of growth, alongside a stronger year for box office and signs of stabilisation in transactional video.

Deadline: BBC Buys Apple TV+ Sitcom ‘Trying’

Story from Deadline:

The BBC has bought Trying, Apple TV+’s longest-running sitcom and its first show commissioned outside of the States.

Advanced Television; Data: UK SVoD nears 20m subs

Story from Advanced Television:

Worldpanel by Numerator has found that paid-for ad supported streaming services are on track to surpass ad free services in UK households by Q2 2026.

Variety: U.K. Government Formally Rejects Streaming Levy, Doubles Down on Mixed Production Ecology

Story from Variety:

The U.K. government has firmly rejected calls for a 5% levy on streaming platforms and mandatory IP retention rules, instead emphasizing the benefits of a “mixed ecology” that welcomes both international investment and local production in its formal response to parliamentary recommendations on British film and high-end television.

Variety: U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Rules Out Streamer Levy

Story from Variety:

British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has firmly rejected proposals for a levy on streaming platforms operating in the U.K., despite recent recommendations from a parliamentary committee suggesting such a measure could help support the country’s television drama sector.

Advanced Television; Data: Prime Video, Apple TV+ lead new subs in Q1

Story from Advanced Television:

Kantar, the marketing data and analytics company, has revealed growing adoption of ad-supported streaming, strong competition between Prime Video and Apple TV+, and a breakout performance by Mubi, which recorded its best-ever quarter in the Entertainment on Demand (EoD) GB streaming market data.

Hollywood Reporter: That U.K. Netflix Tax? Not Going to Happen. But Streamers May Get Dragged Into Trump’s Trade War

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Just days after Netflix announced record viewing figures for British series phenomenon Adolescence — the drama racked up 114 million views in just 24 days on the platform, making it the 4th most successful English-language series of all time on Netflix — the U.K. Parliament heard how its local TV industry is “under threat” and that global streamers are part of the problem.

Broadcast: What the UK can learn from France’s streamer regulations

Story from Broadcast:

With MPs calling for a domestic streamer levy, how are French attempts to regulate US streamers faring?

Deadline; Peter Kosminsky: UK Government Would Rather See British Drama “Go To The Wall” Than Upset Trump

Story from Deadline:

Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky has argued that the UK government is more worried about “poking the U.S. presidential bear” than protecting British TV storytelling.

Deadline: Netflix Will Hike Prices If UK Introduces Streamer Levy

Story from Deadline:

Netflix will increase its subscription price if the UK streaming levy is given the go-ahead.

Hollywood Reporter; U.K. Streaming Tax? Netflix Responds: “Incentivize Rather Than Penalize Investment and Success”

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Global streaming giants didn’t mince their words on Thursday when they reacted to a call from a U.K. parliamentary committee for a levy of 5% of U.K. subscriber revenue on foreign streaming services, including the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ and Disney+, to help finance British drama production.

BBC News: MPs call for streaming levy to help UK TV industry

Story from BBC News:

A share of the revenue streaming services make from subscription fees should be paid into a fund to support British high-end TV production, an influential group of MPs has said.

Broadband TV News: Arqiva to migrate Hearst Networks to cloud-based VOD platform

Story from Broadband TV News:

Arqiva has secured a deal with Hearst Networks to migrate the global broadcaster’s services to its fully cloud-based VOD processing platform, as part of an extension to the two companies’ existing VOD partnership.

BBC News: BBC backtracks on having adverts in some UK podcasts

Story from BBC News:

The BBC has "decided to rule out" placing adverts on some of its podcasts for UK listeners on sites such as Apple and Spotify.

Deadline; ‘Adolescence’ Writer Jack Thorne: UK Government Must Help Avert “Devastating” Crisis In TV Drama

Story from Deadline:

Jack Thorne may be riding high on a British drama success story, but he has warned that shows like Adolescence could die out unless the industry solves a “devastating” funding crisis.

Deadline; BBC Content Chief Runners & Riders: Who Will Claim The Most Powerful Creative Job In British TV?

Story from Deadline:

Charlotte Moore’s decision to quit the BBC has opened up the most powerful creative job in British television — and within minutes speculation was rampant about who could succeed the outgoing content chief.

Deadline: Channel 4 Boss Warns Against UK “Sliding Into American News Swamp”

Story from Deadline:

Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon has urged UK intervention on public service news to help resist “sliding into an American news swamp.”

Advanced Television: MPs publish production inquiry evidence

Story from Advanced Television:

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons has published written evidence submitted to the Committee’s inquiry into British film and high-end TV on TV production ahead of evidence sessions.

Cord Busters UK: Apple TV+ Becomes An Amazon UK Prime Video Channel

Story from Cord Busters UK:

Starting today, Apple TV+ is joining Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in the UK, marking a big shift for Apple as it steps outside its usual walled garden.