The State and Future of Danish Fiction Production
In October 2024, the Danish Producers’ Association published its latest half-year fiction report which showed a drop in investments in local productions. 2024 turned out to be a tough year with historically low investments, and the trend looks set to continue in 2025-2026 with similarly low figures: from 14 productions in 2024 to 12 next year and 10 in 2026.
TV 2 has already reduced the orders of fiction productions, while the trend seems to be similar at DR. At the same time, there is still uncertainty regarding the intentions of Amazon, while Viaplay has fully stopped making shows in Denmark.
According to stats for 2023, Denmark’s TV exports reached DKK 233 million in 2023, while film sales were significantly higher at DKK 580 million.
Georgi R. Chakarov talks to Research & Project Manager Rasmus Andersen about the problems in the Danish series production sector and what could be done to improve the market conditions for the local players.
TV 2 has already reduced the orders of fiction productions, while the trend seems to be similar at DR. At the same time, there is still uncertainty regarding the intentions of Amazon, while Viaplay has fully stopped making shows in Denmark.
According to stats for 2023, Denmark’s TV exports reached DKK 233 million in 2023, while film sales were significantly higher at DKK 580 million.
Georgi R. Chakarov talks to Research & Project Manager Rasmus Andersen about the problems in the Danish series production sector and what could be done to improve the market conditions for the local players.
Rasmus Andersen
Rasmus, the Danish Producers’ Association is the industry and employers’ organization for Danish content producers uniting companies active in the production of feature films, TV, documentaries and commercials. How many members do you currently have and what is the production volume/share that they cover on the Danish market?
I cannot answer this. But we cover the majority of the market.
You work both with government institutions, the public broadcasters and the commercial media players in Denmark. What have been some of the main challenges for the Association in the last two years with ever changing conditions on the market, both regulation-wise and business-wise?
The copyright practice is under pressure from distributors, streaming services, and politicians. Recession in general and declining advertising market, plus the shift towards prioritizing sports rights have been affecting the sector.
We have been fighting for an incentive scheme in Denmark which just succeeded and will be implemented from January 2026.
2024 was another tough year for traditional television, while streamers have been reducing their budgets for original productions. In October last year, you released a report which showed record-low investments in Danish series productions. What is the reason for this negative trend?
The recession in general and the declining advertising market are the main reasons, but also the collapse of Viaplay.
The expectations for 2025 and 2026 are not very optimistic either. How many series do you expect to be produced/finished during that period? What steps are you taking to improve the situation on the market?
For serial fiction we mainly have two customers TV 2 and Netflix. It is a fragile market. We expect to see 10-12 new series per year. Cultural contribution act and incentives are what we are focusing on.
Public broadcasters have also reduced their budgets for original series, but they keep acquiring expensive sports rights, so the money is there, and Danish series still top the annual ratings charts. Why do you think there is no desire to commit to producing more Danish content?
We do see commitment to produce Danish content. DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) primarily produce their own content. It is an ongoing discussion whether they should commit to purchase more externally produced content. TV 2 buy most content externally, but they are financed by advertisement therefore their revenue has declined.
Could it be that another reason for the low demand of original productions is that they don’t travel well internationally? What do the figures show for the Danish film and series exports in recent years?
I think Danish productions travel fine – there is just less of it. Another Round won an Oscar back in 2021. The creativity is not vanishing.
We have also seen producers shutting down and some of them even produced big international hits for streamers like Netflix. Is the payment of rights still the apple of discord on the market?
We have seen two bankruptcies in 2024 – it is not a lot. Producers are showing due diligence, and they are adjusting their companies to the times. So, we have seen layoffs and downsizing. This can potentially compromise competences and creativity. Rights are still crucial for the film and tv ecosystem.
When the big streamers entered the Danish market there was huge growth and potential for even more back until 2022 when a lot of productions were frozen, then the Viaplay crisis followed and it was not until June 2023 that Netflix signed a deal with Create Denmark, while Viaplay followed only in October this year. What more could be done to improve the relationship between such players and the producers? How important is the role of the state in this respect?
We need mutual understanding and respect for dynamics in the Danish/Scandinavian market. Legislators have already approved the cultural contribution act and the incentive scheme.
Do you expect that more companies will be forced to shut down this year? How are you helping colleagues survive in the extremely tough conditions?
I think that Danish producers have shown due diligence. But the market can be unpredictable. I hope we will not see any cases of insolvency in 2025.
I cannot answer this. But we cover the majority of the market.
You work both with government institutions, the public broadcasters and the commercial media players in Denmark. What have been some of the main challenges for the Association in the last two years with ever changing conditions on the market, both regulation-wise and business-wise?
The copyright practice is under pressure from distributors, streaming services, and politicians. Recession in general and declining advertising market, plus the shift towards prioritizing sports rights have been affecting the sector.
We have been fighting for an incentive scheme in Denmark which just succeeded and will be implemented from January 2026.
2024 was another tough year for traditional television, while streamers have been reducing their budgets for original productions. In October last year, you released a report which showed record-low investments in Danish series productions. What is the reason for this negative trend?
The recession in general and the declining advertising market are the main reasons, but also the collapse of Viaplay.
The expectations for 2025 and 2026 are not very optimistic either. How many series do you expect to be produced/finished during that period? What steps are you taking to improve the situation on the market?
For serial fiction we mainly have two customers TV 2 and Netflix. It is a fragile market. We expect to see 10-12 new series per year. Cultural contribution act and incentives are what we are focusing on.
Public broadcasters have also reduced their budgets for original series, but they keep acquiring expensive sports rights, so the money is there, and Danish series still top the annual ratings charts. Why do you think there is no desire to commit to producing more Danish content?
We do see commitment to produce Danish content. DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) primarily produce their own content. It is an ongoing discussion whether they should commit to purchase more externally produced content. TV 2 buy most content externally, but they are financed by advertisement therefore their revenue has declined.
Could it be that another reason for the low demand of original productions is that they don’t travel well internationally? What do the figures show for the Danish film and series exports in recent years?
I think Danish productions travel fine – there is just less of it. Another Round won an Oscar back in 2021. The creativity is not vanishing.
We have also seen producers shutting down and some of them even produced big international hits for streamers like Netflix. Is the payment of rights still the apple of discord on the market?
We have seen two bankruptcies in 2024 – it is not a lot. Producers are showing due diligence, and they are adjusting their companies to the times. So, we have seen layoffs and downsizing. This can potentially compromise competences and creativity. Rights are still crucial for the film and tv ecosystem.
When the big streamers entered the Danish market there was huge growth and potential for even more back until 2022 when a lot of productions were frozen, then the Viaplay crisis followed and it was not until June 2023 that Netflix signed a deal with Create Denmark, while Viaplay followed only in October this year. What more could be done to improve the relationship between such players and the producers? How important is the role of the state in this respect?
We need mutual understanding and respect for dynamics in the Danish/Scandinavian market. Legislators have already approved the cultural contribution act and the incentive scheme.
Do you expect that more companies will be forced to shut down this year? How are you helping colleagues survive in the extremely tough conditions?
I think that Danish producers have shown due diligence. But the market can be unpredictable. I hope we will not see any cases of insolvency in 2025.
