The Make It Australian campaign has questioned the accuracy of the Streaming for Australia report released by the ANZSA this week. While acknowledging the important role the streaming services play in the Australian screen industry the peak industry bodies have labelled the report as unhelpful and lacking transparency.
Far from providing “the best means by which to determine if market forces are working”, it actually creates a question of trust and transparency from these businesses who are fearful of regulation and highly focused on commercial growth in Australia.
The report makes much of the SVOD services claimed $628.9 million expenditure. However, this figure includes $450 million of content that is classified as “Australian-related” only with no explanation of how this category is defined.
This leaves an actual expenditure by the combined streaming companies in commissioned or co-commissioned Australian stories in 2020-21 at $103.76 million, a year-on-year decline of $18.6 million.
This is a far cry from the report’s claim that “the majority” of the streamers spend was on commissioning new Australian drama, kids' content, documentaries, light entertainment, and other genres.
There remains some confusion around what “other” genres include, with the peak bodies assuming it refers to sports programs, including live sports, further conflating the investment numbers.
When reflected against the ANZSA reporting from Frontier Economics that 40 per cent of viewing time with the streaming services was local content, these investment levels appear lacking on either measure.
“Reporting of investment by the streamers should deliver robust, valuable evidence for policymakers on the uptake and spending on original Australian stories, but the current data falls well short of that expectation,” said Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner.
“It’s reported that revenue earned from Australian audiences by global streaming technology businesses will reach $2.5 billion by 2023. This represents as little as 0.3% of the $37 billion these streaming platforms reportedly have to spend on content worldwide.”
“We are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard and strengthen Australian stories for future generations. This moment has been over a decade in the making, with countless reviews, submissions and reports, so the time to act is now,” said Mr Deaner.
It is also important to distinguish between ‘spending’ and ‘investment’ to gauge the impact on the industry as spending on economic activity such as crew accommodation or advertising on global social media platforms does not provide any direct benefit to the screen sector.
“We know there is a hunger for Australian stories here and abroad, and the creative talent to tell them is ready and willing. We need investment in the creators who generate enduring stories and ongoing intellectual property,” said Australian Writers’ Guild Executive Director Claire Pullen.
“Conflated numbers and vague categories don’t provide a strong grounding for data to shape policy decision, and this appears to be a loose attempt to hinder the momentum of much needed and long called for regulation,” said Australian Directors Guild Executive Director Alaric McAusland.
“There is clearly audience demand for fresh Australian storytelling that reflects the diversity of our nation that our world-class performers and crew are helping to deliver time and time again, and we need genuine investment by the streamers to keep that content flowing through,” said Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Chief Executive Erin Madeley.
Streaming platforms are successful global businesses that enjoy access to generous tax rebates, incentives and other support including a publicly funded broadband network and a wealth of talented and highly skilled Australian creatives and crew.
Australian audiences clearly want more Australian stories on their screens and regulation to ensure that these global businesses play their part in delivering this is long overdue.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Aidan McLaughlin
Communications & Marketing Specialist
Screen Producers Australia
aidan.mclaughlin@screenproducers.org.au | 0424 145 488