ABC doing ‘all the heavy lifting' as commercial networks abandon local kids' TV drama
Australian commercial television networks have all but given up on creating local children's drama, advocates say, with just $1.75m spent on the genre across all commercial free-to-air networks in 2023-2024.
But that's $1.75m more than the previous year, according to the latest report card by the communications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma).
In 2022-2023, not a single children's television drama was made by any commercial network.
The chief executive of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Jenny Buckland, said fallout from the previous Coalition government's 2020 decision to scrap quotas for children's free-to-air television was continuing on a downward spiral, and the current Labor government showed no inclination to reverse the trend.
'They're focusing on where the young audience has gone, and that audience has gone to the streaming platforms,' she said. 'It's being left up to the ABC to do all the heavy lifting.'
Legislation to impose local content quotas on streaming platforms, a promise Labor took to the 2022 federal election with a July 2024 deadline, stalled last year over uncertainties over how it could be quarantined from Australia's free trade agreement with the US.
The reelection of US President Donald Trump and subsequent confusion over his threats to slap tariffs on overseas film and television productions has turned a stalemate into chaos.
An analysis by Screen Producers Australia (SPA) found that since 2018-2019, commercial network spend on children's drama had fallen 98%, while adult drama had dropped from $96m to to $49m over the same period.
'This is not an isolated failure, but rather, one part of a broader erosion of culturally significant content investment,' SPA's chief executive, Matthew Deaner, said in a statement.
'Drama is just one of several genres where commercial funding has been allowed to wither, with no other part of the system stepping in to fill the void.
'Both adult and kids' drama remain at unsustainably low levels. We cannot expect Australian stories to thrive without real structural change.'
Deaner said legislation mandating revenue-linked local content investment obligations on subscription video on demand (SVOD) platforms was urgently needed.
He also called on the Australian Government to increase ABC and SBS funding, specifically for independently produced children's scripted content.
'It's time to regulate all streaming services and reinvest in our national broadcasters,' Deaner's statement said.
'That's the only way to restore balance in a market that's now skewed almost entirely toward live sport and low-cost formats.'
The Guardian sought comment from the communications minister Anika Wells, the arts minister, Tony Burke, and the peak body that represents Australia's commercial networks, Free TV Australia.
A statement on the association's website responding to the Acma report said commercial television broadcasters had invested $1.625b in 2023-2024, including $408m on news services, demonstrating the industry's commitment to Australian journalism.
'While global streamers sell stories, we tell the stories that matter to Australians — and all for free,' the statement said.
'Australians value Australian television and the vital role it plays in our democracy, our culture, and our everyday lives. To keep delivering, we look forward to continuing to work with Government on policy settings that support a sustainable and vibrant industry.'
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