Screen Australia

  • Search Keywords

  • Year

  • Production Status

  • Genre

  • Co-production

  • SA Supported

  • Indigenous creative

  • Length

  • Technique

In the archive
free-to-air programming 

Share of hours and proportion of Australian content broadcast by commercial free-to-air networks, 6 am to midnight, 1998

In 1998 drama was the most important programming category for Seven and Nine, most of it imported: only 28 per cent of Seven’s drama programming from 6 am to midnight was Australian, and 14 per cent of Nine’s. Ten broadcast less drama than the other networks but a slightly higher proportion of Australian content (38 per cent). The most important programming category for Ten was light entertainment, of which 42 per cent was Australian.

  Seven Nine Ten Total
Total hours broadcast 6,683.9 Total hours broadcast 6,621.4 Total hours broadcast 6,575.8 Total hours broadcast 19,881.1
Share of hours (%)1 Aust. content (%) Share of hours (%)1 Aust. content (%) Share of hours (%)1 Aust. content (%) Share of hours (%)1 Aust. content (%)
Total   56%   65%   56%   59%
Drama 36.8% 28% 32.2% 14% 18.2% 38% 29.1% 25%
Light entertainment 24.9% 45% 16.1% 82% 42.7% 42% 27.9% 50%
News & current affairs 18.3% 88% 24.7% 96% 11.1% 100% 18.0% 94%
Sports events 11.9% 99% 11.1% 84% 6.1% 80% 9.7% 89%
Sports other 3.6% 98% 4.7% 97% 7.5% 95% 5.3% 96%
Sports event 12-2 am 1.8% 100% 0.7% 100% 0.2% 100% 0.9% 100%
Infotainment 1.7% 93% 5.0% 94% 5.0% 93% 3.9% 93%
Documentary 2.3% 21% 1.7% 44% 0.5% 71% 1.5% 36%
Other 0.4% 96% 4.5% 80% 9.1% 36% 4.7% 52%

Source: Australian Broadcasting Authority, Compliance Trends & Issues No.6, 1999.

Notes: Three-city average (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) 6 am to 12 midnight; includes first-release and repeat broadcasts; includes children’s (C) and preschool (P) programming; includes programs funded by the Commercial Television Production Fund.

1. Percentage of broadcasts between 6 am and midnight; total exceeds 100 per cent due to inclusion of Australian sports events broadcasts which extend past midnight to 2 am.

Top

Hours of local and imported programming broadcast by commercial free-to-air networks, 6 am to midnight, 1998

  Hours broadcast
Seven Nine Ten Total
Local Import. Local Import. Local Import. Local Import.
Total 3,750.9 2,933.0 4,284.8 2,336.6 3,684.0 2,885.1 11,726.4 8,154.7
Drama 670.5 1,748.0 301.6 1,815.5 458.5 732.6 1,430.6 4,296.2
Docu. 32.3 118.4 48.8 61.0 25.5 10.5 106.6 189.9
Infotain. 106.0 7.7 309.3 20.8 303.7 23.0 719.0 51.5
Light ent. 730.7 903.2 868.3 187.0 1,166.1 1,632.2 2,765.1 2,722.4
News &
current
affairs		 1,060.5 143.0 1,552.5 68.8 725.3 0.0 3,338.3 211.8
Sports
events		 771.2 7.4 618.0 114.4 319.1 80.1 1,708.2 201.9
Sports
event
12-2am		 119.2 0.0 48.5 0.0 10.1 0.0 177.8 0.0
Sports
other		 233.0 3.9 302.2 8.6 467.3 26.4 1,002.5 38.9
Other 27.6 1.2 235.7 60.7 215.0 380.3 478.4 442.1
  Share of hours broadcast (%)1
Seven Nine Ten Total
Local Import. Local Import. Local Import. Local Import.
Total 57.1% 44.7% 65.2% 35.5% 56.2% 44.0% 59.5% 41.4%
Drama 10.2% 26.6% 4.6% 27.6% 7.0% 11.2% 7.3% 21.8%
Docu. 0.5% 1.8% 0.7% 0.9% 0.4% 0.2% 0.5% 1.0%
Infotain. 1.6% 0.1% 4.7% 0.3% 4.6% 0.4% 3.6% 0.3%
Light ent. 11.1% 13.8% 13.2% 2.8% 17.8% 24.9% 14.0% 13.8%
News & current affairs 16.2% 2.2% 23.6% 1.0% 11.1% 0.0% 16.9% 1.1%
Sports event 11.7% 0.1% 9.4% 1.7% 4.9% 1.2% 8.7% 1.0%
Sports event 12-2am 1.8% 0.0% 0.7% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.9% 0.0%
Sports other 3.5% 0.1% 4.6% 0.1% 7.1% 0.4% 5.1% 0.2%
Other 0.4% 0.0% 3.6% 0.9% 3.3% 5.8% 2.4% 2.2%

Source: Australian Broadcasting Authority, Compliance Trends & Issues No.6, 1999.

Notes:
Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding.
Three-city average (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane); 6 am to midnight; includes first-release and repeat broadcasts; includes children’s (C) and preschool (P) programming; includes programs funded by the Commercial Television Production Fund.
1. Percentage of broadcasts between 6 am and midnight; total exceeds 100 per cent due to inclusion of Australian sports events which extend beyond midnight to 2 am.