## International Transactions Of The Uk Film And Television Industries, 2008

 
Date:  9 December 2009 
Coverage:  United Kingdom    **Theme:**  The Economy 
 

In 2008, exports of all services by the UK film and television industries increased to £2,836 million. This represents a 23 per cent increase on the figure of £2,303 million recorded in 2007. Imports have also increased by 13 per cent, from £1,956 million in 2007 to £2,215 million in 2008. As a result, the net surplus has increased from £347 million in 2007 to £621 million in 2008. *   

## Further Key Findings:

- 
The film industry showed a net surplus of £494 million in 2008 in trade in services compared to 
£232 million in 2007. 
- 
The television industry showed a net surplus of £198 million in 2008 in trade in services. This 
represents an increase on the figure recorded in 2007 of £62 million.  
- 
Net earnings for 'other services' have reduced significantly from £53 million in 2007 to a deficit 
of £72 million in 2008. 
 
The chart above and table below show the changes since 2002 in total international transactions of the UK film and television industries. 

 
          Total international transactions of the film and television industries * 
                                                                              
 
£million 
 
   
 
2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007   2008 
 
Exports of services 
 
1766   1751   2181   2495   2511   2303   2836 
Imports of services 
 
1938   1917   2131   2128   1966   1956   2215 
 
Balance 

 
 -173    -166       50     367     545   347     621 
 
* See background notes 

## Film Industry

Exports (receipts) of the UK film industry totalled £1,341 million in 2008, a 28 per cent increase from the 2007 figure of £1,050 million (Table 1). These figures include production services and royalties but exclude 'other services' such as management fees, merchandising and agency fees. Imports (payments) were £846 million in 2008, a 3 per cent increase from £818 million in 2007. These movements have resulted in the positive balance of the film industry increasing from £232 million in 2007 to £494 million in 2008.  

Of the total exports for 2008, £792 million came from royalties (receipts). This represents an increase of 23 per cent from £646 million in 2007 and is the highest value reported since ONS records began (Table 2). Import royalties (payments) decreased for a third successive year, from a high of £704 million in 2005 to £510 million in 2008. Exports and imports for the production of film have both increased to £549 million and £336 million respectively. The export and import figures for film production are both the highest ever recorded by this survey. 

## Table 3 Shows The Transactions Broken Down By The

category of the company. Imports by UK subsidiaries of major US film companies were £385 million in 2008 compared to £455 million in 2007, a 15 percent decrease. Imports by other companies increased from £363 million to £461 million in 2008, some 27 per cent.  

Table 4 provides a geographical analysis of the international production and royalties transactions by the film industry. The USA was the primary destination for exports in 2008 with values increasing to £736 million, equivalent to 55 per cent of total film industry exports. This represents a 22 per cent increase from £603 million in 2007. Imports from the USA decreased for the fourth successive year to £111 million in 2008, down from a peak of £616m in 2004, reflecting changing structures and locations of companies providing services to this industry. In 2008, £432 million of film industry exports and £384 million of imports were to and from Europe respectively. 

## Television Industry Tv Industries: 2008 Exports

The television industry consists of terrestrial broadcasters and satellite and cable companies, where these are concerned with television functions other than simply transmitting channels via direct broadcast or cable. Exports were £1,101 million in 2008, up from to £855 million in 2007, an increase of 29 per cent. Imports also increased to £903 million in 2008 from £793 million in 2007, a 14 per cent change (Table 1). These movements of exports and imports produced a positive balance for international transactions by the television industry of £198 million, compared with a surplus of £62 million in 2007. Table 5 provides a geographical analysis of the television industry's international transactions. As in the past four years, the largest share of exports (57 per cent) was to Europe, amounting to £624 million in 2008, an increase from £485 million in 2007. Exports to the USA also increased, from £192 million in 2007 to £211 million in 2008. The television industry imports from the USA were £555 million in 2008, comprising 62 per cent of total imports. This represents an increase on the 2007 figure of £474 million. Imports from Europe also increased slightly, from £261 million in 2007 to £273 million in 2008.   

## Other Transactions In Services

'Other services' include management fees, merchandising and agency fees. Exports of 'other services' by the film and television industries were £394 million in 2008, relatively unchanged from 
2007 (£398 million) although lower than in 2005 (£788 million) and 2006 (£603 million). Imports have increased from £346 million in 2007 to £466 million in 2008, the highest value recorded by this survey (Table 6). Table 7 shows that exports for TV activities have increased by 23 per cent from £241 million in 2007 to £297 million in 2008. In contrast, exports of motion picture video distribution have fallen from £134 million in 2007 to £68 million in 2008. 

## Discontinuation Of The Uk Film And Television Survey

The ONS survey covering the international transactions of the UK film and television industries and its associated Statistical Bulletin have been discontinued. This 2008 release is therefore the last in this series. In future, data on the international transactions of these industries will be collected through the main International Trade in Services (ITIS) survey. Tables showing the exports and imports of the film and television industries by country will be published in the annual ITIS publication. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=14407&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422 The decision to discontinue this survey was taken following a review and subsequent public consultation. Further information is available at the following links: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=12628 http://www.ons.gov.uk/about/consultations/proposed-changed-to-the-annual-survey-into-film-andtelevision--ftv-/index.html 

## Background Notes Basic Quality Information

1. 
Link to Summary Quality Report:  A Summary Quality Report for Film and Television 
Industries can be found at http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/methodology-andquality/quality/qual-info-economic-social-and-bus-stats/quality-reports-for-businessstatistics/index.html. This report describes, in detail, the intended uses of the statistics presented in this publication, their general quality and the methods used to produce them.    
Relevance to users 2. 
Source of data: Apart from a fixed panel of the largest companies, businesses are 
randomly sampled from the businesses classified to standard industrial classification (SIC) 
92110, 92120 and 92202 on the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) and stratified by employment. Companies are asked to provide figures for the current calendar 
year where possible, although some companies provide figures for their actual accounting year. 

## The Tables

3. 
These tables show the International Transactions of the film and television industry 
through a variety of formats. Many tables compare figures over several years, while other tables provide the most recent geographic and industry information. The tables provide 
information in as much detail as possible, without disclosing the details of individual companies. Any disclosive data is replaced by the following symbol throughout the tables "..". It is important to note that within the geographical tables, amounts are shown against 
the geographical area from which they were received, irrespective of where they were first 
earned. 

## Types Of Transactions Covered Production

 
4. 
The statistics on film and television companies cover the value of transactions between 
the UK and residents in other countries in respect of the production of films of any width and also recordings on tape, disc or any other media. Performances in cinemas or on television are also covered. Performances in cinemas or on television include the outright sale or purchase of films as well as receipts or payments for rentals.   
Production of films includes international receipts and payments for activities such as film processing, printing, editing, as well as amounts for work done on location. The returns from film companies include their international transactions on behalf of another producer, distributor or agent in the UK. 

Receipts for production work in the UK comprise funds from abroad or from amounts held in the UK on behalf of residents in other countries, and sums applied to the repayment of loans raised in the UK (exports). Amounts for film production, including location work abroad, remitted from the UK or from amounts held abroad on behalf of UK residents, are included as debits (imports). A resident is any individual, enterprise or other organisation ordinarily domiciled in the UK. UK branches and UK subsidiaries of foreign enterprises are regarded as UK resident.  

## Royalties

 5. 
These include items such as rights to use franchises, copyrights, licenses, patents and 
trademarks. 

## Other

6. 
The statistics also include transactions by the film and television industries for "other 
international service transactions". These include items such as management fees, 
merchandising and agency fees, which are included in the headline figures and shown 
separately within the tables. 

## Transactions Not Covered

7. 
Not all of the international transactions of the film and television industries that affect the 
UK's Balance of Payments are included in these statistics. Excluded are the profits of UK subsidiaries and branches attributable to the parent companies in other countries and also those profits due to the UK from subsidiaries and branches of UK companies operating in other countries. However, these amounts are included under "Investment Income" in the 
Balance of Payments. 

## The Figures Reported By Companies In This Survey Include Some Imports And Exports Of

exposed cinematographic film, which has also been recorded in the overseas visible trade accounts.  However, the trade account figures for exposed cinematographic film include a number of elements not covered by this survey. Examples of these are film flown in for processing and immediate return to the location abroad, and films imported and prints exported for and after processing by specialist laboratories on behalf of international customers. It is not possible to state the exact extent of the overlap but the survey results probably include about half of the export figure in the overseas trade account and a higher proportion of the import figure.  

## Accuracy Response Rates

8. 
A total of 800 film and television companies were approached for the film and television 
survey of 2008. A total of 699 forms were returned, giving a response rate of 87 per cent. 

## Standard Errors

9. 
Because the sample is selected randomly from the IDBR, it is possible to give an 
indication of the possible error in the estimates due to the sampling process. These errors have been estimated for 2008 as follows: 

 (£ million) 
 
                 estimate 
      standard deviation 
 
 Exports of services   
  
2,836 
 
 
137 
 
 
Imports of services  
 
2,215 
 
 
117  

 It is normally assumed that 95 per cent of values will lie within approximately two standard deviations of the estimate. In other words, there is a 95 per cent confidence that the true value of exports lies between £2,562 million and £3,110 million. Similarly the value of imports should lie between £1,981 million and £2,449 million.   

## Notes To Tables

 
10. 
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and 
Switzerland. 
The sum of constituent items in tables may not always agree exactly with the totals shown due to rounding. 

 
     The following symbols have been used throughout: ..  Figures suppressed to avoid disclosure of information relating to individual enterprises. -   Nil or less than half the final digit shown. 

## Publication Policy Further Information

11. 
The complete series of First Releases are available to download free of charge at 
http://www.statistics.gov.uk.  
12. 
Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the media office. 

13. 
National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.  
© Crown copyright 2009. 
 
Issued by: Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, Newport NP10 
8XG 

## Media Contact:

Tel 
Media Relations Office    0845 6041858 
 
Emergency on-call    07867 906553 
E-mail  
press.office@ons.gsi.gov.uk 
 

## Statistical Contact:

Tel 
Richard Tonkin    01633 456082 
E-mail 
richard.tonkin@ons.gsi.gov.uk 
 Website: 
www.ons.gov.uk 
 

£million
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Exports1
Film companies2
657
633
842
967
913
1050
1341
Television companies 
684
677
664
740
995
855
1101
Total
1341
1310
1506
1707
1908
1904
2442
Imports3
Film companies2
470
538
753
804
784
818
846
Television companies
1237
1142
1100
1071
884
793
903
Total
1707
1680
1853
1875
1668
1611
1749
Exports less imports
Film companies2
187
95
89
163
128
232
494
Television companies
-553
-465
-436
-332
112
62
198
Total
-366
-370
-347
-168
240
294
693

1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries, excluding "other services" 2   Includes transactions by film companies in respect of rights restricted to television 3.  Sums payable to residents in other countries, excluding "other services"

Analysis by type of transaction
£ million
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Exports1
Royalties  -
434
400
399
660
582
646
792
Production of films
222
233
444
307
330
403
549
Total
657
633
842
967
913
1050
1341
Imports2
Royalties -
403
430
616
704
698
573
510
Production of films
67
108
136
100
86
245
336
Total
470
538
753
804
784
818
846

1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries, excluding "other services" 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries, excluding "other services"

| Table 3                                                 |   International Transactions of the Film Industry 2002 - 2008: |
|---------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Analysis by type of transaction and category of company |                                                                |
| £ million                                               |                                                                |
| 2002                                                    |                                                           2003 |
| Exports                                                 |                                                                |
| 1                                                       |                                                                |
| UK subsidiaries of major                                |                                                                |
| US film companies                                       |                                                            345 |
| ..                                                      |                                                                |
| 427                                                     |                                                            644 |
| Other                                                   |                                                            312 |
| ..                                                      |                                                                |
| 486                                                     |                                                            405 |
| Total                                                   |                                                            657 |
| Imports                                                 |                                                                |
| 2                                                       |                                                                |
| UK subsidiaries of major                                |                                                                |
| US film companies                                       |                                                            231 |
| Other                                                   |                                                            239 |
| Total                                                   |                                                            470 |

.. Denotes disclosive data 1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries, excluding "other services" 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries, excluding "other services"

| Table 4                                            | International Transactions 2008:   |
|----------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Analysis of the Film Industry by Geographical Area |                                    |
| £ million                                          |                                    |
| Exports                                            |                                    |
| 1                                                  |                                    |
| Imports                                            |                                    |
| 2                                                  |                                    |
| Net                                                |                                    |
| EUROPEAN UNION                                     |                                    |
| Austria                                            | ..                                 |
| Belgium                                            | 7                                  |
| Bulgaria                                           | ..                                 |
| Denmark                                            | ..                                 |
| Finland                                            | 6                                  |
| France                                             | 24                                 |
| Germany                                            | 46                                 |
| Greece                                             | 27                                 |
| Irish Republic                                     | 10                                 |
| Italy                                              | ..                                 |
| Luxembourg                                         | ..                                 |
| Netherlands                                        | 43                                 |
| Portugal                                           | 9                                  |
| Spain                                              | 56                                 |
| Sweden                                             | 8                                  |
| EU Institutions                                    | -                                  |
| Czech Republic                                     | ..                                 |
| Estonia                                            | ..                                 |
| Hungary                                            | ..                                 |
| Latvia                                             | ..                                 |
| Lithuania                                          | ..                                 |
| Romania                                            | ..                                 |
| Poland                                             | ..                                 |
| Slovakia                                           | ..                                 |
| Slovenia                                           | ..                                 |
| Cyprus                                             | 1                                  |
| Malta                                              | -                                  |
| Total European Union                               | 345                                |
| Total European Free Trade Association              | 11                                 |
| Other European Countries                           |                                    |
| Russia                                             | ..                                 |
| The Channel Islands                                | 25                                 |
| The Isle of Man                                    | 1                                  |
| Turkey                                             | ..                                 |
| Rest of Europe                                     | ..                                 |
| Europe Unallocated                                 | ..                                 |
| Total Europe                                       | 432                                |
| The Americas                                       |                                    |
| Brazil                                             | ..                                 |
| Canada                                             | 3                                  |
| Mexico                                             | ..                                 |
| USA                                                | 736                                |
| Rest of America                                    | ..                                 |
| America Unallocated                                | ..                                 |
| Total America                                      | ..                                 |
| Asia                                               |                                    |
| China                                              | 22                                 |
| Hong Kong                                          | ..                                 |
| India                                              | ..                                 |
| Indonesia                                          | ..                                 |
| Israel                                             | ..                                 |
| Japan                                              | 5                                  |
| Malaysia                                           | ..                                 |
| Pakistan                                           | ..                                 |
| Phillippines                                       | ..                                 |
| Saudi Arabia                                       | ..                                 |
| Singapore                                          | ..                                 |
| South Korea                                        | ..                                 |
| Taiwan                                             | ..                                 |
| Thailand                                           | ..                                 |
| Rest of Asia                                       | 31                                 |
| Asia Unallocated                                   | ..                                 |
| Total Asia                                         | 90                                 |
| Australia and Oceania                              |                                    |
| Australia                                          | ..                                 |
| New Zealand                                        | ..                                 |
| Rest of Australia and Oceania                      | ..                                 |
| Oceania Unallocated                                | ..                                 |
| Total Australia and Oceania                        | ..                                 |
| Africa                                             |                                    |
| South Africa                                       | ..                                 |
| Rest of Africa                                     | ..                                 |
| Nigeria                                            | ..                                 |
| Africa Unallocated                                 | ..                                 |
| Total Africa                                       | ..                                 |
| Rest of World Unallocated                          |                                    |
| ..                                                 | ..                                 |
| International Organisations                        | -                                  |
| WORLD TOTAL                                        | 1341                               |

.. Denotes disclosive data 1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries, excluding "other services" 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries, excluding "other services"

| Table 5                                                  | International Transactions 2008:   |
|----------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Analysis of the Television Industry by Geographical Area |                                    |
| £ million                                                |                                    |
| Exports                                                  |                                    |
| 1                                                        |                                    |
| Imports                                                  |                                    |
| 2                                                        |                                    |
| Net                                                      |                                    |
| EUROPEAN UNION and European Free Trade Association       |                                    |
| Austria                                                  | 2                                  |
| Belgium                                                  | 12                                 |
| Bulgaria                                                 | ..                                 |
| Denmark                                                  | ..                                 |
| Finland                                                  | ..                                 |
| France                                                   | 63                                 |
| Germany                                                  | 43                                 |
| Greece                                                   | 43                                 |
| Irish Republic                                           | 16                                 |
| Italy                                                    | 23                                 |
| Luxembourg                                               | ..                                 |
| Netherlands                                              | 30                                 |
| Portugal                                                 | 23                                 |
| Spain                                                    | 32                                 |
| Sweden                                                   | ..                                 |
| EU Institutions                                          | -                                  |
| Czech Republic                                           | ..                                 |
| Estonia                                                  | ..                                 |
| Hungary                                                  | ..                                 |
| Latvia                                                   | ..                                 |
| Lithuania                                                | ..                                 |
| Poland                                                   | 31                                 |
| Romania                                                  | ..                                 |
| Slovakia                                                 | ..                                 |
| Slovenia                                                 | 2                                  |
| Cyprus                                                   | 1                                  |
| Malta                                                    | 2                                  |
| Iceland                                                  | ..                                 |
| Liechtenstein                                            | ..                                 |
| Norway                                                   | ..                                 |
| Switzerland                                              | ..                                 |
| Total European Union and European Free Trade As          | 566                                |
| Other European Countries                                 |                                    |
| Russia                                                   | 14                                 |
| The Channel Islands                                      | ..                                 |
| The Isle of Man                                          | ..                                 |
| Turkey                                                   | 6                                  |
| Rest of Europe                                           | 9                                  |
| Europe Unallocated                                       | ..                                 |
| Total Europe                                             | 624                                |
| The Americas                                             |                                    |
| Brazil                                                   | 4                                  |
| Canada                                                   | 35                                 |
| Mexico                                                   | 1                                  |
| USA                                                      | 211                                |
| Rest of America                                          | ..                                 |
| America Unallocated                                      | ..                                 |
| Total America                                            | 266                                |
| Asia                                                     |                                    |
| China                                                    | 2                                  |
| Hong Kong                                                | 2                                  |
| India                                                    | 8                                  |
| Indonesia                                                | ..                                 |
| Israel                                                   | 4                                  |
| Japan                                                    | 19                                 |
| Malaysia                                                 | 6                                  |
| Pakistan                                                 | ..                                 |
| Phillippines                                             | ..                                 |
| Saudi Arabia                                             | ..                                 |
| Singapore                                                | ..                                 |
| South Korea                                              | ..                                 |
| Taiwan                                                   | ..                                 |
| Thailand                                                 | ..                                 |
| Rest of Asia                                             | 63                                 |
| Asia Unallocated                                         | ..                                 |
| Total Asia                                               | 125                                |
| Australia and Oceania                                    |                                    |
| Australia                                                | 39                                 |
| New Zealand                                              | ..                                 |
| Rest of Australia and Oceania                            | ..                                 |
| Oceania Unallocated                                      | ..                                 |
| Total Australia and Oceania                              | 50                                 |
| Africa                                                   |                                    |
| South Africa                                             | 31                                 |
| Rest of Africa                                           | ..                                 |
| Nigeria                                                  | ..                                 |
| Africa Unallocated                                       | ..                                 |
| Total Africa                                             | 36                                 |
| Rest of World Unallocated                                |                                    |
| -                                                        | -                                  |
| International Organisations                              | -                                  |
| WORLD TOTAL                                              | 1101                               |

.. Denotes disclosive data 1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries, excluding "other services" 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries, excluding "other services"

| Table 6                           |   Other International Service Transactions by the Film and |
|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Television Industries 2002 - 2008 |                                                            |
| £million                          |                                                            |
| 2002                              |                                                       2003 |
| Exports                           |                                                            |
| 1                                 |                                                            |
| 425                               |                                                        441 |
| Imports                           |                                                            |
| 2                                 |                                                            |
| 231                               |                                                        238 |
| Net                               |                                                        194 |

See background notes for definition of "Other services" 1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries

| Table 7                                        |   Other International Service Transactions by the Film and |
|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Television Industries 2007 - 2008: by industry |                                                            |
| £million                                       |                                                            |
| 2007                                           |                                                       2008 |
| Exports                                        |                                                            |
| 1                                              |                                                            |
| Imports                                        |                                                            |
| 2                                              |                                                            |
| Exports                                        |                                                            |
| 1                                              |                                                            |
| Imports                                        |                                                            |
| 2                                              |                                                            |
| Motion Picture Video Production                |                                                         24 |
| Motion Picture Video Distribution              |                                                        134 |
| TV Activities                                  |                                                        241 |
| Total                                          |                                                        398 |

.. Denotes disclosive data 1.  Sums receivable from residents in other countries 2.  Sums payable to residents in other countries 
 
Issued by:Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, Newport NP10 8XG 

## Media Contact:

Tel Media Relations Office    0845 6041858 
 
Emergency on-call    07867 906553 
E-mail  
press.office@ons.gsi.gov.uk 
 

## Statistical Contact:

Tel Richard Tonkin    01633 456082 
E-mail richard.tonkin@ons.gsi.gov.uk Website: 
www.ons.gov.uk