
Inward investment film & High-End TV production spend in Scotland doubles
Screen Scotland publishes latest figures evidencing continued growth in the value of Scotland’s film and TV industries to the country’s economy.
Commissioned by Screen Scotland and produced by Saffery Champness and Nordicity, the independent report which looks at The Economic Value of the Screen Sector in Scotland in 2021 finds that significant growth was found in all areas of production, particularly inward investment film and High-End TV (HETV) production:
- Inward investment film and HETV production spend increased by 110%, from £165.3 million in 2019 to £347.4 million in 2021.
- In total, an estimated £617.4 million was spent on the production of film, TV and other audiovisual content in Scotland in 2021, compared to £398.6 million in 2019, up 55% compared to 2019*.
- This included content made by Scotland-based producers, producers based outside of Scotland filming in Scotland and Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) commissioned content.
The employment impact in Scotland’s production sub-sector rose from 5,120 full time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in 2019 to 7,150 FTEs in 2021, a 39% increase. The employment impact across Scotland’s entire sector increased at a lower rate, by 5.6%, from 10,280 FTEs in 2019 to 10,940 FTEs in 2021 – with the covid impacts in that year on employment in the cinema exhibition and screen tourism accounting for the difference.
According to the research, undertaken by Saffery Champness and Nordicity as a follow-up to their recent study of 2019, growth is in large part due to sector development work undertaken since Screen Scotland’s formation in 2018, including significant skills development work and the opening of new or expanded studio facilities, particularly FirstStage Studios in Edinburgh, where Prime Video’s The Rig (which has returned to Scotland to film series 2) and Anansi Boyswere filmed, and the expansion of The Pyramids in West Lothian, home to another Prime Video HETV series, Good Omens 2.
These studio facilities have made Scotland an even more attractive place to film, opening in time to catch the global post pandemic boom in production**.
Alongside film and TV development and production, the wide-ranging study analyses the economic contribution of the full screen sector value chain - film and TV development and production, animation, VFX and post-production, film and TV distribution, TV broadcast, film exhibition - and extends into the supply chains that provide services at each stage of the content process, including facilities, equipment, transport, catering and accommodation. Beyond that direct supply chain, the study looks at where the screen sector stimulates economic activity elsewhere in the Scottish economy: screen tourism, the education and training sectors and infrastructure.
In total, the screen sector in Scotland contributed Gross Value Added (GVA) of £627 million to Scotland’s economy in 2021, providing 10,940 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs, up from £568 million and 10,280 FTEs in 2019. GVA is the standard measure used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other national statistical agencies for measuring the monetary value of economic activity and the economic performance of industries.
Further details and download report here