KPMG Report Confirms That Online Availability for Film & TV is Booming in the UK
Almost 90% of the most popular and highest quality films & TV series are available on legal digital platforms, according to the new KPMG report UK availability of Film and TV Titles in the Digital Age. These findings mirror similar success in the music and publishing sectors, confirming that the creative industries are ahead of the game and driving change by creating content that people want, in ways they want it and on devices they can easily use.
Just think of how much time the average person spends on their devices every day; reading, listening to music, playing games, or watching movies. More than half of Europeans (56%) use the Internet for cultural purposes. And while the KPMG report looks specifically at the growth of legal services in the UK, the EU Audiovisual Observatory confirms that consumers across all of Europe enjoy a remarkable array of legal services, with more than 3,000 on-demand audio-visual services already available.
More is on the way: Our sector is tirelessly experimenting with new business models that deliver films, books, music, TV programs, newspapers, games and other creative content to consumers. Commenting on the release of the new KPMG report, UK’s Culture Secretary Sajid Javid reflected this sentiment, adding: “The digital revolution means the world’s best creative content – from box office films to some of the UK’s best TV – is available online, and can be accessed through on demand and mobile devices…. It also shows there is no reason for downloading pirated material.”
To support that innovation and the more than 7 million jobs in EU copyright-intensive industries, those industries need a stable and sufficiently flexible EU legal framework to continue investing in and developing new cultural works and services to deliver them. As responsible stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem, it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that the work of those whose time, energy, and expertise make these creations possible is respected and protected through strong, internationally recognized intellectual property protections.
Images, words, sounds and ideas drive innovation, growth, jobs and prosperity in Europe. We should therefore take a hard look at proposals that claim to offer cheaper, easier access to content: Will devaluing creativity fuel innovation and create jobs in Europe? Or will existing jobs in the creative sector be put at risk? Today, those 7 million workers in the core copyright-intensive industries contribute approximately €509 billion to Europe’s GDP. And I argue that the most effective enabler for the creation, financing, production and dissemination of their cultural works is copyright.
Weakening copyright today risks hollowing out our diverse cultural identity and economically-sound creative industries, leaving a harmful, long-term legacy for tomorrow.