A reduction in high-budget production activity across international TV and Australian theatrical features is behind a nearly 30 per cent year-on-year decline in the amount spent on scripted content in Australia across the last financial year, Screen Australia says.
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The amount spent on scripted content in Australia in the last financial year - $2.34 billion across 213 titles - is only a smidgen down on the prior year's record high of $2.43 billion. Yet whereas 2021/22's result was driven by unseen levels of expenditure on local drama, 2022/23 was fuelled by an all-time high in foreign spend.
ACMA data showing five of the major SVODs – Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+, and Stan – spent $335.1 million in 2021/22 on Australian programming demonstrates the viability of 20 per cent local content obligation for streamers, SPA says.
The production boom shows no sign of slowing down: More money is being spent on drama in Australia than ever before, and significantly, the majority of spend is occurring on local projects.
It's no secret that Australia experienced a significant production boom during the 2020-21 financial year, but Screen Australia has finally crunched the numbers to reveal a record $1.9 billion was spent on drama production across the period.
Despite the pandemic, there was still almost $1 billion spent on drama production in Australia in the last financial year, indicating the sector had been on track for a potentially record-breaking year before it was interrupted.
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