The turnover of the Catalan audiovisual sector grows by 14%

The report The Audiovisual Sector in Catalonia, prepared by ACCIÓ in collaboration with the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster, was presented this Monday, January 27, at a conference attended by the main companies in the sector and with the participation of the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ, Jaume Baró Torres, the president of the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster, Miquel Rutllant, and the general manager of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), Mike Blackman.

The audiovisual sector in Catalonia has increased its turnover by 14% in the last year, reaching €8.636 billion, equivalent to 3% of GDP. Overall, the sector encompasses 4,161 companies, 4% more than a year ago, and employs 41,866 people (a 13% increase).

According to Jaume Baró, “the audiovisual sector in Catalonia is highly strategic and a priority.” “Catalonia is a leading player in this field due to its economic potential, its first-class ecosystem, and its position as a hub for generating and attracting talent.” In this sense, he concluded, “if we have talent, new startups emerge that contribute innovative technologies, and established companies grow; it means the sector is healthy.”

According to Miquel Rutllant, “We are at a strategic moment for the Catalan audiovisual sector. Projects like the Tres Xemeneies will mark the future of our industry, turning it into an international benchmark. In Catalonia, we are very strong in audiovisual technology and talent. A very powerful audiovisual sector in film and television that includes new formats such as immersive experiences and video games, formats that are precisely characterized by their strong technological component. And Catalunya Media City must be the infrastructure that hosts cutting-edge international audiovisual technology sets. And all this requires collaboration between the public and private sectors.”

With just one week to go until ISE, the world’s largest audiovisual and integrated systems trade show, taking place from February 4th to 7th, ISE General Manager Mike Blackman stated that “Barcelona offered us sufficient space to grow, with the accessibility and ecosystem necessary to continue doing so now and in the future.” Along these lines, “with the expansion of the Gran Via Trade Fair, we have even more room to grow and project the future of ISE in Catalonia.”

In Catalonia, the report’s data speaks of a mature sector in which 62% of companies have been in business for more than 10 years. Furthermore, these companies, with more than a decade of experience, employ 81% of the sector’s workers. It also boasts a growing startup ecosystem, which has more than doubled in the last five years to 335 emerging companies. This sector is highly concentrated around Barcelona. In fact, the province of Barcelona is home to 87% of the sector’s companies, and more than half are located in the Catalan capital (56%).

Within the sector’s value chain, audiovisual development and production account for more than half of total revenue in Catalonia (51%), compared to brand promotion, i.e., the communication and advertising of productions (36%) and distribution by channel, including offline and online distribution and exhibition spaces (13%).

The study also highlights the first-class ecosystem of the audiovisual sector in Catalonia. Specifically, it refers to projects such as Catalunya Media City, which will be located in the 3 chimneys area of ​​Sant Adrià del Besòs, or notable infrastructures such as the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya in Terrassa. It also highlights the importance of entities such as the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster and the up to 18 university centers that provide training in audiovisual communication.

ISE contributes to making Catalonia one of the main venues for the audiovisual sector

One of the factors contributing to making Catalonia one of the world’s leading venues for audiovisual production is its status as the host of the main trade fair in this field, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). According to the study, this trade fair has generated a dynamic effect that has accelerated the growth and reactivation of the sector after the COVID-19 pandemic (its first edition in Barcelona was in 2021).

In this sense, the study indicates that ISE’s presence has boosted the sector’s economic performance. On the one hand, the number of companies has grown by 15% between 2021 and 2024. On the other hand, audiovisual companies that were already established in Catalonia prior to this event’s hosting have seen their turnover grow by 30% between 2021 and 2023, thanks in part to this.