Is the downturn in Children’s TV on Free to Air about to hit Adult Drama next?
In 2024, excluding serials, just one first-run local drama is set to screen on commercial channels …. Human Error, with Leeanna Walsman an Stephen Peacocke, on the Nine Network.
The series, originally announced to screen in 2023, is expected after the Olympic Games.
Nine’s other drama announced for 2024, Blood on the Tracks, will now screen in 2025.
Seven’s RFDS, also promised for 2024, will now screen in 2025 due to cast availability. Seven has no other dramas announced this year, however Home & Away is drawing bumper numbers in its 37th season.
10 is giving Five Bedrooms, NCIS: Sydney and Paper Dolls screenings on Free to Air after their run on Paramount+ but, aside from Neighbours in an arvo slot, its focus is on its Subscription platform where Fake starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham will screen in coming months. Paramount+ was home to premieres of NCIS: Sydney, Paper Dolls, One Night in 2023 (despite some being announced for 10).
Nine similarly focusses much of its spend on Stan Original Dramas such as Exposure, Nugget is Dead, Scrublands, Black Snow, Windcatcher, Population 11 and more.
Its increasingly clear that Nine and 10 are devoting much of their first-run drama behind paywalls.
With one first-run series confirmed on Free to Air commercial networks this year, this leaves viewers with the ABC as the key destination for new local dramas – Ladies in Black will premiere on June 16.
The recent Commercial TV Expenditure Report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority found Australian Adult Drama slid from $65m in 2021 – 2022 to $49.4m in 2022 – 2023, dwarfed by the spend on Sport ($635,095,000), Light Entertainment ($556,556,000) and News & Current Affairs ($412,693,000).
SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said, “As we saw in the 2022-23 ACMA Commercial TV Program Expenditure Report released in May, there has been an almost 50 per cent decline in adult Australian drama expenditure by broadcasters since regulation was lifted in 2018.
“This is again a concerning trend with parallels to children’s content and with risk to both audience and industry.
“Australians deserve access to great Australian original dramas on all the platforms they access content from.”
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair recently said: “These numbers are a powerful demonstration that Free TV broadcasters see themselves as the home of Australian content. No other media platform makes the consistent investment in our local content year in, year out.”