London is third behind Los Angeles and New York when it comes to the production, editing and consumption of films, TV and music, according to Savills.
The agent’s first Media Cities ranking found the global shift to streaming, accelerated by Covid-19, has made media industries increasingly tech-reliant, and boosted demand for content produced from previously more niche locations.
Atlanta, Beijing, Mumbai and Paris are just outside the top three, but new challenger locations are also quickly establishing themselves, as audiences embrace content not produced in their native languages and the industry becomes increasingly globalised and accessible through the use of technology.
It highlighted Lagos, Buenos Aires and Dublin, ranked 20th, 17th and 16th respectively, as some of the cities likely to rise up the ranks in the coming years.
When it comes to tax incentives from governments, which do much to attract productions to a city, Melbourne offers the highest rebates (40%), while Dublin offers 32%, followed by Paris and New York (30%) and Vancouver (28%).
Savills said the impact of incentives offered by governments “on raising a city’s profile and a starting a conversation are unquestionable”, although their effectiveness in creating local jobs was still being debated.
Sophie Chick, director for Savills World Research, said: “The industry was already changing before the pandemic but rocketing demand for content this year and the increasing importance of technology are both having profound effects on how and where media is produced.
“Traditional core locations still lead both the industry and our rankings, but looking ahead, a more globalised media industry will provide both a wealth of new geographies from which to build a media sector, increase content for consumers and a resilience against future uncertainty.”
See also: Will film studios be the next blockbuster for investors?
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