The Economic Impact of the UK Film Industry - BFI - British Film ...

8.3. Other evidence on the cultural value of UK film
Economic Contribution of the UK Film Industry
July 2007
Looking at box office revenue data therefore suggests that films with UK content are valued significantly
by the film-going public. But, as discussed above, the full cultural value that people place on UK film may
not be reflected in box office revenues. It is conceivable that the total cultural value placed on film could
exceed that reflected in box office revenues owing to significant so-called ‘consumer surplus’ – where
consumers value a service more highly than the price they have to pay for it - and externalities from such
things as national self-esteem and identity.
One common approach to establishing the total value of cultural activities is to conduct surveys that ask
people directly. A traditional survey was commissioned by the UK Film Council from Omnimas on ‘Public
Attitude to Film on TV’. Over three-quarters of the sample indicated that they consider films on television
an enjoyable activity, with younger groups more likely to agree. Over one-third of the sample thought
there should be more films on television, with only 5% believing there were too many. So, the survey
found people placed a high valuation on film relative to other forms of visual entertainment. But, further to
this, the survey found clear support for UK film. About 81% of the survey agreed that television companies
should support the British film industry by showing more UK-made films, and 77% agreed that UK films
are an important part of British heritage. This is clear evidence that people place an extra value on the
cultural content of UK film.
Another, more sophisticated, approach to establishing value involves conducting ‘contingent valuation’
surveys. These surveys vary in form but, in essence, ask people a structured set of questions that seek to
draw out of them the cash value they attach to a particular subject. There has not been a large survey on
the value of the core UK film industry of this sort. But there have been a number of other studies that may
help inform an estimate of the overall cultural value of the industry:
• The BBC is a similar institution to the core UK film industry in that it provides a key outlet for UKoriginated
cultural content. The Corporation undertook a contingent valuation study 34 using a variety
of survey types in its submission to the Independent Panel on its charter review in October 2004. The
study revealed an overwhelming support for the BBC across the UK, with 81% of the population
agreeing that the BBC is worth the licence fee cost of £121 per year. On average, people valued the
BBC at around twice the rate of the licence fee, that is £20 a month or £240 a year. Given the
concentration of UK-specific content on the BBC compared to that available on other broadcasters,
this provides evidence of the high valuation placed on UK-originated audiovisual content. In fact, the
highest valuation on the BBC was placed by those with multi-channel television - suggesting that UK
cultural content was particularly highly valued where there were alternatives.
• Another contingent valuation study 35 looked at the benefits that the Australian community derived
from having the mandatory transmission of Australian-originated programmes on their television
34
Fauth, R, Horner, L, Mahdon, M and Bevan, S, (2006), ‘Willingness to pay for the BBC during the next Charter period: A report
prepared for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’, September.
35
Papandrea, F, (1999), ‘Willingness to pay for domestic television programming’, Journal of Cultural Economics, Vol. 23, No. 3,
pages 147-164, August.
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