The impact of the cuts to regional public service broadcasters on the audiovisual industry: The Basque country and Catalonia (2007-2014)

Regional public service broadcasters have been a key driving force in the development of local independent audiovisual production sectors in the different autonomous communities where they exist. The audiovisual industry has been perceived by institutions as a central agent of economic development and job creation, a fact that has led to increased policies to support the sector since the late 1990s. However, the economic crisis has had a significant impact on the budgets of those institutions, especially broadcasting corporations. This has resulted in cuts in the expenditure of companies, which in turn has led to a sharp reduction in funds intended for content buying. This paper quantifies and analyzes the extent of these cuts and their impact on production sectors in Catalonia and the Basque Country, two pioneering regions in the creation of regional broadcasters, with two of the most successful corporations in Spain. The article shows the evolution of broadcasters’ budgets and how funds intended for content buying have decreased. It goes on to analyze the impact of these cuts on the independent sector, in terms of its structure, the number of people it employs and the turnover of all the companies studied. The article presents, for the first time, original quantitative data that provides insight into the real implications of cost-cutting policies.