The Italian audiovisual sector generated €16.8 billion in 2025, a 3.1% increase, even as the local content economy saw its first decline in investment since 2018, according to new numbers released at MIA in Rome.
Online video contributed to the overall gain in the audiovisual sector’s revenues, with free services up 15% and paid services up 10.3%. Employment in the sector rose by 3.3%.
Meanwhile, investment in audiovisual production for cinema, television and VOD dropped to €2 billion, a 7.4% reduction. Scripted was hardest hit, down by €122 million to €740 million, a 5.5% decrease. The drop is attributed to uncertainty surrounding the public funding framework, according to the 8th Report on National Audiovisual Production by APA, presented by the organization’s president, Chiara Sbarigia, at Palazzo Barberini as part of MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo).
Linear TV, as expected, took a hit across free and pay, with online video now accounting for 43% of the market. Unscripted content remains the backbone of broadcasters’ schedules, with 17,000 hours of original first-run programming. Independent production accounts for 59% of titles.
Streaming platforms increased their content by 51%, with total hours up 30%, led by factual. The number of factual titles adapted from international formats has doubled. Game shows are gaining ground on general-interest channels, particularly in access prime time and prime time.
“Established titles produced by independent companies continue to deliver value to broadcasters,” said Sbarigia. “For example, Stasera tutto è possibile (Endemol Shine) generates an additional 11.8 percentage points in prime-time audience share for Rai2.”
Scripted grew to 101 titles, a 9% gain, led by linear (74) titles.
“Original Italian fiction also continues to showcase a diversity of locations and regions, thanks in part to the excellent work of our Film Commissions, in every respect, not least in promoting tourism,” said Sbarigia. “In the face of AI and the spread of low-cost synthetic content, ‘Made by Humans’ is becoming a genuine premium of authenticity. Human creative and artistic contributions are set to become increasingly valuable, particularly in productions with strong editorial oversight.”
The report also highlights gains in microdrama in Italy. “We wanted to analyze the phenomenon of vertical storytelling, which has reached a global market worth €14 billion in a very short time,” Sbarigia explained. ReelShort, DramaBox, NetShort and DramaWave are already among the country’s top 15 entertainment apps by consumer spending.
