MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo continues in Rome, and it was the time to present the “7th Report on National Audiovisual Production,” a key tool offering a snapshot of the 2024–2025 economic and employment figures and current trends. The Italian audiovisual industry reached €16.3 billion in 2024, up 9% from the previous year, confirming an average annual growth rate of +4.6% since 2018, more than twice that of Italy’s GDP. Linear Television remains in 2024 the primary audiovisual medium, with a 52% share of the total sector. Considering the integrated area of Network Audiovisuals (TV and Online Video offers), television represents about 61% of the total, confirming the central role of traditional broadcasters also in the digital transition.
The Report also highlights how the market is entering a new phase: after years of expansion driven by demand and tax incentives, there is now a shift from a “demand-driven” to a “product-driven” model, with greater selectivity in projects and a stronger focus on the international circulation of works. In this context, public support schemes, and in particular the Tax Credit, remain essential tools to sustain demand, foster quality, and promote independent production. However, the Report stresses the need for an aid system based on rigor, efficiency, simplicity, and speed in disbursements. “The added value of our production system lies in independent companies: they ensure ownership of ideas, operational flexibility, and the ability to develop exportable projects. Investing in their financial sustainability and in clear, stable rules means strengthening the international competitiveness of Italian audiovisual production,” said Chiara Sbarigia, President of APA.
The presentation was followed by a discussion with leading industry figures on the theme of production quality, including Maria Pia Ammirati, Director of Rai Fiction; Daniele Cesarano, Director of Fiction at Mediaset; Eleonora Andreatta, Vice President for Italian Content at Netflix; Nils Hartmann, Executive Vice President at Sky Studios Italy; and Viktoria Wasilewski, Country Manager at Prime Video Italy. Maria Pia Ammirati reflected on how the notion of “quality” in audiovisual production has evolved beyond its traditional definition. “If we want to overcome the concept of well-done, we must recognize that quality today means much more than aesthetic or formal excellence,” she said. For Ammirati, quality and quantity can no longer be separated in an industry that produces at such a large scale. “Quality has to go hand in hand with quantity,” she stressed, noting that public service, in particular, carries a responsibility to maintain both. She added that this balance is what gives the system “its capacity to express itself with quality” and ensures that public service television “remains self-sustaining and relevant.”
For Daniele Cesarano, quality in television is well done. “If we stay on the idea of well done, we’re all satisfied,” he said. He acknowledged that Italian generalist television has faced growing pressure from OTT platforms, which have pushed the boundaries of language and innovation. “We’ve been quite crushed by the OTT competition,” he admitted, adding that Mediaset has chosen to focus on its “historical DNA” and its clear audience identity, particularly that of Canale 5. However, Cesarano also noted that the real challenge lies in finding screenwriters capable of capturing the sensibility and emotional tone that resonate with this audience. “It’s difficult to find authors who know how to write for us,” he said. “To understand what we want, you have to remember the DNA of Mediaset — the maximalism, that maximalist energy of emotions.” Cesarano confessed that this shortage of suitable projects has led Mediaset to make creative compromises. “For me, this is terrible to confess, but we are doing remakes,” he said with candor. “It’s a necessity, because the volume of production we want to reach is higher than what we currently manage.” Even so, he emphasized that Mediaset remains committed to storytelling that speaks directly to its audience, combining emotional depth with the accessible language that has long defined Italian commercial television.
Eleonora Andreatta emphasized that for Netflix, investing in scripted series remains central to its mission — and to its identity. “Netflix continues to invest in scripted series,” she said, “because it’s part of our DNA and of the kind of business we are. We believe that a good story can come from anywhere in the world.” Andreatta pointed out that recent Italian titles not only performed strongly at home but also “created conversation” internationally, many reaching the platform’s global Top 10. “Some stayed for several weeks, some made it to the first place,” she added, noting that this success reflects both creative ambition and a deep connection to local culture. “For us, everything we produce, we produce for the Italian people,” Andreatta explained. “The first point of reference is to create content that’s strongly rooted in our culture.” Yet, she continued, Netflix’s idea of quality is not limited to aesthetics. “Quality for us declines into three elements: first, a strong connection to Italian identity, but told through contemporary relevance; second, the use of talent, both in front of and behind the camera; and third, visual quality — which sometimes means a high investment, and sometimes simply doing the right thing.”
Nils Hartmann opened his remarks by agreeing with Daniele Cesarano’s perspective on quality, noting that the concept itself is “a slippery one.” “We could discuss for hours about what well-done means,” he said, emphasizing that Italian producers and talent deliver exceptional creativity and originality, often on much tighter budgets than those in countries like Germany. For Hartmann, measuring quality today goes beyond traditional parameters. “How do you measure the success of a series? This has changed completely,” he explained. “While quality is subjective, we now look at other indicators — the fan score, the completion rate, and the talkability.” Hartmann also reflected on how the Italian television industry experienced a period of overproduction in recent years. “There was a big increase — we went from producing one series a year to several at once.” Today, he added, the challenge is twofold: maintaining production quality while ensuring effective communication about what Sky produces. Finally, he raised an emerging question: the role of artificial intelligence. “AI is on the rise, and we have to ask ourselves how this will impact quality,” he said. “My feeling is that, at least at the beginning, it won’t necessarily raise quality — but it’s a theme we have to face.”
Viktoria Wasilewski also emphasized the complexity of defining quality, noting that for Amazon, the key lies in understanding the audience. “What helps us at Amazon is a deep look and listening to the public,” she explained. “It all starts there — with the decisions we make, the processes we have, from acquisition to content production. This look at the public is fundamental.” For Wasilewski, that audience-focused approach drives experimentation across genres. “This is what helps us to experiment, both with scripted and unscripted comedies, or with high-quality productions like ‘Hotel Costiera’,” she said. “We always try to optimize our resources to create products that can work locally but also have international ambition.” Prime Video’s strategy, she added, also involves adapting successful international formats for local audiences. “For example, ‘The Traitors’ is a format that’s very well known in many countries, and we brought it to Italy hoping to find a strong local audience,” she said. Summing up her approach, Wasilewski remarked: “Our recipe is quite simple — it starts from deep listening to the audience, always looking for innovation, and with the ambition to make them travel and discover new places, even beyond Italy.”
HOW TO CREATE A GLOBAL HIT STORY
A key panel on the second day explored how a successful series is created today. Leo Becker, Head of International Originals and Co-Productions at Federation Studios (France); Brendan Fitzgerald, CEO Secuoya Studios (Spain); Larry Grimaldi, Creative Affairs and Original Movies, Senior Vice President of Fox Entertainment Studios (US); Christian Rank, Managing Director & Producer at Miso Film (Sweden); Steve Matthews, Head of Scripted, Creative at Banijay (UK); and Tesha Crawford, EVP Head of International Television at New Regency (UK) shared their experiences about developing and packaging content for the international market.
Steve Matthews highlighted the balance between local authenticity and global appeal. “Don’t mess with the writers. Let writers do what they want to do,” he emphasized, noting that international projects require compelling genre, twists, and unique hooks, but the essence should remain true to local roots. Tesha Crawford added: “If you're really clear about what you're trying to say, that also really resonates, and you should definitely keep it authentic to the characters and the setting of the story.” Brendan Fitzgerald explained that stories that succeed internationally are either “very small stories that we’ve all experienced, grandfather, grandchild,” or “enormous stories,” like Game of Thrones, while stories in between often fail to resonate. Larry Grimaldi highlighted the importance of the creator’s singular vision: “You want to believe, this is the only person that could write this story.” Leo Becker emphasized that “if you don’t develop it right and if you don’t package it right from the beginning, it’s not going to work,” underlining the need for proper story development and packaging.
STORIES FROM THE NORTH
In a context where the four Nordic broadcasters — NRK, YLE, SVT, and DR — recorded an impressive +24%, while worldwide commissioning fell by -15%, their Heads of Drama gathered for the first time to share editorial visions, challenges, and strategies that make Nordic television globally renowned.
Henriette Marienlund, DR Denmark, highlighted the paradox of public funding: “We are very fortunate because we have money, the economy up front, because we are paid by the taxpayers… But at the same time we are challenged because especially the young audience, they don't go to our platforms anymore… They will not. And that’s a problem.” Marianne Furevold-Boland, NRK Norway, emphasized the opportunities from a cultivated audience: “Our audience has become so cultivated… That means we need to make sure that we pick and we choose and we develop those stories that our audience wants… We need to create thought-provoking shows that say something about us as human beings, but they also need to be entertaining… It is more difficult to be brave now than it was a few years ago during the golden days.” Johanna Gårdare, SVT Sweden, noted that “we have a shrinking market. We have fewer commissioners commissioning fewer series… We need more players on the market, actually. We need more actors.”
Jarmo Lampela, YLE Finland, added that the market has not only shrunk but also “frozen” in recent years. “The commissioning of the streamers went down heavily in the Nordics. In Finland, also the commercial channels kind of froze their commissioning… even though YLE has been stable, we cannot feed the whole industry. The cultural climate has been quite heavy because of the savings the government needs to do.” Despite these challenges, YLE plans to gradually increase commissioning in the coming years: “The message of the parliament is you'll need to raise the commission in four years with almost forty million euros… Prices are still going up. So if you have the same amount of money, then you can commission this. So it’s more and more seeking partners for co-production access.”