02 11 2023 - Media release Drama Report 2022/23: $2.34 billion spent in Australia from 213 productions
NCIS: Sydney, The New Boy, Ginger and the Vegesaurs.
Screen Australia's 33rd annual Drama Report released today shows the second highest expenditure ever on scripted screen production in Australia, with $2.34 billion spent across a record 213 titles in 2022/23. Despite being slightly down (4%) on last year's record expenditure, which saw $2.43 billion spent across 171 drama productions, this is significantly above the 5-year average.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said, We're proud to report the second highest drama spend ever in Australia. It has been remarkable witnessing the unprecedented surge in production in Australia in recent years and the 2022/23 Drama Report highlights another stellar year for drama production in Australia.
Australian titles made up $1.13 billion of total spend. Although expenditure by Australian subscription TV and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) has decreased this year, growth in Free-to-Air (FTA) TV and Broadcaster Video-On-Demand (BVOD) has helped to offset those declines to deliver the second highest Australian expenditure on record. Spend on children's drama across TV and VOD platforms also increased from last year, but has not returned to previous highs. Expenditure on Australian theatrical features declined from last year's record high, driven by fewer big-budget titles.
This year's Drama Report showcases the dynamic landscape of drama, with significant expenditure coming from a number of different categories. A record Australian PDV spend and continued spend from subscription TV and SVOD titles, such as the upcoming Heartbreak High series 2, High Country and Prosper, and an increase in Australian FTA TV and BVOD spend, coming from titles such as Total Control series 3, RFDS series 2 and While the Men are Away have helped to deliver a fantastic result. We have also seen TV and VOD titles such as Neighbours exploring new hybrid distribution models, releasing on both FTA and SVOD platforms in a short window, Mason said.
2022/23 also saw record expenditure in Australia from foreign titles ($1.22 billion, up from $904 million in 2021/22). In particular, this was driven by record expenditure from foreign titles shooting in Australia ($809 million), an increase of 83% from 2021/22 and another year of significant spend from foreign titles conducting Post, Digital and Visual effects work (PDV) in Australia.
Big-budget foreign productions like The Fall Guy and The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes that shoot in Australia have incredible flow-on benefits for local businesses, communities and the broader economy, and allow local cast and crew to acquire experience and new skills. Further, the international demand for our PDV expertise reflects the confidence of global companies in our talent and technology, Mason continued.
Figure 1: Total expenditure in Australia ($m)
New South Wales set a new record for the third year running, with over $1.3 billion in expenditure in 2022/23, accounting for 56% of the national total. Queensland also set a new record, with total expenditure of $581 million, 23% above last year. Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia all saw declines with spend falling 45%, 52% and 9% respectively. Combined spend in the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania declined to $4 million in 2022/23.
It's fantastic to see New South Wales and Queensland continue to go from strength to strength. Like any industry, the demand for production and post-production services and particular filming locations, will understandably come in ebbs and flows. What's important is these results illustrate that the states and territories are generating significant activity domestically and are establishing themselves as premier destinations for foreign projects.
Figure 2: Spend by location ($m)
There's no denying, our screen practitioners and businesses continue to punch above their weight both domestically and on the international stage. As we look to the future, we need to ensure that we stay on top of our game by working together with industry and the state and territory agencies to foster the skilled workforce this level of production critically needs, Mason said.
AUSTRALIAN THEATRICAL FEATURE FILMS DECLINE FROM LAST YEAR'S RECORD Australian theatrical features saw total expenditure of $363 million in 2022/23, a 54% decrease in spending since 2021/22, and 17% below the 5-year average. This drop can be attributed to having fewer big-budget theatrical features, with only one big-budget title in 2022/23. In contrast, the previous year s record-high spending was driven by several big-budget features such as Furiosa, Foe, and Better Man.
2022/23 theatrical features included Limbo, The New Boy, and The Royal Hotel.
AUSTRALIAN GENERAL TV AND VOD DRAMA SEES CONTINUED HIGH EXPENDITURE OVERALL The $680 million of expenditure in 2022/23 was slightly (2%) up on last year's result. This category is made up of three sub-categories:
Australian general Free-to-air (FTA) TV and Broadcaster Video-on-Demand (BVOD) drama
Australian general subscription TV and Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD)
Australian general Advertising-based Video-On-Demand (AVOD), Transactional Video-On-Demand (TVOD), and other online content.
Figure 14: Australia general TV and VOD drama - spend ($m)
AUSTRALIAN GENERAL FTA TV AND BVOD DRAMA GROWS FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR This segment encompasses drama content designed for family and adult audiences, initially released on FTA television channels such as ABC, NITV, SBS, Seven, Nine, and 10, or their respective online platforms like ABC iview, SBS On Demand, 7plus, 9Now, and 10 play.
Australian general FTA TV and BVOD expenditure increased by 26%
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02 11 2023 - Media release Drama Report 2022/23: $2.34 billion spent in Australia from 213 productions 
