The Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent i Ramió, announced on Tuesday that the Catalan audiovisual sector grew by 6.9% in 2023. This is one of the main conclusions of a study by the agency for business competitiveness of the Ministry of Business and Labour (ACCIÓ), prepared in collaboration with the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster and published on the occasion of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world's leading audiovisual integration event, which is taking place this week at Fira de Barcelona.

According to the study, which can be consulted at this link, the Catalan audiovisual sector is made up of 4,000 companies (8.3% more than in 2022) with an aggregate turnover of 7.56 billion euros (6.9% increase). With regard to employment, the report concludes that this sector in Catalonia is currently made up of more than 37,000 professionals, 14.1% more than the previous year. The vast majority of companies are SMEs (98.6% of the total) and 4.3% are subsidiaries of foreign companies.

The Minister for Business and Labour stated that "the show helps to consolidate the international vision of Catalonia and Barcelona as a hub for the technology sector". In this regard, Minister Torrent stressed that "the ISE is an important springboard for the country's projection and for generating new business opportunities for Catalan companies, strengthening the local audiovisual ecosystem and bringing it into contact with foreign companies and investors". Roger Torrent highlighted"the Government's commitment to promoting a powerful, strong, growing sector full of its own talent".

For his part, the managing director of Integrated Systems Europe, Mike Blackman, highlighted the "support and commitment of the Government and ACCIÓ to having a business ecosystem that encourages the growth of the sector and the arrival of new companies". Blackman said that "Catalonia is an example of creativity and innovation, and this helps the ISE to grow and become rooted in the territory".

In terms of business volume, the largest Catalan companies are those dedicated to audiovisual development and production (producers of film and television, video games, immersive experiences, production and post-production services and sets), with 48.3% of the total turnover for the sector and accounting for 40.5% of the number of companies. Next come those specialising in advertising and communication (which generate 41.6% of the sector's turnover and account for 53% of the number of companies) and those specialising in distribution, radio and television (which account for 10.1% of turnover and 6.2% of companies in the sector).