Italian content investment fell 7.4% to €2 billion ($2.24 billion) in 2025, according to producer association APA’s annual report presented Wednesday at Rome’s MIA market. The drop was concentrated in scripted as producers waited out changes to domestic tax credits.
Incentive limbo hits planning
Italy’s right-wing government left domestic tax-credit rules in regulatory limbo, while international production rebates stayed untouched. That created exactly the kind of uncertainty that freezes production decisions.
“This situation hinders producers’ ability to plan, increases financial burdens, and shrinks profit margins,” the APA report said.
The application window has since reopened, but smaller companies have already taken the liquidity strain.
Unscripted keeps the volume up
Unscripted remains the backbone of Italian broadcasting, with more than 17,000 hours of original first-run content last year. Independent producers supplied 59% of those titles. Streamers pushed harder into unscripted as well.
- 51% growth in streaming unscripted titles
- 30% increase in total unscripted hours
- 36% growth in factual hours, with domestic adaptations doubling
Game shows also gained ground on linear networks in early evening and primetime slots.
Scripted grows locally, not internationally
Scripted original titles rose 9% to 101 shows. The increase came from 74 smaller linear-network series that are unlikely to travel. Streaming originals held flat at 27 titles, and APA describes most as local-for-local product.
Linear still delivers reach: Sandokan and La Preside averaged more than 4.6 million viewers per episode. On Netflix, The Monster of Florence opened with 9.7 million global views in its first week after its Venice premiere.
Streaming approaches the tipping point
Streaming’s share of market value reached 43% in 2025, up from 21% in 2020. APA expects streaming to overtake linear television in value in the short-to-medium term. For buyers, that means value is migrating faster than total spend—clients can follow audience attention without increasing overall budgets.
Microdramas become spend drivers
ReelShort, DramaBox, NetShort and DramaWave now sit among Italy’s top 15 entertainment apps by user spend. The first Italian original microdrama, Tutto in una notte from Fascino PGT, has 54 episodes on WittyTV and social platforms.
The practical read: factual, game shows and microdrama are the formats absorbing attention while scripted incentives stabilize. Media plans that lean into those formats can keep budgets flexible.
Source: Variety
