The Irish Factual & Documentary Screen Sectors - A Review of the Industry’s Structure, Dynamics and Workforce [2012-2022] Revised Edition

In recent studies and strategy documents, the screen industry is often identified as part of the broader Creative and Cultural Sector (CCS), a category which highlights the economic and social contribution of cultural and artistic pursuits. At the European level, the CCS rivals the ICT and Accommodation and Food services sectors with each at 4% of EU GDP and the CCS at 4.2% (European Investment Fund 2021, p. 2). Closer to home, The National Skills Strategy (2025) recognises the Creative Industries as an important contributor to the Irish economy with “untapped potential” (p. 27). Several reports and government policy initiatives have sought to provide a shape and direction to this sector in Ireland and how best to ensure its success in a rapidly shifting and increasingly fragmented market.(1) Technology is driving some of that change. Better infrastructure, broadband speeds, and lower data rates give people more options to find content, driving an increase in online media consumption. Social media is now the most used source for news among adults in the 18-34 age group,(2) while AI demands us to re-evaluate our assumptions and work practices. That said, content sits at the centre of the entire media value chain and people’s habits do not change as quickly or as radically as we may think. People in Ireland visit the cinema more than any other Europeans, on average 3.3 times per year (UNIC 2023, p. 19). They watch on average three hours of television and listen to three and half hours of radio every day.(3) The future is not about the rapid demise of cinema and television in favour of an on-demand world, but rather about a complex and diverse media landscape. Irish people still want to watch, listen and read high-quality media content that is relevant to their lives and needs.(4) A significant part of what people consume is Factual in nature – Documentary programmes and films – and by reviewing the current state and recent evolutions of this sector, our study provides evidence of its continued social, cultural and economic importance. The genesis of this work emerged out of conversations between the authors, Screen Producers Ireland and the Broadcast Authority of Ireland (now Coimisúin na Meán) about the lack of information available about documentaries and Factual content production in Ireland, and its role within the broader audiovisual sector. Compared to Drama and Animation, Documentary is an audiovisual category harder to define. Factual programmes are sometimes conflated with Unscripted, talk shows and entertainment productions,(5) which creates obstacles in obtaining accurate data on that particular sector. Definitions may vary depending on contexts – what is important, however, is the intent of this study. For the first time in an Irish context, we attempt to define the remits and dynamics of the Factual and Documentary sector and its importance both culturally and economically, however modestly that has been achieved.