Convergence Review: Drive to promote Australian screen content production

Much of the focus of the Convergence Review into the media is on ensuring that Australian content appears on screens, and producers have incentives to go on making it.

However, there is also a proposed loosening of the local content quota which would see the free to air networks able to spread their local content quota obligations onto their digital channels. The review proposes a new set of rules for Australia’s major media owners (those with revenues of more than $200m) – labelled content service enterprises – when it comes to screen content:

• Content service enterprises that meet defined service and scale thresholds should be required to invest a percentage of their total revenue from professional television-like content in the production of Australian drama, documentary or children’s content or, where this is not practicable, contribute to a new converged content production fund.
• The government should create and partly fund a new converged content production fund to support the production of Australian content.
• Premium television content exceeding a qualifying threshold should attract the 40 per cent offset available under the Producer Offset scheme. This will bring premium television content in line with the current rate of offset available for feature film production.
• Interactive entertainment, such as games and other applications, should be supported by an offset scheme and the converged content production fund.

The review acknowledged: “Submissions also highlighted the need to support those employed in the industry to earn a reasonable living, develop skills, build sustainable enterprises and communicate their stories and visions to the widest possible audience. The Review considers that government intervention is necessary to ensure the production of content forms  that the public considers valuable, but which would be under-produced if market forces alone were at play.”

And it warned: “Existing measures are too narrowly focused on the main commercial free-to-air broadcast channels. While  the main channels attract large audiences, their audience share is likely to continue to fragment over time as digital multichannels and other services evolve and gain in popularity. Unless the scope of Australian content  measures is broadened to include a wider range of platforms, the amount of Australian content consumed will diminish as users move to other services.”