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A fall in big-budget productions led to a 29 per cent slump in spending to $1.7 billion on drama production in Australia last financial year, making it the industry’s worst performance in four years.
The Screen Australia Drama Report released today has revealed that the total is now below the five-year average of $1.88 billion after record spending by the industry in the previous three years.
Australian productions accounted for $929 million of total expenditure in FY24, down from $1.13 billion in FY23 and $1.53 billion a year earlier.
But local productions led the way by number, accounting for 59 per cent of the 169 productions during the year which the report says were primarily general TV/VOD (television and video-on-demand) drama productions.
Total international expenditure of $768 million accounted for 70 productions, which was down 39 per cent from a year earlier due to fewer TV/VOD productions.
The report has blamed a tough global economic climate for the downturn in screen production spending, as well as industrial action by the Writers Guild of America and changes to the Location Offset incentive which saw a lift in the minimum expenditure threshold for productions.
However, Screen Australia CEO Deirdre Brennan describes the $1.7 billion spend in FY24 as a “solid result” given that Australia has come off a three-year high driven by its reputation as a “COVID-safe filming destination” during the pandemic.
“The Drama Report is one of many resources providing insights into the opportunities and challenges facing the Australian screen sector,” says Brennan.
“This year’s results confirm key trends in domestic activity, a contraction of free-to-air commercial TV drama and the increasing role of SVOD (subscription video on demand) commissioning.
“Children’s content continues to face significant pressure and remains reliant on government support, so we’re working to broaden the opportunities for development of Australian kids IP. We will also explore the needs of feature filmmakers working in the $1-5 million budget range, dominant again in this year’s data.”
Brennan notes that Screen Australia supported 27 per cent of the direct funding applications received for scripted content in FY24.
“In an environment where international financing is also increasingly harder to source, we need to pull together as an industry to ensure the sustainability of the sector,” she says.
“Despite these challenges, we’re optimistic about the future and confident that there will be an uplift in production in the year ahead. Screen Australia will continue to collaborate with industry to identify growth opportunities and ensure Australian screen stories thrive.”
In a state-by-state breakdown of the drama production spend in FY24, the Drama Report found that NSW accounted for 47 per cent of the total, followed by Victoria (19 per cent), Queensland (18 per cent), South Australia (5 per cent), Western Australia (5 per cent) and 6 per cent in the combined states and territories comprising the ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania.
However, Western Australia made the biggest strides during the year with the spend surging to $77 million or more than three times the FY23 figure.
The combined states and territories spend hit a record $105 million, led by activity in the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
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