Italy’s content investment fell as its audiovisual market grew. APA says funding uncertainty is weighing on producers
APA’s new figures put Italy’s 2025 audiovisual sector at €16.8 billion, even as investment in cinema, television and on-demand content fell 7.4%.
Italy’s audiovisual sector grew in 2025, but investment in its cinema, television and on-demand content fell for the first time since 2018, according to APA figures reported by Deadline. The producers’ association presented its eighth national production report at Rome’s MIA Market on October 21, showing a growing market under pressure to fund new work.
APA put the sector’s value at €16.8 billion, up 3.1% from 2024, while inward content investment fell 7.4% to €2 billion. Scripted television and streaming productions took the biggest hit, with investment down €122 million, Deadline reported.
Why APA says Italian producers face pressure
The report’s authors pointed to uncertainty over public funding, including how much money will be available, who will qualify and when applications can be made. That makes planning harder, raises financing costs and squeezes margins, they said, particularly for smaller companies facing pressure on cash flow and their capacity to invest.
Fiction production came to €740 million, down 5.5%. The fall sits alongside a longer period of expansion: Deadline said average annual growth in fiction production was 7.7% between 2018 and 2025. APA’s previous report had put the audiovisual sector’s 2024 value at €16.3 billion, up 9% that year, a faster pace than the 3.1% growth reported for 2025.
Streaming grows as production spending falls
Online video helped lift overall sector revenue, Deadline reported. APA’s figures show free streaming services grew 15% and subscription platforms 10.3%; online video now accounts for 43% of the market, compared with 20% in 2020. Employment also rose 3.3% to 128,336 people despite the decline in content investment.
The mix of what gets made is changing too. APA counted 101 original scripted television titles in 2025, up 9%, with streaming services behind 27 and linear broadcasters behind 74. Unscripted programmes accounted for 59% of independent television productions, while viewing hours for factual content on streaming platforms rose 36%, Deadline reported.
APA President Chiara Sbarigia said established independent shows still bring audiences to broadcasters, citing Stasera Tutto è Possibile and its additional 11.8 percentage points of prime-time audience share for Rai2. APA expects its 2026 figures to be broadly in line with the 2025 results.
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Sources and context
- For First Time Since 2018, Italian Content Investment Falls But Sector Generates $18.9B – Annual APA ReportDeadline
- APA presenta il 7° Rapporto sulla produzione audiovisiva nazionaleAPA
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