Revenue of UK Media Top 100 companies nears £100bn

The combined revenues of the 100 largest media and entertainment companies in the UK increased to a new record of £96.3bn in the last financial year, according to a state of the sector report from Deloitte, the business advisory firm. Revenue growth for the top 100 has grown 11% from 2016 (£87bn).

Media Metrics 2017 analyses the three-year financial performance of the top 100 revenue-generating media and entertainment companies in the UK. The report highlights the main trends and issues facing the sector, and how business models may need to evolve to reflect consumer demand.

TV on the right channel

Television Production and Distribution was once again the largest sub-sector in terms of revenue (£40bn), average revenue per company (£2.1bn) and also accounted for the largest share (41%) of all revenues for companies in the index. Advertising was the second largest sub-sector in the index, generating £20bn in combined revenues, followed by Information Publishing and Events (£18bn).

TV Production and Distribution was also the most profitable sub-sector, generating combined profits of £2.6bn, up 57% year-on-year. However, the top 100 as a whole saw profitability decline from last year, falling by 52% to £4.8bn (£9.9bn in 2016). This was almost entirely due to a large reduction in profitability in the Information Publishing and Events sub-sector, which fell by more than £5bn.

Social Media has been the fastest growing media sub-sector over the last three years, (CAGR 83%). This was followed by Video Gaming and TV Production and Distribution, which both recorded a three year CAGR of 14%.

Significantly, the ten largest media and entertainment companies in the UK account for 70% of revenues (£68bn). By contrast, the bottom 50 companies account for just 8% of total revenues.

Dan Ison, lead partner for media and entertainment, commented: “Against a backdrop of uncertainty, both politically and economically, over the last 12 months, it is reassuring to see that the UK media sector has performed robustly. The fact that this exciting and creative sector is close to £100 billion in size is nothing short of impressive.

“The UK is a global player in the media sector, which is partly why currency movements, and in particular a weakened pound, played a significant role in boosting year-on-year revenues by £10 billion. Managing foreign exchange risk will be an ever more important management skill in the coming years.

“The UK’s creative economy continues to be a valued export market, and punches above its weight when it comes to sating the global appetite for media content. The future success stories in the world of film, TV, video gaming and music will be dependent on the continued preservation of the UK’s creativity.”

Top 100 by sub-sector: Total annual revenue (£m) and number of companies

Live and kicking

According to the report, consumer appetite for ‘live’ content is still strong, despite advances in technology and digital adoption. Two of the three largest media sub-sectors in the top 100 index – TV Production and Distribution and Information Publishing and Events – both generate much of their revenue and profit through the consumption of live content. Trade fairs, business conferences, live music gigs and theatre remain popular revenue generators, and catering for this demand will be core to the business strategies for many media companies.

Paul Lee, head of technology, media and telecommunications research at Deloitte, commented: “Demand for live experiences has remained vibrant and valuable for both businesses and consumers. Whilst digital technology, such as streaming and video, has improved dramatically over the last few years, our research has found that people still like to attend live events.

“Being able to say “I was there” is still highly valued in a market where demand is often FOMO-driven. Networking, socialising and experiencing events are, for the time being, difficult to fully replicate in a digital format.”

Subscription salvation?

The report also asks whether publishers that rely solely on advertising models to fund online content can compete with the success and dominance of the digital giants that have emerged over the last decade. Consumers are faced with a proliferation of online content available to them, and this over-supply has had a significant impact on the revenue-earning potential of online advertising. As a result, online publishers are increasingly adopting subscription business models.

Ison adds: “The internet offers a route to a global marketplace of billions of readers, which is why the ad-funded online model has remained alluring. However, it is a model that has historically proven to be challenging to monetise, particularly for publishers who only see significant value being generated from a tiny proportion of this huge market.

“The advertising-only business model has an expiration date for some publishers. Over the past year we have seen an increasing number of news publishers earning regular income from subscribers. This is a trend that is likely to continue in order for these outlets to remain financially sustainable.

“In focusing on subscriptions, publishing would be following in the commercial footsteps taken by business information services, telecoms, pay TV, music and an increasing range of consumer goods.”

About Media Metrics 2017

The Media Metrics 2017 report identifies the 100 largest media and entertainment organisations in the UK and evaluates their performance to provide a snapshot of the sector today. The report evaluates the financial performance of companies across the TV, film, music, books, magazines, news publishing, B2B information and events, video gaming and advertising sectors, based on their UK Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes, as defined by their registration at Companies House.

The ranking of companies by size is based on their most recent annual results, available as at 7 April 2017. Only media and entertainment organisations that have a UK registered entity are included.

For more information visit deloitte.co.uk/mediametrics

About Deloitte

In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte LLP, which is among the country’s leading professional services firms.

Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.co.uk for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.