SVOD platforms increased spending with fewer fees in the 2023/24 financial year, according to data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
ACMA’s 5th SVOD Australian Content Report features voluntary reporting from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+ and Stan, with 55 commissioned or co-commissioned Australian programs in 2023/24 and 2 It was revealed that the company spent $25.2 million. Last fiscal year, the company spent $219.2 million on 67 titles.
This trend is reflected in acquisition figures, with 1,472 Australian programs acquired by SVOD providers in 2023/24, down from 1,516 the previous year.
A further $205 million will be spent on acquiring, producing or investing in 32 programs that meet at least one requirement to be classified as Australian under the Broadcast Services (Australian Content and Children’s Television) Standards 2020. I was healed. In 2022/23, $452.9 million was spent. Appeared in 39 Australian related programs.
By genre, sports spending saw the biggest year-on-year increase, rising from $70.9 million in 2022/23 to $103.3 million in 2023/24, followed by drama ($195.3 million to $200 million). (increased to $1.6 million) and light entertainment (increased). (from $20.1 million to $21.3 million).
In contrast, spending on children’s drama, non-children’s drama, and documentary programming fell to its lowest level since reporting began in 2019-2020.
Without regulation or investment, children’s content is not a priority for commercial platforms, including SVOD.
ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland
The children’s and documentary sector has been calling for further regulatory support over the past 12 months as investment levels from traditional platforms decline.
The bill is reportedly hitting a stumbling block on the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after the federal government missed a July 1 deadline for content obligations on streaming services, with no answers forthcoming. We are now approaching the year 2025.
ACTF chief executive Jenny Buckland said without strong policy intervention child audiences would be left behind.
“ACMA’s data confirms what we have been saying for years: children’s content is not a priority for commercial platforms, including SVOD, without investment as well as regulation,” she said.
Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Diener said the ACMA report “reflects a series of policy failures suffered by the screen industry over many years and calls for investment in Australia’s screen culture.” We took things a step further by believing that Rebel paints an increasingly bleak picture of the growing dominance of the world. by Global Streaming Service.”
“In effect, it is spending on sports in the Olympic year that masks the overall decline and masks the dismal failure of government policy behind it,” he said.
“What is important about this data is that the number of program commissions reported in 2023-24 is down 18 percent compared to 2022-23.
“These delayed figures, released one minute before midnight, have not been verified and that up to half of the amounts reported come from outside sources, including producers, distributors and government contributions. continues to inaccurately portray the actual investment made by SVOD services.”
A federal government spokesperson said in a statement that Australia had “great talent” and the government “wanted to make sure people had access to Australian scripted drama, documentaries and children’s stories across a variety of platforms”.
“Through our National Cultural Policy – Revive, we are working to introduce Australian screen content requirements for streaming platforms to ensure continued access to local stories and content. As we work to implement it, we are determined to get the consultation right and are taking the time to listen to views on how best to support continued investment in and production of Australian stories. ”
Read the full report here.
