The Future of Film & TV financing

At Cannes this year, one of the most insightful industry sessions I attended featured the following speakers; Phillippine Colrat, Digital & Media EU Policy Manager (Amazon), Peter Dinges, CEO of the Federal Film Board – FFA (Germany), Carlo Cresto-Dina, Tempesta (Italy), Marianne Furevold-Boland, Head of Drama, Entertainment & Fiction at Broadcaster NRK (Norway), Edith Sepp, CEO of the Estonian Film Institute (Estonia), Filip Bobinski, CEO of Dramedy Productions (Czechia). They discussed the growing importance of fiscal incentives and cash
rebate systems within the audiovisual sector.

The key takeaway was impossible to ignore:

Production incentives are no longer supplementary financing tools. They are now
fundamental to how film, television and gaming projects are structured, financed and produced globally.

As competition between territories intensifies, governments are increasingly using
incentive schemes to attract international productions, stimulate local economies and build long-term creative infrastructure.

For producers, financiers and studios, understanding these systems is now
essential.

The Global Scale of Production Incentives

According to the data shared during the session, as of October 2024 there are now:

• 120 automatic production incentive schemes operating globally
• 34 fiscal incentive schemes across Europe alone
• Approximately €4.3 billion in combined annual European incentive
• budgets, including the UK and Norway

These figures highlight just how internationalised production financing has become. Countries are no longer competing solely on locations, studios or talent pools. They are competing on financial efficiency.

The ability to recover a meaningful percentage of production expenditure can directly influence where projects are developed, filmed and post-produced.

Incentives Are Now Central to Film Financing

One particularly striking statistic was that:

Production incentives represented 21% of total European film financing in
2023

That makes them the second largest financing source after direct public
funding. In practical terms, incentives are no longer being viewed as additional upside. They are increasingly built into the core financing structure from day one.

The session also revealed that:

76% of analysed European films used incentives within their financing
packages

This widespread adoption demonstrates how embedded fiscal incentives have become within the production ecosystem.

For many projects, especially independent productions, accessing incentives can
materially affect whether a project becomes financially viable.

Streaming Platforms Continue to Drive Demand

The session also explored the explosive growth in demand for original European
content.

Total spending by audiovisual services on original European content has almost
doubled over the last decade:

• €13.4 billion in 2014
• €25.1 billion in 2024

Global streaming platforms now account for:

€8.5 billion of that spend, representing 34% of the market

As streamers continue expanding their international content strategies, territories
with strong incentive frameworks are becoming increasingly attractive.

This creates both opportunities and pressure for governments to maintain
competitive schemes.

Why the UK Remains Highly Competitive

The UK remains one of the strongest global production hubs, particularly following
recent reforms under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) regime.

Current UK incentive structures include:

• A 34% headline AVEC credit
• An elevated 39% rate for animation
• An enhanced 53% Independent Film Tax Credit for qualifying low-budget
• films
• Removal of the VFX expenditure cap under qualifying AVEC claims

The UK also benefits from:

• Strong creative infrastructure
• Established studio capacity
• Experienced production crews
• Global post-production expertise

However, the compliance environment is becoming more sophisticated.
From April 2026, productions claiming Creative Industries reliefs will also need to
navigate additional reporting requirements, including the new CT600P process.

Incentives Are About More Than Tax

One of the most important themes from the discussion was that incentives should
not simply be viewed through a tax lens.

They influence:

• Production cash flow
• Investor confidence
• Territory selection
• Post-production planning
• International co-production structuring
• Long-term budgeting

In many cases, they are now strategic production tools rather than year-end financial adjustments.

Projects that structure correctly from development stage are often better positioned to maximise available reliefs and avoid compliance issues later in the production
lifecycle.

Final Thoughts

The global production market is evolving rapidly.

As governments increase support for creative industries and streaming platforms
continue investing heavily in international content, fiscal incentives are becoming one of the defining drivers of where and how productions are made.

For producers planning projects across film, television or gaming, understanding
these systems early is increasingly critical.

The projects that prepare early, structure correctly and build incentives into their
financing strategy from the outset are likely to be the ones that remain commercially competitive in the years ahead.

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