Boom or Bust? The Truth Behind the Film and TV Job Paradox

The film and TV industry has always been one of transformation and innovation. But today, it stands at a crossroads—a perplexing paradox that demands closer scrutiny. On the one hand, we hear of a golden era: record-breaking investment, glowing headlines, and the promise of tens of thousands of new jobs. On the other, there’s the stark, lived reality for many: a mass exodus of talent, staggering unemployment rates, and an increasingly unsustainable future for freelance workers.

How can both narratives be true? Is this simply a statistical misrepresentation, or does it reflect a deeper systemic imbalance within the industry? My mission with this investigation is to cut through the conflicting reports and get to the bottom of this enigma. Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore the numbers, the stories, and the shifting dynamics of this creative ecosystem.

Reported Success: A Booming Industry

Amidst the growing narrative of industry challenges, it’s important to acknowledge the success stories that paint a very different picture—a golden age for the film and TV sector, fueled by record-breaking investments and ambitious job creation efforts. Let’s delve into the numbers and initiatives driving this perception.

Netflix and UK Investment

Netflix has emerged as a key player in the UK’s production boom. Since 2020, the streaming giant has reportedly invested £6 billion into UK productions, supporting 30,000 jobs across cast, crew, and creative teams.

• Examples of UK-Based Hits: High-profile productions such as The Crown, Bridgerton, and The Witcher have generated significant employment and established the UK as a premier hub for high-end content creation.

• Localized Economic Impact: Netflix’s activities in the South West of England alone have generated £132 million for the economy over two years, supporting over 1,000 jobs.

• Source: Netflix Official News

Production Spending Records

The British Film Institute (BFI) highlights the unprecedented scale of production spending in the UK. In 2022, combined expenditure for film and high-end TV productions reached a record-breaking £6.27 billion.

• Breakdown of Spending:

• High-End TV Production: £4.29 billion (a 4% increase from the previous year).

• Film Production: £1.98 billion, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.

• Attracting Global Projects: Big-budget international projects such as Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 and House of the Dragon are key drivers of this growth.

• Source: BFI Official Report

Training Initiatives to Address Skills Shortages

Programs like ScreenSkills have been instrumental in addressing the skills gap within the industry. Their initiatives aim to equip tens of thousands of workers with training in high-demand areas like post-production, VFX, and digital technology.

• Focus Areas:

• Post-Production and VFX: These sectors are experiencing exponential growth, with major studios relying heavily on specialized talent.

• On-the-Job Training: ScreenSkills collaborates with major studios and production hubs to ensure new entrants are production-ready.

• Reported Impact: Thousands of workers have received training, filling critical roles across the country.

• Source: ScreenSkills Official Site

The Perception: A Golden Age

Taken together, these figures and initiatives paint a picture of an industry thriving on the back of massive investment, global demand, and strategic growth. Headlines herald this as a golden age for UK film and TV, with opportunities seemingly everywhere. However, the reality on the ground often tells a different story—one of instability, unemployment, and systemic challenges that remain unaddressed.

The question is: Are these numbers telling the whole story, or do they gloss over significant disparities in how this boom is distributed across the workforce?

In the next section, we’ll look beyond the headlines to explore the ground-level reality—stories of freelancers and creatives struggling to survive despite the industry’s supposed success.

Ground-Level Reality: Crisis in Employment

While headlines celebrate record-breaking investments and job creation, the on-ground reality for many industry professionals tells a much darker story—one of instability, burnout, and a growing exodus from the film and TV industry. For freelancers and sharp-end production workers, the boom often feels like a bust.

Unemployment Rates: A Stark Statistic

Union reports and surveys paint a grim picture of unemployment within the industry. In the UK, BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph, and Theatre Union) reports that up to 70% of freelancers remain unemployed, a figure echoed globally among creative professionals.

• Impact of Strikes: The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2024 halted production across Hollywood, rippling into global markets. Productions stalled or were canceled, leaving countless workers without income for months.

• Source: Variety

• Freelancer Accounts: Social media platforms have become outlets for professionals detailing months without work. Many report leaving the industry altogether, unable to sustain themselves during prolonged gaps between contracts.

Freelancer Exodus: Unsustainable Work Conditions

For many freelancers, the rising cost of living combined with irregular income has become unbearable. The dream of working in film and TV has turned into a financial nightmare.

• Burnout and Mental Health: The pressures of juggling short-term contracts, maintaining equipment, and chasing late payments have led to increasing mental health challenges among freelancers.

• Exodus to Other Industries: Former industry workers are transitioning to more stable careers, including corporate video production, live events, or entirely unrelated fields.

• Example: In the UK, BECTU has highlighted that a lack of work and unsustainable pay has disproportionately affected mid-career professionals, leading to an alarming loss of experienced talent.

Global Economic Challenges: A Squeezed Industry

Economic pressures, including inflation, shrinking budgets, and a streaming plateau, are exacerbating challenges across the board.

• The Streaming Plateau: After years of rapid growth, streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ are scaling back. Disney, for example, announced significant budget cuts to content production in 2024.

• Source: Hollywood Reporter

• Rising Costs of Living: Inflation has hit freelancers particularly hard, with costs for rent, utilities, and equipment maintenance far outpacing average pay rates.

• Production Consolidation: Major studios are reducing the number of greenlit projects, focusing on fewer, high-budget productions that leave smaller independent crews out of work.

Perception: Left Behind by the Boom

For those on the front lines of content creation, the narrative of a booming industry feels disconnected from their lived experience. Instead of opportunity, many see:

• Inconsistent Workflows: Prolonged periods of unemployment and increasing competition for fewer jobs.

• Falling Rates: Stagnating or shrinking pay rates, even as the cost of living rises.

• Lost Careers: Talented professionals exiting the industry due to unsustainable working conditions.

Personal accounts from freelancers in the US and UK highlight the challenges faced by those in the industry:

• Alyssa Clark, a writer on Servant and The 100, describes the current landscape: “It’s brutal out there. Most of my acquaintances are taking other jobs to survive.”

• Gideon Yago, who has written for The Newsroom and The Mosquito Coast, shares his experience: “I haven’t had a single conversation with anyone in the industry that hasn’t expressed fear and frustration. That’s really, really bad when you’re in the enchantment and entertainment business.”

• A UK-based freelancer’s resignation letter, shared within industry groups, states: “This has really struck a chord with me… I’m currently feeling like quitting myself.” The letter has prompted multiple responses from others revealing similar experiences and struggles, with several saying they too had decided to leave the industry this year.

The Divide Between Headlines and Reality

While job creation figures are celebrated in headlines, the on-ground reality reflects systemic instability, particularly for the freelance workforce. This disconnect raises important questions: Are the jobs being created accessible to those who need them most? And can the industry survive if its foundational talent continues to leave in droves?

In the next section, we’ll explore how this crisis ties into the broader transformation of the industry and the shift from production roles to ancillary sectors.

The Shift from Production to Ancillary Roles

In the early days of the film and TV industry, nearly all roles were tied directly to the creation of content—camera operators, lighting techs, writers, producers, and editors. These are the “sharp-end” production jobs responsible for the physical making of a project. Over time, the industry has diversified and grown to include ancillary sectors:

1. Distribution and Marketing:

• Content is now sold globally across multiple platforms—linear TV, streaming, social media, and FAST channels—requiring more professionals in licensing, marketing, and analytics.

• Streamers and networks employ vast teams to manage audience engagement, monetization, and sponsorships.

2. Corporate and Administrative Jobs:

• Studios and production companies now hire in-house teams for HR, legal, compliance, and IT infrastructure, supporting global operations.

3. Post-Production and Tech-Driven Expansion:

• High-end post-production, VFX, and emerging fields like AI-driven content creation and data-driven viewer analytics are booming.

4. Facilities Management:

• With the rise of studio hubs like Shepperton or Pinewood, there’s an increase in jobs maintaining soundstages, managing logistics, and running four-wall operations.

Is This Shift Behind the Disparity?

Production Jobs Are Declining:

• Automation and Streamlining: Advancements in technology (e.g., virtual production, AI for scripts and editing) have reduced the number of roles needed on set. A single camera operator can do the work that once required several people.

• Project-Based Nature: Productions often last months, leaving workers unemployed between projects. By contrast, ancillary roles like marketing or distribution tend to be more stable.

• Globalized Outsourcing: Parts of production, like VFX or animation, are often outsourced to cheaper markets, bypassing local workers entirely.

Ancillary Jobs Are Increasing:

• Verification and Scalability: These jobs are easier to count and justify in employment figures because they tend to be full-time and longer-term, even if they don’t contribute directly to content creation.

• Growing Complexity of Content Sales: The boom in streaming has shifted priorities toward how content is sold, marketed, and monetized globally rather than how much is produced.

Are We Heading for a Crash?

If the industry’s foundational production roles are shrinking, it creates a house of cards effect for ancillary sectors:

1. Dependent on Content Creation: Marketing, distribution, and sponsorship jobs depend entirely on the content pipeline. If production slows—whether due to strikes, budget cuts, or a plateau in streaming—their roles become redundant.
2. Overinvestment in Non-Creative Sectors: Companies are pouring resources into scaling distribution, analytics, and marketing, but this is unsustainable if production cannot keep pace.
3. Feedback Loop: Reduced production affects not just sharp-end jobs but also services tied to them, like catering, logistics, and equipment rentals.

Potential Warning Signs:

• Economic Plateau: If the content “boom” levels off, the ancillary job market will face significant contraction.

• Skills Imbalance: Workers leaving sharp-end roles may not easily transition into ancillary jobs, leading to widespread industry unemployment.

• Overdependence on Big Streamers: If giants like Netflix cut budgets, their entire ecosystems—local productions, global distribution teams—are at risk.

What Does This Mean for the Industry?

This transition suggests we may be over-indexing on short-term gains (jobs in ancillary sectors) while underestimating the long-term risks:

1. A Bubble in Ancillary Jobs? As the demand for sharp-end production diminishes, the growing layers of marketing and distribution jobs could become unsustainable.
2. Need for Balanced Growth: Without robust and consistent production output, the industry risks alienating the workforce and destabilizing the ancillary sectors dependent on it.
3. Reassessing Job Metrics: Job creation figures may be inflated by counting ancillary roles, which do not reflect the health of the industry’s creative foundation.

The Takeaway:

Yes, the rise of ancillary roles and the decline in production jobs could explain the disparity in job figures. But this trend is unsustainable if the industry’s core—content creation—continues to shrink. A significant slowdown in production would ripple through all sectors, potentially leading to a systemic crash.

On Friday, I will end this series by attempting to look to the future and provide some thoughts on the question, "Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?"

“Exploring the paradox to uncover the truth. With decades of global production experience, I’ve seen the industry’s highs and lows firsthand. The future of film and TV depends on the answers we find.”

– Jonathan Glazier

Media Consultant | Glazier Media Limited

Editor, altmedia

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