Another set of out of date tokenistic noodle news updates that Canberra will have to produce now replacing near fresh/live network updates.
A million places to get live fresh national news.
Very places to get local news
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Subscription TV Australian drama expenditure results, 2022â23
More than $18 million was spent by subscription TV licensees and channel providers on new Australian drama programs in the 2022â23 financial year, according to new data from the ACMA.
The subscription televisionâs new eligible drama expenditure (NEDE) compliance results also showed all seven subscription TV licensees and channel providers met the minimum requirements of the scheme.
The total of $18.42 million spent on new Australian drama programs was consistent with the 2021â22 financial year, when $18.72 million was spent.
Under the NEDE rules, subscription TV licensees that broadcast drama channels are required to invest 10 per cent of their total expenditure in new Australian drama programs. This requirement also applies to channel providers, being companies that provide drama channels to subscription TV licensees in Australia.
The rules provide for the expenditure obligation to be incurred in one year and acquitted in either the same financial year or the following year. This means that any shortfalls and surpluses from the previous year can be carried across the following financial year.
In each financial year, licensees and channel providers must acquit their previous financial yearâs shortfall for each drama channel, in order to be compliant with the rules.
For the 2022â23 financial year, subscription TV licensees and channel providers reported amounts totalling $17 million in shortfalls to be made up in 2023â24.
Spending and targets: 2022 to 2023
In aggregate, the subscription TV industry spent $18.42 million on Australian drama programs in the 2022â23 financial year.
Spending on eligible shows included:
- Dramas â High Country, Love Me (Series 2) and Strife
- Feature films â Elvis and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse
- Childrenâs drama â Bluey (Series 3).
These tables provide total industry results aggregated across licensees, channel providers and pass-through providers.
Table 1: Compliance snapshot
| 2018â19 | 2019â20 | 2020â21 | 2021â22 | 2022â23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | |
| Total spending on new Australian drama in financial year | 24.67 | 13.74 | 8.75 | 18.72 | 18.42 |
| Were all minimum spending requirements met? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Table 2: Compliance analysis
| 2018â19 | 2019â20* | 2020â21* | 2021â22 | 2022â23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | ($m) | |
| Total new drama spending target | 26.36 | 13.56 | 11.65 | 29.08 | 27.79 |
| Total amount of current year spending on new Australian drama plus total previous year carry-forward (as nominated toward target) | 26.29 | 13.54 | 11.63 | 20.48 | 10.80 |
| Total shortfall to be made up next financial year | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 8.60 | 17.00 |
*Results reflect the ACMAâs temporary relief due to COVID-19 impacts on content productions and supply chains.
All licensees met their minimum spending requirements in 2022â23.
There was an additional expenditure shortfall from 2022â23 of $17 million, which is required to be made up across the industry in 2023â24 to stay within minimum spending rules.
Drama channels and providers: July 2022 to June 2023
Drama channels: BBC First, BBC UKTV, Boomerang, Box Sets, Cartoon Network, CBeebies, Comedy Central, Fox Classics, Fox Comedy, Fox Crime, Fox Funny (broadcast ceased 1 March 2023), Fox One, Fox SciFi, Fox Showcase, Fox Sleuth, Fox 8, Nickelodeon, Universal TV, DreamWorks, PBS Kids and the Foxtel Movies** service (comprising the channels Ultra, Premiere, Hits, Family, Kids, Action, Comedy, Thriller, Romance, Drama, Greats, and Lifetime Movie Network).
Foxtel Movies comprise 12 movie channels but Foxtel reports this as a single drama service.
Subscription TV licensees: Foxtel, Telstra, and Fetch TV.
Channel providers: BBC Studios Australia, Foxtel Management, NBC Universal International Networks Australia, and VIMN Australia.
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The lack of quality and substance of the noodle updates doesnât make it worth it.
Original source of news better presented elsewhere.
No one in their right mind could say theyâre better informed by a low quality noodle update.
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Thankyou, my point exactly!!!
Unless stations were mandated to produce programming within the sub-market of transmission and resourced adequately, then these noodle updates are a complete waste of time. And worse, they usually replace more up-to-date network updates which are of more immediate news relevance than content pre-recorded many hours beforehand, and in some cases the day before or Friday before the Monday.
I disagree - you can get live up to the minute national news from many places.
Yes, the updates should be much better
But because they are not good doesnât mean they shouldnât exist at all. Local news In smaller markets does not need to be up to the minute live
When you get the stories at 6pm from overseas- that news is up
To 15 hours old
Totally agree. Licencees should be required to produce a minimum amount of production within that local market aired somewhere between, say 4pm to 11.30pm.
If networks get a little creative, it doesnât necessarily have to be straight news. It could be a magazine program, a cooking show, travel, local sport, knitting, something, anything really.
You could even extend it to scripted or non-scripted drama. If a network films Iâm A Celebrity or Survivor or a mini-series in regional market that should count too.
if a capital city network and external production company records within a regional area then why should the local broadcaster which had no input into the production but just happens to relay it get credited for it?
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Sorry, I wasnât clearer. I mean if the network that owns the local licence produces a show thereâŚ
So if the Nine Network produces a show in the Taree for the network, their local O&O NBN affiliate would get the points from that. Ditto is Seven produces something in Mildura.
Obviously Ten producing something in an area where they donât own the affiliate would net nothingâŚ
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I believe that that shows can get credit if they are made specifically for the regional market, even if they arenât made in the market.
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These noodle updates wreak of being a chore, forced to serve this slop up by the affected broadcasters at absolute below minimum cost. The minute local content is no longer mandated, what tokenistic content is made remotely for some markets will be gone in a flash.
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Totally agree. Theyâre crap and tokenistic. No vision no innovation.
But they do exist and you can turn on the TV and get local news and info. With local newspapers dying and local news websites almost non existent in Australia
Thatâs somethingâŚ:
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This falls very much at the feet of regional media proprietors who have, by and large, pushed their costs to operate down to levels that make it difficult to sustain consistent quality local services, while at the same time pushing for rules that allow them to squeeze it down even further. Covid did some fairly significant damage too - what was a necessity to survive in stripping back services/offerings has either become permanent or has seen levels of service not return to their pre-covid level.
Meanwhile, viewer/reader/listener numbers drop making it even harder to get decent financial performance ending in a cycle that is akin to circling the drain. Not to mention theyâre rapidly losing the trust of consumers as well.
Canât help but feel the situation is approaching being terminal - the damage is too severe and I canât see how you can realistically turn it around from here. Allowing the industry to effectively dictate the terms under which they operate ends up in outcomes that only benefit one group.
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canada is following a similar path to AU - although in canada they still have TV markets the size of tasmania with 3 hour local morning shows and local news at 5, 6 and 11 - so they do better than us.
If affiliates could kep 100% of ad revenue (WIN, SCA) booked in local news - and joined with local radio / newspapers to run local newsrooms - it could start to at least look like a break even situation
but there is no one with vision in Australia
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At the risk of it being a bit chicken and egg, returning 100% of revenue in local timeslots isnât going to return a great amount in most (if not all) markets - an improving local presence might see that change but it would be a long runway to success. Doesnât help that the regional ad market tends to be quite fickle either.
30+ years of systemic damage would need to be overcome to return viewers (and their trust) - while the regulatory framework is in the state that itâs in, I donât think there is any regional media company out there willing to take the risk, especially with minimal chance of a return.
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My preference would just be creating a pile of cash.
Regional broadcasters and big streaming platforms should be able to pick between paying into the pile and not having to meet local content requirements, or meeting far stricter local content rules, and getting local content funded by the pile.
If all the broadcasters choose to pay instead of meet the local content rules, the ABC would then have to make that local content, but get the funding pile.
So basically the âPINGâ concept, but with requirements of what gets created in return, rather than just paying in without any confirmed returns.
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Similar to NZ On-Air maybe the solution?
Can already hear moans and groans from ABC if that were to occur? That being taking away ABC independence as to what is and is not funded out of their hands to a body which is appointed by the government of the day.
Would Screen Australia be included, thereby losing their independence as well on what to fund?
Trouble is, there is little in the way of local newspaper media in many markets for these noodle updates to source news copy from now. Unless meaningful resources were put into the production of market based local production, as in a locally based newsroom and production centre that can chase up and produce content, then these mandated local content quota rules are meaningless. Having someone hundreds of kilometers away Googling local news content which is mostly of no immediate news value for a remote market read from a centralised production hub is pure insult to the local viewing audience.