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SVOD content report 2020 / 21

Amazon Prime, Disney, Netflix, & Stan spent $178.9m on commissioned & acquired local content.

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Media watchdog the Australian Communications & Media Authority recently released its second Australian content report for subscription video on demand (SVOD) providers.

Four providers – Amazon Prime, Disney, Netflix, and Stan – spent $178.9 million in the 2020–21 financial year on 1,765 Australian programs (does not include Binge, Apple TV, Acorn, Paramount+, Britbox, Kayo etc.)

These are programs that meet minimum requirements for key creative roles, including producers, directors, writers and cast.

SVOD providers commissioned or co-commissioned 22 new Australian programs.

These programs accounted for more than half of the expenditure on Australian programs (58% down from 80% in 2019–20). They included Bump (Stan), Back to the Rafters (Amazon), Surviving Summer (Netflix) and Mr Inbetween, series 3 (Disney).

The remaining expenditure included the costs of acquiring 1,743 Australian programs.

SVOD providers’ expenditure on Australian programs increased more than $25 million from 2019–20. Key changes in expenditure include the acquisition of sports programs for the first time in 2020–21 and an increase in acquired and commissioned Australian drama programs. Spending on Australian children’s drama and non-drama programs was down compared to 2019–20.

SVOD providers’ contributions supported production of Australian programs across a range of genres, with all providers commissioning or acquiring Australian drama ($94.8 million) and Australian documentaries ($17.3 million).

SVOD providers also support the production of content made in Australia in ways other than commissioning or acquiring Australian programs. In 2020–21, providers spent $450 million on acquiring, producing or investing in 12 Australian-related programs. These are titles that meet some but not all of the criteria of an ‘Australian program’. Their contributions supported production of programs such as The Wilds, season 2 (Amazon), Pieces of Her (Netflix) and Nine Perfect Strangers (Disney).

Australian programs made available on services in Australia
at 30 June 2020 and 30 June 2021, by genre

 

Hours of Australian programs available in Australia

At 30 June 2021, there were 2,030 Australian program titles (6,019 hours) available on the 4 SVOD services, up from 782 Australian programs (3,586 hours) available at 31 December 2020 and the 618 Australian programs (3,080 hours) available at 30 June 2020.

Points to consider with SVOD data
The then Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts wrote to Amazon, Disney, Netflix and Stan in December 2020. He requested that they report to the ACMA on their investment in Australian programs each year. SVOD providers reported data for the 2020–21 financial year in September 2021.

This report presents aggregated expenditure and program information reported by 4 SVOD providers in Australia. The ACMA has published information consistent with the instruction given by the minister in requesting the data and SVOD providers’ confidentiality requests.

SVOD providers have voluntarily reported this information to the ACMA. Where possible, we have verified the information but cannot confirm its accuracy. We have standardised the information where possible to allow consistency with information reported by TV broadcasters and Screen Australia. However, due to differences between SVOD services and TV broadcasters, there are some areas where direct comparisons are not possible.

The definition used for an Australian program for SVOD reporting purposes is consistent with Section 10 of the Broadcasting Services (Australian Content and Children’s Television) Standards 2020. For consistency with regulatory frameworks for commercial and subscription television broadcasters, SVOD providers reported expenditure related to Australian official co-productions, Australian/New Zealand programs and New Zealand programs as expenditure on ‘Australian’ programs. The vast majority of programs were made under the creative control of Australians.

SVOD providers reported total hours and numbers of distinct Australian programs available on their Australian services. We requested that this data include only Australian and official co-productions.

If the provider did not have its own services outside Australia, commissioned Australian programs distributed to foreign-owned services were reported. We asked only for aggregated data for the number and hours of Australian programs on services outside Australia.

3 Responses

  1. This appears to be quite a complex subject. According to freetv.com.au increasing global SVOD spend through regulation could worsen cost inflation and overstretch production resources; SVOD productions and commissions are unlikely to reflect Australian cultural diversity in the way that content from the national and commercial FTA broadcasters does, it’s also unlikely to cover comparable depth of genres or significant volumes of spend. In my opinion it seems there is an industry concern that any adverse effect on the business models of FTA broadcasters could also have an effect on investment in genuinely Australian stories which SVOD investors may not feel committed to invest in. I’m sure that Freetv.com.au interventionist ideals are mirrored overseas, but as they point out Australia is a small market and major SVOD investors want universal content with global appeal to provide to their subscribers.

    1. Global appeal doesn’t mean bland titles that ignore culture. We watch shows from other countries for their uniqueness of story and place. The premise needs universal appeal, but the backdrop can be very distinctive.

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