Disney will continue to be a collaborator to ‘help sustain’ the UK industry, having revealed it has spent £3.5bn on local production in the last five years.
In a keynote speech at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference this morning, EMEA president Jan Koeppen noted the US giant is “ambitious to keep growing” but that it would be in conjunction with its industry peers.
“There is no denying the fact that Disney is a large, global business. We’ve been around a long time and we intend to be around a lot longer…but we also recognise that we’re part of a wider ecosystem in the UK, and in each market where we operate. This ecosystem helps to sustain us, and we want to help sustain it too,” he said.
“We believe it is by working with others that we can best achieve our goals. This includes many of the content producers, broadcasters and distribution platforms that are present today.”
Koeppen also affirmed the company’s “belief in the importance of theatrical distribution”, adding: “Everyone at Disney loves movies, and we love to make them big.”
A presentation at the event revealed that in the past five years, Disney has spent £3.5bn on UK production, made 29 feature films,41 shows for TV and its flagship streamer in the UK alongside 90 Nat Geo titles. This has supported 32,000 jobs.
Koeppen added that Disney would continue to support its linear operations, which he insisted are “an important part of this mix”. He said it would continue to license programming to other broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and UKTV.
He also said that the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine is among 20-odd movies and TV shows that have been filmed at Pinewood Studios over the last five years.
A version of this story first appeared on Screen’s sister site Broadcast.
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