Troy Studios looks to bag more Netflix shows with expansion

Troy Studios in Limerick has announced plans to bag further major television or film productions from several of the world's major content-streaming companies, according to its chief executive, Siún Ni Raghallaigh.

Management stated Monday it had sought tendering to expand its sound stage space from 6,502sq m (70,000sq ft) to 9,290sq m (100,000sq ft), which will position Troy as “the largest international standard film and TV studio in Ireland” and one of the biggest in Europe.

Big budget US Syfy hit television series Nightflyers, produced by NBC Universal, and aired on Netflix, recently completed a nine-month stay at Troy, resulting in 320 direct jobs and a €53 million boost to the local economy.

Ms Ni Raghallaigh confirmed Troy's representatives are "regularly meeting with all the major studios streamers such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV" to generate further productions in Limerick.

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Already, Troy, which has a 32,516sq m (350,000sq ft) creative hub in Castletroy, has received €6.5 million in private investment to deliver on its first major contract with NBC Universal.

The investment for the proposed expansion is “commercial sensitive”, Ms Ni Raghallaigh said.

Potential

“It it is a considerable investment, and what were going to get from that is doubling the potential for inward investment in productions, and a doubling of jobs potential,” she said.

According to Ms Ni Raghallaigh, the expansion of its sound stage facilities will allow Troy to sit down with the big guns in the industry.

"Having a 100,000sq ft stage screen space is a very significant place to be in this market. We would be in a position to have two Nightflyers type projects running on at the same time, or a larger project running," she said.

Troy, she added, has “representation in Los Angeles, and in London, and we are always tracking all the projects that are happening globally, and we would regularly meet with all the major studios streamers such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV.”

These context streamers are “aware of who we are”.

“And, of course, space is in demand . . . and now that we have more space coming on stream, the conversation has got more interesting.”

The “big business”, Ms Ni Raghallaigh said, is in “TV, because when you have the new platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, they are concentrated on content that is going to bring people into their subscription-based platforms”.

Compete

There is, she said, “a demand for that type of immediate satisfaction [from the audience] to see the hole series in one go”.

“The days of [TV] scheduling are gone, and broadcasters are scrambling to compete with us as well now.”

Ms Ni Raghallaigh said having another major production like Nightflyers, in a newly expanded Troy, would likely generate a €100 million boost to the local economy, as well as a further 640 direct jobs.

"When Nightflyers were here they employed 320 people directly. With this new space we would see that doubling in a given period."

"The investment that came in from Nightflyers was in the region of €50 million for the area, and again, you can do the maths, if you double the production base, you are going to double that annually, that incoming foreign direct investment."