UK Digital Entertainment Sector Shows Wide Payment Disparities

The Numbers

• 86 companies analysed in the UK Digital Entertainment sector.
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 76.7/100.
• UK average PaymentCheck Score: 50.0/100.
• Digital Entertainment sector average is 26.7 points above the national average.
• Yorkshire and The Humber boasts the highest regional average: 97.1/100 (but based on a single company).
• London’s average PaymentCheck Score: 77.0/100 (based on 67 companies).
• South East’s average PaymentCheck Score: 72.2/100 (based on 7 companies).

What Stands Out

While the digital entertainment sector, on average, pays significantly better than the overall UK business environment, the range of scores reveals considerable inconsistency. The dominance of London-based companies in the data set (67 out of 86) skews the overall picture, as their performance is around the sector average.

Best Payers

1. BAUER RADIO LIMITED - 98.1/100
2. UK PROGRAMME DISTRIBUTION LIMITED - 98/100
3. HBVB - 97.3/100
4. SUMO DIGITAL LTD. - 97.1/100
5. FRONTIER DEVELOPMENTS PLC - 96.2/100

Worst Payers

1. AMAZON DIGITAL UK LIMITED - 36.2/100
2. TALKTALK TELECOM LIMITED - 39.4/100
3. TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM EUROPE LIMITED - 41.8/100
4. VIDENDUM PLC - 42.9/100
5. BUZZ GROUP LIMITED - 44.44/100

Regional Patterns

The regional data presents an unbalanced view. Yorkshire and The Humber's high average (97.1) is based on just one company, making it statistically unreliable. The South East lags behind London with an average PaymentCheck score of 72.2, which given the region's proximity to the capital and similar business profiles, warrants closer examination.

The wide spread between top and bottom payers suggests that suppliers to the digital entertainment sector should do their due diligence - if you’re experiencing late payments you can use a late payment calculator to understand how much to charge in interest.

2025: The Story

Digital Entertainment saw a modest but encouraging uplift in payment performance, with the average score climbing 1.0 points to 76.7/100 for 86 companies. The biggest headline comes from TT GAMES STUDIOS LIMITED, which dramatically improved its score by +32.9 points, now standing at an impressive 95.8/100, indicating a significant operational shift. This positive trend extended across several major studios, with UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL STUDIOS LIMITED (+26.4 to 82.5/100) and both WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT UK LIMITED (+23.2 to 88.3/100) and WARNER BROS. STUDIOS LEAVESDEN LIMITED (+16.7 to 88.6/100) also making substantial gains, suggesting an industry-wide push for better supplier relations in production.

However, not all news was good. ROCKSTAR GAMES UK LIMITED saw the largest drop, declining -10.3 points to 78.7/100, while ITV BREAKFAST LIMITED (-9.2 to 75.4/100) and ITV2 LIMITED (-6.5 to 70.9/100) also saw notable declines, suggesting some broadcasters are facing renewed payment challenges. The introduction of several Sky entities, including SKY UK LIMITED (67.8/100) and SKY IN-HOME SERVICE LIMITED (51.4/100), also introduces new, lower-scoring players to the landscape. Suppliers should be mindful of the growing performance disparity between studios and other entertainment segments.