Australian TV VOD

Data from the ABS cited in the People and Businesses section values ‘production activity’ by totalling the production costs incurred in the financial year for projects completed or in progress during that year. In order to provide a complete picture, this includes production costs incurred not just by film and video production businesses, but also by television broadcasters (commercial and public free-to-air, and subscription), as well as subscription television channel providers with inhouse production. Expenditure by foreign companies in Australia is only included by the ABS when incurred through an Australian production company.

 

The ABS has urged caution in making comparisons within this data over time, as the survey was not designed to provide highly accurate estimates of change.

 

Where the ABS data overlaps with Screen Australia’s data (for drama and documentary production), the trends revealed are consistent. However, there are key differences between the surveys conducted by the ABS and Screen Australia which mean results cannot be compared:

 

• The Screen Australia data is compiled from data on titles produced in Australia during the survey period; the ABS data is based on a survey of employing (and, more recently, significant non-employing) businesses.
• In reporting on production activity, Screen Australia includes only productions that commenced principal photography in the financial year; the ABS includes all productions that a surveyed business spent money on during the year – at any stage of production (from development through to post-production).
• Screen Australia allocates the entire production budget to the calendar year in which principal photography commenced, while the ABS includes only expenditure that occurred during the particular financial year surveyed.

Drama

 

Theatrical feature is a film made for first release in cinemas that is at least 60 minutes in length.

 

Free-to-air (FTA) TV and Broadcaster Video-On-Demand (BVOD) drama is a ‘drama’ program according to the Broadcasting Services (Australian Content and Children’s Television) Standards 2020 (Cth), including series/serials, mini-series and telemovies. FTA TV and BVOD drama is content made for first release on Australia’s FTA broadcaster TV channels or online platforms, including ABC iView, SBS On Demand, 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play. Titles must have total durations of 30 minutes or more.

 

Subscription TV and Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) drama is drama made for first release on subscription TV (including Foxtel) and SVOD services (including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+ and Stan). Titles must have total durations of 30 minutes or more.

 

Advertising-based Video-On-Demand (AVOD), Transactional Video-On-Demand (TVOD) and other online drama is content made for first release on online services not captured by the above categories, including AVOD services such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and TVOD services such as iTunes and emerging online services. Titles must have total durations of 30 minutes or more.

 

General drama is drama made for adult and/or family audiences. It does not include children’s drama, which is made specifically for child audiences.

 

Format

 

Series/serials have an unlimited number of episodes (more than 13 in total) and include multi-part programs with episode durations less than one commercial broadcast hour.

 

A mini-series is a limited series of drama, normally 13 hours or less in length. Each episode is usually a commercial hour in duration.

 

A telemovie is a single-episode drama made for TV that is a commercial hour or more in length. Series of or related telemovies are counted as individual titles, as set out in a broadcaster’s licence agreement.

 

A single-episode title is a drama made for a VOD platform. Single episodes can be of any length and are measured by actual running time.

 

Budgets/spend

 

Total budget reports on how much it actually costs to make projects. Total budget is reported for all projects that started shooting during the financial year, with the full budget allocated to the date principal photography (or PDV work in the case of PDV titles) started, rather than allocating a project’s budget across years according to the year in which the work took place.

 

Total spend/expenditure reports on how much of the total budget was spent in Australia. This measure is particularly relevant for Co‑productions and foreign productions. Again, all expenditure is allocated to the date principal photography or PDV work in Australia began, rather than allocating spend across years according to when the work actually took place. Note: this is not the same as ‘qualifying Australian production expenditure’ (QAPE) for the purpose of the Producer Offset. Some expenditure in Australia is not QAPE, and QAPE can include some expenditure on Australian elements outside of Australia. QAPE is not reported here.

 

Average cost-per-hour is defined as total budget divided by total hours.

 

Australian Productions

 

Australian productions include the following:

 

Domestic productions are projects (other than Co-productions) under Australian creative control (that is, where the key elements are predominantly Australian, and the projects were originated and developed by Australians). They include projects under Australian creative control that are 100% foreign-financed.

 

Co-productions are Official Co-productions (that is, projects made pursuant to an agreement between the Australian Government and the government of another country). As Official Co-productions don’t have to pass the ‘Significant Australian Content’ test to be eligible for the Producer Offset, and may be classified as ‘Australian’ for the purposes of Australian content obligations applying to broadcasters, the report mainly focuses on domestic and Co-production projects as a combined ‘Australian’ slate.

 

Other types of Production

 

Foreign productions are projects under foreign creative control (that is, the projects were originated and developed by non‑Australians). These include foreign projects with an Australian production company operating in a service capacity. A test of creative control and key roles is applied for projects with Australian elements.

 

In-house productions are projects by Australian TV networks, where no independent production company is credited as producer or co-producer.

 

Government tax incentives

 

The Producer Offset is a refundable tax offset (rebate) for producers of Australian feature films, television and other projects.

 

The Location Offset is a rebate for the production of large-budget film and television projects shot in Australia.

 

The PDV Offset is a rebate for work on PDV production in Australia, regardless of where a project is filmed.

 

For more information on these programs, please see the Australian Taxation Office website.