European broadcasting is today an €84 billion sector, and commercial broadcasters contribute €15 billion annually by investing in programme content in the digital economy, according to a new study Audiovisual Content and Online Growth commissioned by the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) to the E-media Institute.

The European television business has never been healthier, the study notes. Despite the vast array of competing demands for their leisure time, European consumers are watching more television than ever before - on average, 228 minutes per day in 2010, the tenth successive year in which that key indicator had increased.

The total editorial content sector (print, music and radio, audiovisual, Internet and multimedia publishing industries) is worth around €279 billion in the EU, which is equal to 2.3% of GDP. The audiovisual industry makes up one of the largest components of the editorial content sector, generating around €95 billion in turnover, equal to 34% of the sector's total.

The report shows that 28.6% of the total value is delivered by services distributed via networks (broadcasting, Internet and mobile) while the 'offline' audiovisual components (cinema and physical home video) make up the remaining 5.5%.

"Despite periods of significant economic downturn, the audiovisual industry has experienced a period of extraordinary growth and innovation over the past decade, growing by around 56% between 2000 and 2010," the authors say. "Broadcasters' investment in content has also continued to grow. The aggregate expenditure on content of the largest European commercial broadcasting groups, in fifteen EU markets in 2010 was Euro15.1 billion, evidence of the key role of compelling content in the new media landscape."

Story filed 20.04.12