“Today’s ACMA report reflects the series of policy failures suffered upon the screen industry over a number of years and paints an increasingly bleak picture of the level of investment in Australian screen culture increasingly dominated by global streaming services, which year on year reflect a decrease in the number of programs being made in Australia; a collapse in investment in children’s and documentary content; and masking of actual investment due to increasingly murky reporting. In real terms, it is expenditure on sport in an Olympic year that hides the overall decline and masks the abject failure of government policy that sits behind this,”
– said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
“Critical in the data is a decline in reported program commissioning by 18% in 2023-24 (55) compared to 2022-23 (67).
“These delayed figures issued a minute before midnight, are unverified and continue to inaccurately portray the actual investment made by SVOD services given that up to half of the money being reported comes from external sources including producer, distributor and Government contributions.
“What cannot be masked here, however, is that expenditure on children’s drama, children’s non-drama and documentary programs decreased to their lowest levels since reporting started in 2019–20.
“The Australian screen stories are not getting a fair go from streaming platforms. Until the Australian Government puts some local content rules in place, it will continue to be all take and no give for Australian audiences and jobs.
“This issue has been on the Government’s ‘to-do’ list for the past two years, and while we wait and the industry declines, thousands of Australians lose their jobs and thousands of Australian children grow up on a diet of primarily American culture, not their own,” said Mr Deaner.
Link to ACMA Spending by subscription video on demand providers: 2023-24 financial year report HERE.
Aaron Ryan has had extensive experience working in the media for outlets such as The Kalgoorlie Miner, ebroadcast, Mumbrella and TV Blackbox. He was the owner and editor of TV Central over a decade ago and has now relaunched the site. Aaron will celebrate 25 years in the industry in 2023. He has worked in other professional fields such as the Department of Justice, Education Department and Youthcare.
