ITV

Tag: commissions

  • Global appetite for K-content surges as TV commissions slump

    Global appetite for K-content surges as TV commissions slump

    MUMBAI: Audiences worldwide are consuming more South Korean content than ever, but the number of new TV commissions is shrinking, according to research from Ampere Analysis.

    Volume of skorean titles available on SVodThe share of international viewers who say they watch Korean series or films “sometimes” or “very often” rose from 22 per cent in early 2020 to 35 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. The supply of K-content on global streaming platforms grew 55 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

    Yet commissions are falling fast. Ampere reports that overall South Korean TV commissions dropped 20 per cent between the first halves of 2023 and 2025. Global streamers slashed their orders by 43 per cent, while local players cut back 20 per cent as they struggle with rising production costs. Scripted projects—the crown jewel of Korea’s global success—took the biggest hit, with commissions down 39 per cent.

    Volume of SKOrean titles commissionedNetflix is the outlier. It has kept commissioning volumes steady and accounts for 88 per cent of global SVoD announcements in South Korea this year. But even it has shifted emphasis from scripted to unscripted originals, part of a broader industry pivot towards acquisitions and cheaper formats.

    “Despite continued demand for K-content, TV show commissions from local and global players have declined,” said Mariana Enriquez Denton Bustinza, analyst at Ampere. “This leaves the export market open for South Korean commissioners, especially as Netflix considers introducing caps on actors’ fees.”

    For Korea’s content makers, the paradox is clear: global demand is booming, but the economics of production and shifting streamer strategies risk leaving fewer shows for audiences hungry for more.

  • BBC Worldwide announces new factual commissions

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Channels has confirmed two new factual titles set to launch internationally this year.

    Originating from Australia, ‘Free Rein‘ and ‘The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment‘ come from the production companies Lonely Planet TV, Freehand and The Full Box Productions. They will air locally on UKTV, as well as on international feeds of BBC Knowledge, BBC HD and BBC Entertainment.

    BBC Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer president Jana Bennett said, “It remains an important part of our strategy to increase our commitment to local commissions. These titles represent a fraction of the rich plethora of stories across our markets just waiting to be told and I‘m delighted that our international audiences will get to experience them through our channels.”

    In Free Rein, a special for BBC Knowledge, film and television actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward ‘The Thorn Birds‘ go in search of the spirit of Australia on the ultimate horseback adventure across The Kimberley, the Outback‘s last frontier.

    Although they come from very different backgrounds, two passions that this husband-and-wife team share are a love of horses and a fascination with the true stories of Australian history.
    These are the drivers that set them on a challenging personal journey across the remotest region of the country.

    It will launch internationally on BBC Knowledge this year and also air on BBC HD and BBC Entertainment.

    Executive producer Sue Norton of Lonely Planet TV said, “This is a fantastic project – we‘re heading to Australia‘s wild west and taking a step back in time to give audiences a true grit Lonely Planet experience.”

    The dramatised documentary, ‘The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves‘ by Appointment, will tell the story of the most spectacularly successful shoplifting gang in history. The Kangaroo Gang was a brazen band of Australian thieves who ran riot in London for more than a decade.

    Led by its charismatic ‘King‘ Arthur Delaney, the gang targeted the plush retailers of Knightsbridge and Mayfair, as well as crossing Europe to lay siege to the luxury emporia of Paris, Brussels, Rome and beyond.

    Based on the book King of Thieves by author Adam Shand, The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment is produced by The Full Box Productions for UKTV in Australia and BBC Knowledge globally.

    BBC Worldwide Australia‘s Director of Television Deirdre Brennan said, “Free Rein and The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment are two superb Australian programmes that will have huge appeal to our local audiences. In Free Rein, we share a remarkable experience with two fascinating Australians as they journey through the breathtaking landscapes of the Outback.

    “And ‘The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment‘ is an innovative recreation of a famous chapter in Australian and UK crime history; it will be a world premiere highlight of our cross-channel Crime and Justice event in October.”

    ‘Free Rein‘ and ‘The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment‘ are the latest in a slate of new commissions for BBC Worldwide Channels this year. These follow the announcement of Some Say Love, the comedy pilot currently in production by Freehand, and Andy‘s Wild Adventures, a co-commission with the BBC for the international preschool brand, CBeebies.