Disney EMEA Boss Reveals UK Production Spend Over Past Five Years

Max Goldbart
·4-min read

Disney has spent £3.5B ($4.5B) on production in the UK since 2019, EMEA boss Jan Koeppen has revealed.

Koeppen, who has been in the role for five years, rolled out a wealth of stats that focused on Disney’s long connection with, and long-term commitment to, the UK, as he addressed the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference in London.

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Koeppen said tentpoles like Deadpool & Wolverine, one of 20 Disney films and series to have been produced at Pinewood over the past five years, allows the Mouse House to form deep connections with locals.

“Whenever I’m at Pinewood, what makes the biggest impression on me is the scale of the operation, the diversity of skills,” said Koeppen. “We’re talking about thousands of people, all part of the wider ecosystem. And on every single production, there are trainees getting experience to begin their careers in film and TV. All part of Disney’s long-term commitment to the UK.”

Koeppen stressed Disney’s commitment to the UK several times during his keynote and went as far as to say that the U.S. major has been operating in the UK “longer than most companies here today have been in business,” putting the figure at almost 75 years.

A video introducing his talk carried the £3.5B ($4.5B) figure along with the stat that Disney has made 41 shows, 29 feature films and supported more than 32,000 jobs in the UK since 2019, which was just before Disney+ launched.

For comparison, Netflix said it spent $6B on UK content between 2019 and 2023, while Amazon claimed in 2022 that it had spent around $1B across four years on UK TV, movies and live sports.

Once again demonstrating a U.S. majors’ commitment to content licensing over warehousing, Koeppen pointed out that Disney has struck licensing deals in the recent past with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and UKTV. “Not only does this generate revenue, it also helps to build awareness of key titles,” he added. “We believe strongly that the breadth of our business is a key source of advantage. It brings strength, resilience and opportunity.”

Koeppen also revealed that local original Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story is now second only to The Kardashians as Disney+’s most-watched unscripted series in the UK. Last year, Disney+ Europe content boss Liam Keelan said the streamer had “pretty much” hit its target of creating 50 original international titles almost a year ahead of schedule.

‘Shōgun’ breaks more records

Shōgun has become Disney+’s most-viewed series premiere in EMEA of all time, meanwhile.

The American historical epic, for which Seasons 2 and 3 are already in development, broke records globally upon launch several weeks back and it’s also been a hit in EMEA, Koeppen revealed, although he didn’t put viewing figures on it. The FX on Hulu show, which is based on the novel by James Clavell set during the Japanese civil war, had garnered nine million views globally for the premiere episode across Hulu, Disney+ and Star+ within its first week, according to Disney.

Disney+ has tens of millions of subs across EMEA, Koeppen said. Notably, he pointed out that around half of subs live in households without children, which is roughly in line with the U.S.

“Disney+ is a product with broad appeal – and this of course has a lot to do with the wide variety of content that we offer,” said Koeppen.

Koeppen was speaking after Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters and prior to the likes of Tim Davie, Dana Strong and Mike Fries at the Deloitte conference.

Disney UK Earnings

Disney’s production spend was unveiled on the same day the company’s UK earnings were published.

The accounts, filed at the UK’s Companies House register, showed the U.S. media giant’s UK sales hit £3.8B ($4.8B) in the year to September 30, 2023. This was an increase of nearly 22.5% on Disney’s UK revenue of £3.1B over the same period in 2021.

The Walt Disney Company Limited accounts showed a pre-tax profit of £718M last year, compared with £457M in 2022.

Disney attributed the growth to Disney+ and a “strong performance in motion pictures.” Features released last year included Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which grossed $46M in the UK.

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