Pay TV spends $35m on drama
According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the subscription TV sector spent $35.28m on 67 Australian/New Zealand drama content in the 2009/10 financial year.
With this investment, pay TV fully acquited its 2008/09 expenditure obligations of $11.18m.
The projects subscription TV reported investment on are:
Film: Arctic Blast, Balibo, Cloudstreet.
Series: 30 Seconds, As the Bell Rings Season 3, The Jesters Season 2, Offspring, Packed to the Rafters, Penelope K by the Way, Satisfaction Season 3, Slide, Small Time Gangster, Spirited, Tangle Season 2.
Competitions and festivals: Tropfest, Optus one80 project, Short ‘n Sweet, Flickerfest, Movie Extra Webfest 2010, Nick Shorts.
Subscription television licensees that broadcast drama channels, and drama channel package providers, are required by law to invest at least 10 percent of their total program expenditure on new Australian drama. They are allowed to operate under an accrual system where obligations that arise in one reporting period which are not acquitted, must be fully acquitted in the following period.
In their reporting to ACMA, licensees and channel providers state their drama expenditure, and indicate the portion nominated to acquit the obligation for the previous year. They also report the amount, if any, being nominated to acquit the current reporting year’s expenditure obligation; and the amount, if any, to be carried forward to be available for nomination in the next reporting period.
This year, the outstanding obligations of $11.18m were acquited, and $15.66m was nominated to partially acquite the 2009/10 obligations totalling $27.88. Participants of the scheme will be required to spend $12.22m in 2010/11.
| 2009/10 | 2008/09 | 2007/08 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New eligible drama expenditure requirement (10 percent of all drama program expenditure) | $ 27.88m | $ 25.98m | $ 23.10m |
| Expenditure on new eligible drama | $ 35.28m | $ 28.47m | $ 20.06m |
| Expenditure nominated to acquit previous year’s remaining obligation | $ 11.18m | $ 13.90m# | $ 10.47m* |
| Expenditure toward current year’s 10 per cent requirement | $ 15.66m | $ 14.67m | $ 9.16m |
| Obligation to be met in the next financial year | $ 12.22m | $ 11.18m^ | $ 13.94m |
* Licensees failed to acquit $22,300 of the 2006-07 obligations within the prescribed timeframe; it was remedied this in 2008-09.
# A licensee failed to acquit $40,000 of the 2007-08 obligation; it was remedied in 2009-10.
^ A late amendment reduced this figure from $11.30 million reported previously.
The 26 drama channels are: Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, Universal (Hallmark) Channel, 13th Street channel, Kids Co, Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney, Fox 8, Fox Classics, Triple 1 Hits, Movie Extra, Movie Greats, Movie One, Starpics (MNC), Family Movie Channel (MNC), Nickelodeon, Showcase, Showtime, Showtime Greats, Showtime Action, Showtime Comedy, Showtime Drama, TV1, SCI FI, UKTV, CBeebies.
The licensees are: AUSTAR, FOXTEL Cable Television, Neighbourhood Cable, Optus, SelecTV, Telstra, and TransACT.
The channel providers are: Walt Disney Company Australia; FOXTEL Management; the Movie Network Channels; Nickelodeon Australia; The Premium Movie Partnership ( Showtime ); TV1 ( TV1 and SCI FI); BBC Worldwide Channels Australasia (UKTV and CBeebies); Sparrowhawk International Channels Limited (Hallmark); and NBCU Global Networks Asia PTE Limited (13th Street).
