31 10 2019 - Media release Drama Report 2018/19: spend on Australian titles hits all-time high
True History of the Kelly Gang, Content, Total Control
Screen Australia's annual Drama Report released today shows expenditure on drama production in Australia has exceeded $1.17 billion, made up of a record $768 million spend on Australian stories including Official Co-productions, and increased foreign production spend of $410 million.
The expenditure on Australian titles was the highest in the report's 29 year history, driven by an all-time record spend on Australian television and a five-year high spend on Australian features.
The Drama Report measures the health of the Australian screen industry by detailing the production of local and foreign feature films, television, and online programs plus PDV (post, digital and visual effects) activity. Drama' refers to scripted narratives of any genre and the report tracks productions from the commencement of principal photography, with some titles yet to be released. PDV is reported using two different methods.
The 2018/19 record expenditure on Australian titles included 37 TV dramas such as The Hunting, Five Bedrooms and Total Control and their combined spend was $334 million, up 13% on last year and above the five-year average. Spend on Australian feature films was up 15% on last year to $299 million. 33 Australian feature films were made including True History of the Kelly Gang and I Am Woman which recently had their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival.
15 Australian children's television programs went into production with $95 million spent on the likes of Bluey series 2, Alice Miranda Friends Forever and The Unlisted. This is the highest spend on children's drama since 2008/09, and a 95% increase on last year.
28 Australian online drama titles with durations of half an hour or more went into production (up from 21 in 2017/18), collectively spending $40 million.
New South Wales accounted for the largest share of total expenditure in Australia (31%), closely followed by Victoria (30%), and then Queensland (24%). South Australia and Victoria set new records for expenditure in their states.
--
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts the Hon Paul Fletcher MP said, Australia has a successful film and television industry that is undertaking significant business in the production of both local and foreign drama content. These excellent results are no accident, and are a reflection on the talent of our local film and television industry, the appeal of Australian filming locations, the Australian Government incentives available, state government support and direct funding from Screen Australia. The value of the Drama Report is that it now builds on 29 years of data, giving the Government and industry excellent insight into the health and trends of screen production in Australia.
Of the titles featured in this year's report that have already released, there have been a string of hits including The Hunting which became SBS's most successful commissioned drama of all time, Disney's acquisition of Bluey series one and two for international release and Channel Seven's Ms Fisher's MODern Murder Mysteries which has sold into 26 international territories. Web series Robbie Hood received wide critical acclaim, and was described as the most perfect piece of TV you'll see this year. Feature True History of the Kelly Gang was snapped up by a US distributor IFC before it had even premiered at TIFF.
Michael Brealey, Chief Operating Officer of Screen Australia said, To have 65% of total expenditure driven by our home grown stories is remarkable and illustrates the immense demand for Australian content.
It's fantastic to see titles showcasing the diversity of landscapes and depth of talent from around the country. In the past 12 months H is for Happiness filmed in Western Australia's Great Southern region, The Gloaming in Tasmania, Robbie Hood in Alice Springs, The Dry in regional Victoria, Stateless in Adelaide, Total Control in Canberra and Winton in Queensland, not to mention a second series of fan favourite Bluey being created in Brisbane.
--
--
TELEVISION
Australian TV drama production had a record high $334 million spend, with 37 titles generating 441 hours of content produced. Hours were up on last year due to the production of longer-running mini-series such as My Life is Murder (10 episodes) and Les Norton (10 episodes). Across the total TV drama slate the hours, budgets, spend and average cost per hour for all titles increased year-on-year.
New titles in production included the forthcoming Upright for Foxtel, Stateless for ABC and The Secrets She Keeps for Network 10.
--
--
CHILDREN'S TELEVISION
15 children's TV dramas entered production in 2018/19, including two Official Co-productions. Of the 15, seven were for the ABC, one for NITV, six for the commercial broadcasters and one for Foxtel. The 15 titles generated a five-year high of 132 hours of content at a total cost of $105 million. The number of titles, hours, budgets and spend for the total slate were all above the five year averages, and live action production significantly increased to 61 hours, the highest level since 2012/13.
As a first release broadcaster, the ABC commissioned nearly half of the 15 children's TV titles in production including five live action titles Hardball, The Inbestigators, Itch, Mustangs FC series 2, and The Unlisted and two animations 100% Wolf and Bluey series 2. NITV was the first release broadcaster for the second series of Little J & Big Cuz. The series was also financed by the ABC.
Nine was the first release broadcaster for three titles including Alice Miranda Friends Forever. Seven was first release broadcaster for two titles,
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
18/04/2024
Alone Australia goes from strength to strength
18 April, 2024
Media releases
The program again delivers for SBS with significant uplifts in digital BVOD vi...
18/04/2024
18 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Dynamic Television announce new Scripted Initiative
Savage River
Screen Australia and Los Angeles-based telev...
16/04/2024
ABS Agility Beyond Space announces Appointment of Mark Rigolle as its Chief Ex...
11/04/2024
Alone Australia Ep 2 reaches over 1m Australians
11 April, 2024
Media releases
The program continues to consistently grow week-on-week in linear audience w...
11/04/2024
11 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Meta launch fourth year of First...
10/04/2024
10 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $2.3 million for nine documentaries
Guardians of the River
Screen Australia has announced nine doc...
09/04/2024
Groundbreaking NITV documentary series Our Law expands across Australia from Thu...
09/04/2024
Techtel, the creators of inflo, today announced that a new speech to text transcription engine from openai called Whisper, is available to inflo customers who a...
04/04/2024
Manu Feildel, Miranda Otto and Pat Rafter join life-changing new season of Who D...
04/04/2024
Alone Australia season 2 continues to redefine Australian TV viewing through on-...
27/03/2024
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous current affairs television program ...
26/03/2024
Crime is relative in SBS's new Canneseries nominated crime-family drama with...
25/03/2024
SBS gears up for Season 2 of Alone Australia with the creation of Alone Cologne...
22/03/2024
SBS Learn partners with the Islamic Museum of Australia to support classrooms in...
21/03/2024
21 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $1.6 million in support of the games industry
Which Way Up: Galaxy Games
Screen Australia has anno...
18/03/2024
18 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and VicScreen launch new Screen Careers initiative
LTR Denise Eriksen, Esther Coleman Hawkins, Caroline Pitcher, K...
15/03/2024
15 03 2024 - Media release The Creators 2024 Participants Announced
The Creators program recipients. L-R Thomas Duncan-Watt, Vanessa Gazy, Sarah Lambert, Lea...
14/03/2024
SBS to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr with all Australians
14 March, 2024
Media releases
Content in 22 languages*, a collection of movies to stream free on d...
14/03/2024
March 14,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI Corporation resolved at a meeting of the Board of Directors held today to change (newly appointed, retire) a director ...
13/03/2024
13 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces dramas Critical Incident and Sunny Nights for Stan
Critical Incident: Akshay Khanna and Zoe Boe. Photo c...
07/03/2024
Explore the afterlife with SBS podcast Grave Matters'
6 March, 2024
Media releases
Most of us are woefully unprepared for one of life's few certai...
06/03/2024
Multi-award winning electronic music duo to represent Australia at this year'...
06/03/2024
Developing Lunar 3GPP Mobile Network Technologies for Moon Exploration
GITA...
04/03/2024
SBS announces new development fund to discover Australia's biggest and riski...
28/02/2024
Yumi Stynes returns for season two of SBS podcast SEEN'
26 February, 2024
Media releases
Eight new trailblazers join feminist Australian icon Yumi Sty...
28/02/2024
28 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $810,000 in development funding for 29 projects
Willy
Screen Australia has announced 23 feature fi...
27/02/2024
27 02 2024 - Media release Michael Ebeid AM appointed as new Screen Australia Chair
Michael Ebeid AM and Megan Brownlow
The Hon. Minister for the Arts, Tony...
26/02/2024
Supporting AFEELAs entertainment experience and global launch with a communicati...
21/02/2024
21 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Australians in Film Announce App...
21/02/2024
Aiming to deliver new video-related solutions utilizing 5G SA this year
Son...
21/02/2024
Support the team with gifts while enjoying AR games in the stadium
KDDI COR...
21/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 21,2024
-- Tokyo, February 21, 2024 From February 2...
20/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 20,2024
-- KDDI announces that its consolidated subsidiary, SORACOM, INC. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Ken Tamagawa, herei...
15/02/2024
Alone Australia Season 2 Returns 27 March | Meet the Cast
15 February, 2024
Media releases
Smash hit series Alone Australia returns Wednesday 27 March on S...
15/02/2024
NITV's flagship footy show Over the Black Dot returns Tuesday 5 March, live ...
15/02/2024
15 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $560,000 for crew and gamemaker skills programs
Liz Keogh Palmer (Australian Production Design Guil...
13/02/2024
2024 is a landmark year for SBS's award-winning current affairs line-up, cov...
13/02/2024
22 01 2024 - Media release Six Australian projects bound for South by Southwest Festival in the US
Audrey, Birdeater, The Moogai
Six Australian screen projec...
12/02/2024
12 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and YouTube Australia Launch Skip Ahead 9
Uncovering Street Dance: Australia from Skip Ahead 8. Photographed by Ry...
08/02/2024
08 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and ABC announce Bay of Fires is back for season two
Marta Dusseldorp as Stella in Bay of Fires
ABC, Screen Austr...
07/02/2024
4 in 10 Australians battling sleep issues as nation's sleep crisis grows
7 February, 2024
Media releases
Dr Michael Mosley and the sleep scientists fro...
06/02/2024
Six screen creatives selected for the 2024 SBS Emerging Writers' Incubator i...
02/02/2024
SBS Scripted TV Lunch sessions return for another year of connecting with creati...
02/02/2024
February 2,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI announced the financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Summary In the third q...
31/01/2024
Filming Begins on SBS' Romantic Original Drama Four Years Later' in Ind...
30/01/2024
A stellar 2024 for SBS podcasts kicks off with The SBS Book Club' and Huma...
29/01/2024
The host with the most, Adam Liaw, is back with an all new inviting season of Th...
22/01/2024
Eddie's Lil' Homies premieres on NITV and Netflix on Friday 16 February
22 January, 2024
Media releases
Animated comedy series inspired by AFL grea...
22/01/2024
22 01 2024 - Media release Five Australian projects bound for South by Southwest Festival in the US
Audrey, Birdeater, The Moogai
Five Australian screen proj...
31 10 2019 - Media release Drama Report 2018/19: spend on Australian titles hits all-time high 
