The ad-funded programming market is on track to generate around £15m for indies this year, according to research from branded entertainment firm Krempelwood.
Coca Cola, Flora, Guinness, Sage and Seat are among the biggest investors to date, spending an estimated total of more than £3.5m on shows including The Krypton Factor, Wayne Rooney Street Striker and Family Food Fight.
Leading indies such as Endemol, Shine, Fremantle and Leopard have also invested in creating dedicated AFP roles as the funding method establishes itself as a vital area for all commercial broadcasters.
The average amount of advertiser spend in an AFP is currently pegged at around £50,000 but this is rapidly increasing to become a more significant part of the funding of a series.
Kremplewood founding partner Mark Wood said the conditions were right from all parties for the format to continue to grow.
“We’ve seen exponential growth due to broadcasters having less money to spend, advertisers needing to engage with TV audiences in a different way and relaxation of product placement rules,” said Wood.
“Brands want to look beyond just sponsorship deals and AFP gives them many more rights which allows them to do more with a show and make them more immersive.”
After several years of minimal growth, Wood estimated the space would jump by around 50% next year to around £22m.
He added that investing in AFPs was becoming more viable to brands than buying traditional ads because they were using the content generated in a variety of ways such as online and in-store.
The shows benefiting from AFP are also diversifying, from music and sport to a variety of cooking, entertainment and fact-ent genres.
