Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

CEO's 2020 Year in Review and 2021 Preview

20/01/2021

20 01 2021 - Media release CEO's 2020 Year in Review and 2021 Preview

Mystery Road S2, Bluey, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

2020 was shaping up to be a record year for many areas of local screen content production until the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted our lives.

The entire screen sector was impacted by the pandemic in a way we have never seen before. Despite the challenges COVID-19 wrought, the screen industry demonstrated immense creativity and resilience, and a wealth of screen content across film, television and online was created, released and celebrated. The local industry was incredible as it quickly adapted to the challenges caused by the virus and found ways to continue to work, and create and distribute content.

At the beginning of every year Screen Australia looks back at the previous year's Australian box office data, television ratings and online viewing figures. This data completes the set of annual, objective metrics which Screen Australia utilises to monitor the health of the local screen industry, including the annual Drama Report, and the agency's own spend on content. But 2020 was not a normal year, and so while we can gain valuable insights from this data it shouldn't be viewed in isolation. Rather it should be considered as a snapshot of a never before seen environment and in conjunction with how the Australian screen industry pulled together, collaborated, and adapted to create and release content at a time when our viewing habits and lifestyles changed dramatically.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said, It is difficult to assess the health of the industry based on box office, television ratings and online viewership figures over the past year given the impact the pandemic had on society, our lifestyles and the way we consume content. But it is important to view this data holistically with other industry trends to see what has resonated and admire the scope of content released during such a difficult year. The pandemic had a seismic impact on a number of sectors, with cinema and exhibition being one of the most affected in the country with the closure of venues and delays to theatrical content being released. Unsurprisingly we've seen that reflected in last year's local box office figures, which are down significantly on the previous year. While 2020 will always be the year that COVID-19 hit us hard, 2020 was also a time that saw screen stories become more important, more sought after, and more innovative than they ever have been.

I commend Australian creatives on their tenacity and persistence in forging ahead, and ability to find new ways to create and tell distinctly Australian stories that were valued by audiences here and resonated globally. I particularly want to recognise all the distribution partners whose businesses were so impacted. When you think of the challenges it is a truly remarkable achievement that so many Australian stories were released, and many more were able to be created and developed.

In order to reflect on the performance of the screen sector in 2020 it is important to consider the content that was released across all platforms and resonated with local audiences.

The latest Drama Report found that expenditure in 2019/20 on drama production in Australia still reached $991 million, though down 18% on the previous year's spend. The fall was largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the near total shutdown of drama production in March 2020.

Screen Australia directly injected over $73 million into the screen sector in 2019/20. This included $41 million for the production of narrative content for television drama, features, children's television, and online productions, $15 million to the documentary sector and more than $5.6 million to the development and production of Indigenous content and special initiatives (refer appendix 3). An additional $195.92 million was provided by the Federal Government through the Producer Offset tax incentive administered by Screen Australia.

Since COVID-19 first reached Australia, Screen Australia has provided over $8.6 million in funding to projects that have been impacted and needed help to start again and be COVID-safe.

The agency continues to administer the $50 million Temporary Interruption Fund (TIF) announced by the Federal Government in June 2020. This Fund has been a vital piece of the complex screen financing landscape and crucial in assisting some 35 projects as at January 2020 to go into physical production.

While 2021 will continue to challenge the sector as we all work within the new normal, I'm buoyed by the breadth of local content releasing over the next 12 months. It is great to start the year with the success of feature film The Dry which has already taken over $10 million at the local box office, demonstrating the value local audiences place on seeing Australian stories on the big screen.

2021 is on track to be a very strong year for local productions and a good one for the release of Australian stories. It is extraordinary how productions have adapted their schedules and plans to ensure they can film in a controlled COVID-safe way and I'm particularly impressed at the volume of television titles that were able to wrap filming before the end of last year.

The generous incentives from the Federal Government to attract in-bound big budget productions coupled with Australia's success at controlling the virus has also made Australia an even more attractive filming location, which is creating good current opportunities and also long-term potential.

Following in The Dry's footsteps are an impressive line-up of features scheduled to release in 2021 including Penguin Bloom (21 Jan), High Ground (28 Jan) and Long Story Short (11 Feb). Other films set for a 2021 release include Leah Purcell's Th
LINK: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2021/01-20-ceo...
See more stories from screenaustralia

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

03/04/2026

TelevisaUnivision Signs New Nielsen Media Intelligence Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

The WNET Group, JIB Launch NHK World-Japan in New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

EverPass Media Expands Distribution Deal with Netflix

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

Versant Acquires AI-Data Platform StockStory

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

CVP Grows European Footprint with Strategic Expansion in...

CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, today announces the launch of its new German operation and the formati...

03/04/2026

MRMC Announces Appointment of Chief Operating Officer

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) today announces the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company conti...

03/04/2026

Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for...

Net Insight introduces programmable Trust Boundaries that make live media interconnection predictable as traffic moves between facilities, networks and cloud en...

03/04/2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intelligence to unlock media value at NAB Show 2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intellige...

03/04/2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibility and Loudness at NAB 2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibilit...

03/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances Brie Clayton April 2, 2026 0 Comments PlayBox Neo will showcase the latest i...

03/04/2026

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected From touring and composition to teaching and instrument design, the in-demand percussionist sees it all as one body o...

03/04/2026

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award The alumnus and acclaimed trumpeter is honored for his influence as a performer, composer, an...

02/04/2026

HBO and NFL Films Announce Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks, Debuting August 11

HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Unveils Makito ONE Video Transport Platform

Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Introduces UP.Lens Cloud-Based Multiviewer and Monitoring Service

Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: MRMC to Showcase Robotic Camera Technology and Mark 60th Anniversary

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for Live Media Interconnection

Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin Adds SGAI Support to Playback Products

Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...

02/04/2026

Binghamton University Athletics Adds Riedel SimplyLive RiMotion R12 for Student-Run Productions

Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Ateme Announce Integration of Video Processing with IP Transport

LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...

02/04/2026

TDF Expands Channel Capacity on Terrestrial Broadcast Network with Harmonic

Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...

02/04/2026

United Rugby Championship Reports First-Year Results with Eluvio Streaming Platform

Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...

02/04/2026

Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports Announce ION as Broadcast Home of 2026 Teal Rising Cup

The Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports have announced that ION will broadcas...

02/04/2026

ESPN Announces Courtside Alt-Cast for Women's Final Four

ESPN will debut Courtside at the Women's Final Four Presented by AT&T, an alt-cast airing Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and Sunday, A...

02/04/2026

PAMA and Shure Accept Applications for 6th Annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are ...

02/04/2026

ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, April 3 in Phoenix

ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, ...

02/04/2026

DAZN Launches Playmakers Creator Program

DAZN has announced the launch of DAZN Playmakers, a global influencer program designed to build a network of sports content creators. The programme will give cr...

02/04/2026

NFL Network Unveils New Production Ops Leadership Structure as ESPN Takes Over

Tony Cole, Jessica Lee shift into new roles reporting to ESPN SVP/Content Operations Chris Calcinari....

02/04/2026

TNT Sports and CBS Sports to Reunite Michigan's Iconic Fab Five for Special NCAA Men's Final Four Altcast on truTV & HBO Max

Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...

02/04/2026

Coming of Age: ESPN and NHL's Inside Out Classic Marks Another Step Forward for the Animated Alternative Broadcast

Real-time tracking, virtual production, and Pixar storytelling converge for Apri...

02/04/2026

Streaming Around the Moon: NASA+ Goes Live From Historic Artemis II Mission

NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission has launched four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, marking the first manned launch toward the moon sin...

02/04/2026

Release Rundown: What to Watch in April, From Bunnylovr to Omaha

(L-R) Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, and John Magaro appear in Omaha by Cole Webley, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courte...

02/04/2026

VEMIA Auction incoming

4 - 11 April 2026 VEMIA's latest gear auction is just around the corner, and there's already a wealth of sought-after instruments and studio gear li...

02/04/2026

Universal Audio's Voice Of God now native

Little Labs emulation now available to all The latest Universal Audio plug-in to become available outside of the company's DSP-powered UAD2 platform has...

02/04/2026

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever 2 April, 2026 Media releases Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...

02/04/2026

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return to Lead the National Conversation

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...

02/04/2026

L3Harris Powers First Crewed Mission Around the Moon in 50 Years

L3Harris has successfully powered the historic launch of the Artemis II mission, providing propulsion and avionics....

02/04/2026

Scripps Completes Sale of WRTV to Circle City Broadcasting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/04/2026

GoVertical! AiDi Powers Real-Time 9:16 Autocropping for I...

Already deployed extensively by NBC Sports, FOR-A Corporation will demonstrate GoVertical! AiDi, the real-time 9:16 autocropping feature of viztrick AiDi, durin...

02/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems BATON Fi...

Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its B...

02/04/2026

TDF Expands Broadcast Channel Lineup with Harmonic

Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that TDF, a...

02/04/2026

FOR-A's Software-Defined, AI-Powered Development Advances...

NBC Sports Deploys viztrick AiDi to Stream Live Events in 9:16 Mobile-First Formats with Auto Tracking, Development Signals Strategic Shift for FOR-A Long reco...

02/04/2026

Evergent showcases innovations in sports streaming and mo...

Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including: New advances i...

02/04/2026

Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Productions...

Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone year, celebrating the university'...

02/04/2026

Techex and Encompass Launch Industry-Leading Cloud-Based...

Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...