FOCus on PDV
income

Sources of Income for PDV businesses, 1996/97, 1999/00, 2002/03 and 2006/07

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Service Industry Survey, the Australian production and post-production services industry earned $427.6 million – or 21.1 per cent of its entire $2,028.1 million income – from the provision of PDV services in 2006/07. This represents a 14 per cent increase since 2002/03 ($375 million) or an average annual increase of 3.3 per cent.¹ Of this, $402.3 million was earned by PDV businesses and the remainder by other businesses (i.e. those that did not earn the majority of their income from PDV). See Business trends > Income and expenditure.

For PDV businesses, income from PDV services made up 90.6 per cent of their total earnings of $444 million in 2006/07, which also includes income from production services (e.g. directors’ and producers’ fees), production of various forms of audiovisual content and other income such as interest.

Visual editing (including special effects)² accounted for 57.5 per cent ($255.1 million) of PDV businesses’ total income, duplication for 11.5 per cent ($51.1 million) and sound editing for 4.5 per cent ($20 million). Film laboratory, transferring and other miscellaneous PDV services were worth $76.1 million (17.1 per cent). Income from virtually all sources, with the notable exception of visual editing, was lower than 2002/03.

Animation and visual effects have driven significant growth in visual editing income, which has increased from $114.7 million in 2002/03, although direct comparisons between years are complicated by the inclusion of non-employing businesses in all 2006/07 figures (these had not been included previously). The 2006/07 survey also included separate measures for animation and visual effects for the first time, which were worth $80.7 million and $69.8 million respectively. Combined, they made up 33.9 per cent of the total income earned by PDV businesses. Subtitling was worth $53.1 million, in comparison.

Some PDV firms have developed and commercialised proprietary projects of their own. For example, Animal Logic has undertaken research and development on software such as Maxman, Mayaman and Softman, and Rising Sun Pictures has formed a development company and created cineSpace (a form of film colour-calibration software used by companies worldwide).³ These types of projects provide additional income beyond the provision of PDV services but are not recorded separately in the ABS survey and therefore cannot be quantified. They are most likely recorded in ‘other income’, which for PDV businesses was worth $29.2 million in 2006/07.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Television, Film and Video Production and Post-production Services, 2006/07 (cat. no. 8679.0); and unpublished data from Television, Film and Video Production, 2002/03 (cat. no. 8679.0); Film and Video Production and Distribution, 1999/00 (cat. no. 8679.0) and Film and Video Production and Distribution, 1996/97 (cat. no. 8679.0).

Notes:
Classifications and definitions for the PDV sector and PDV businesses have changed over time: see Focus on PDV and About the data.
^ Estimate has a relative standard error of 10–25 per cent and should be used with caution.
* Estimate has a relative standard error of 25–50 per cent and should be used with caution.
** Estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50 per cent and is considered too unreliable for general use.
n.a. Not available.
n.p. Not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated.
1. This is a revised 2002/03 figure that includes significant non-employing businesses. With the release of 2006/07 data the ABS issued some revised top-line 2002/03 figures for the industry, but not for the PDV sector.
2. Although not specified in its definitions, according to the ABS the income from DVfx or special effects was recorded against income for visual editing.
3. Sourced from www.animallogic.com and www.e-businessguide.gov.au.
4. In 2006/07, the ABS included, for the first time, non-employing businesses with an annual turnover of at least $70,000. These 147 businesses accounted for 4.8 per cent of total income of PDV businesses.

Income from PDV services by production type and source, 2006/07

Next update to be advised

In 2006/07, for the first time, the Australian Bureau of Statistics Service Industry Survey has broken down post-production income by production type (i.e. format or genre) and source (i.e. whether the businesses to which the services were provided were Australian or foreign). This data, however, includes post-production income earned by film and video production businesses as well as by PDV businesses. See Business trends > Income and expenditure.

Most post-production income was earned on feature films (36.9 per cent) and television commercials (31.8 per cent). Television programs made up a further 19.2 per cent, with TV drama making up only 5.7 per cent.

Income from the provision of post-production services came mainly from Australian businesses (72 per cent).

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Television, Film and Video Production and Post-production Services, 2006/07 (cat. no. 8679.0) data cube.

Income by size of business, 1996/97, 1999/00, 2002/03 and 2006/07

Next update to be advised

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Service Industry Survey, the largest PDV businesses (those employing over 50 people) earned the greatest percentage of total income in the PDV sector; however, their share decreased from 63.9 per cent in 2002/03 to 57.8 per cent in 2006/07. The smaller businesses (those employing fewer than five people) have increased their share, but this may be largely due to the inclusion of non-employing businesses for the first time in 2006/07, which accounted for 4.8 per cent of PDV businesses’ estimated total income.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Television, Film and Video Production and Post-production Services, 2006/07 (cat. no. 8679.0); and unpublished data from Television, Film and Video Production, 2002/03 (cat. no. 8679.0); Film and Video Production and Distribution, 1999/00 (cat. no. 8679.0) and Film and Video Production and Distribution, 1996/97 (cat. no. 8679.0).

Notes:
Classifications and definitions for the PDV sector and PDV businesses have changed over time: see Focus on PDV and About the data.
^ Estimate has a relative standard error of 10–25 per cent and should be used with caution.
* Estimate has a relative standard error of 25–50 per cent and should be used with caution.
1. No breakdowns available for 1996/97, only total.
2. In 2006/07, the ABS included for the first time non-employing businesses with an annual turnover of at least $70,000. These 147 businesses (allocated to the 0–4 persons category) accounted for 29.6 per cent of the total number of PDV businesses and 4.8 per cent of total income.
3. Screen Australia estimates based on available ABS data.