{"id":438249,"date":"2026-05-21T11:17:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/438249\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:17:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:17:20","slug":"costs-are-up-but-abc-still-a-driving-force-to-creative-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/438249\/","title":{"rendered":"Costs are up, but ABC still a driving force to creative sector."},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tOver a 3 year period ABC added $772m in value to the Australian economy and creative sector, railing against rising costs to support storytelling and social impact.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

ABC commissioned screen productions generated an additional $772 million in value for the Australian economy, a\u00a0new Deloitte Access Economics report has found.<\/p>\n

Between 2022 and 2025 financial years, commissioned titles across Drama, Childrens, Entertainment and Documentaries supported more than 7,700 full\u2011time equivalent jobs.<\/p>\n

The Lights, Camera, Action: The Economic and Social Contribution of ABC commissioned Screen Productions highlights the role the ABC plays in sustaining Australia\u2019s screen sector.<\/p>\n

Between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2025, the ABC supported 315 screen productions, delivering more than 1,526 hours of Australian content.<\/p>\n

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ABC Director Screen Jennifer Collins said, \u201cWhat\u2019s exciting with the Deloitte Report is that it reinforces the value of the ABC and public broadcasting. It quantifies what our economic contribution is, our social contribution, what our value is to the screen industry, the Australian community and audiences. It gives us that very broad view of why the ABC is so important and having that consistency of commissioning is safeguarding the industry, but has direct and indirect benefits for the industry and the creative industries as a whole<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a real decline in investment in the last couple of years, particularly around genres like Drama and Children\u2019s, (this illustrates) how important it is for the ABC to be able to step up where others in the market really are not supporting those creative producers and productions. In 2023 \u2013 2024 financial year, ABC commissioned $43.9 million in Drama, $20.3 million in Children\u2019s, and $42.6 million in Documentaries and Factual. That\u2019s a good illustration of how critical the ABC is commissioning is in terms of giving certainty and consistency to the creative industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Measured against a previous report from 2017-18 to 2019-20, the number of commissioned titles and hours has declined, as well as the number of supported roles, while costs have risen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that the cost of production has gone up substantially.\u00a0 We\u2019re looking at an industry now with multiple global streamers in the market and international shows coming into the market to be made. Rates have gone up and the cost of production has increased. So, we are committed to spending our budget in the same way that we have, year on year. We\u2019re not reducing any of our genres, but the cost of production has most definitely come up, and our focus is on high-impact shows that really can cut through a very crowded market,\u201d said Collins.<\/p>\n

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ABC also measures its success on social impact not just economic through such titles as Muster Dogs, Maggie Beer\u2019s Big Mission, Little J & Big Cuz and The Piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk a lot at the ABC when we\u2019re considering shows that we\u2019re wanting to commission, about that \u2018real world impact\u2019 that our shows can make and the contribution it can make to audiences\u2019 lives to make to their wellbeing. Benefits to development, to inform, social cohesion\u2026.,\u201d Collins continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think what the Deloitte Report does is also tell that broader story of the benefits to audience, to the Australian community and to the screen industry. We all know that our role is to create quality distinctively Australian content that has high impact. For us to be able to do that we need to work hand in hand with the broader industry. It is one huge ecosystem that we\u2019re contributing to, so it\u2019s important that the industry itself is thriving, so that we can service the best creative content for our audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Deloitte Access Economics report key findings:<\/p>\n

ABC-commissioned screen productions contributed $772 million in value added to the Australian economy over the past three financial years
\nABC-commissioned screen productions in Australia supported over 7,700 FTE roles cumulatively over the past three financial years
\nThe ABC supported 315 productions delivering over 1,526 hours of local programming over the past three financial years
\nFor every dollar spent by the ABC on external commissions, a further $1.31 was leveraged from other sources
\nFor every ABC employee working on screen productions, three additional jobs were supported
\nThe audience value of ABC-commissioned content that was broadcast is estimated at $2.4 billion in 2024-25
\nABC commissioned content on broadcast television has a reach of 5.4 million viewers in 2024-25
\n79% of Australians see the ABC as distinctly Australian and contributing to a sense of national identity
\n86 hours of high-quality children\u2019s content was produced in 2024-25, supporting children\u2019s cognitive, language, and social emotional development.<\/p>\n

The cost of the Report is around $200,000 managing director Hugh Marks has confirmed.<\/p>\n

Screen Producers Australia:<\/p>\n

SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said, \u201cThis report highlights the enormous contribution Australian screen storytelling delivers to our culture and economy, and the important role the ABC continues to play in commissioning, building intellectual property and showcasing Australian stories,\u201d Mr Deaner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report identifies externally commissioned co-productions as the key driver of the economic contribution generated by ABC productions, reinforcing the importance of strong and sustainable partnerships between the ABC and Australia\u2019s independent production sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the report acknowledges, global streaming giants have intensified pressure on the local industry, including the ABC, and this is increasingly evident through the deal terms and licensing arrangements being sought from independent producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole industry is under severe pressure, and the consequences of increased production costs and limited funding are leading to some critical pressure points emerging across the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia\u2019s independent screen sector wants the opportunity to achieve fair deals with all commissioners, including the ABC, but currently many producers feel the sector is operating in a take-it or leave-it deal making environment, and Government oversight and interventions into these arrangements as exists in other territories remains increasingly important if we are to have a functioning independent sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo-one understands the importance and value of intellectual property better than the creative and entrepreneurial producers who bring new stories and characters to our screens. But unless producers receive fair contract terms that properly recognise and reward this work, the long-term sustainability and professional development of the sector will be at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ABC is critically placed to partner with the independent sector to drive the future growth, sustainability and development of our creative industry, and independent producers are ready to seize the opportunities this presents. A strong and sustainable local production sector is in everybody\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over a 3 year period ABC added $772m in value to the Australian economy and creative sector, railing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-438249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}