Documentary PRODUCTION
Budget ranges
Cost per Hour

Australian documentaries (not including broadcaster-produced titles) (current* and 2020 dollars), 1997/98–2019/20

There has been a steady increase in the average duration per title for both single and series documentaries since 1997/98. The average has remained fairly static in the five years to 19/20.

For series, the cost per commercial broadcast hour (in 2020 dollars) averaged $341,908 in the five years to 2019/20, above the 22-year average, of $261,061 (2020 dollars).

For single titles, the cost per commercial broadcast hour (in 2020 dollars) has been rising: averaging $541,143 in the five years to 2019/20 compared to $399,008 over the 22-year period. In 2011/12, the average cost per hour for a single documentary title hit a record high of $742,042 (in 2020 dollars), up 44 per cent on 2010/11, boosted by a small number of titles with very high budgets.

In 2019/20, the cost per hour for both single and series titles was up on the previous year.