Thirty-five years since Neighbours first aired on TV screens, the company that makes the iconic drama warns it may be under threat.
Key points:
- The Government has suspended quotas requiring commercial TV networks to air certain amounts of locally produced drama, children's shows and documentaries
- Local producers warn the quota pause will kill businesses and jobs
- But the TV networks say the quota rules are outdated and want them changed for good
"I think in the free-to-air environment Neighbours could most certainly be at risk if the quotas [for Australian content] were to change," Fremantle Media chief executive Chris Oliver-Taylor says.
When coronavirus restrictions halted the production of most Australian TV shows, the sector was plunged into a crisis.
Commercial broadcasters — which were already losing advertising revenue and ratings — called for a lifeline.
The Federal Government responded, suspending quotas that required certain amounts of locally produced drama, children's shows and documentaries be aired.
While the current rules still state 55 per cent of content shown must be Australian, there is no certainty the sub-quotas on dramas and children's shows will be reintroduced.
These sub-quotas are now on hold for the rest of the year, with the option to extend that suspension through 2021.
As the Federal Government carries out a review of the sector, the commercial networks argue the quota rules are outdated and need to permanently change.
But local production companies warn the sub-quota suspension could destroy their businesses and see the end of many cherished Australian shows.
Ombudsman warns thousands of jobs at risk
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says 86 per cent of screen production is done by small companies.
She warns if the quota pause goes on for too long many of them will face financial ruin.
The wider economic loss could also be severe.
According to a 2016 report by Screen Australia citing Deloitte Access Economics, the film and television production and distribution sector contributed $5.8 billion to the economy and about 46,000 full-time jobs.
David Gurney is the director and executive producer of Blue Rocket Productions, an award-winning children's animation studio in Tasmania.
The company has produced well-known children's television shows such as Dumbotz.
Mr Gurney says the quota suspension has meant he's had to cancel an upcoming production, and the company can't develop new shows until a decision is made.
"We can't say what's coming up next year or the year after — it really all is hanging in the balance until this is sorted out."
Production pipeline dries up
Mr Gurney says in 2003, when the United Kingdom suspended quotas on children's programming, much of the children's production industry went bankrupt.
The impact was so severe the government was eventually forced to reintroduce the quotas.
He says even if Australian quotas get reinstated, it will take time to get back up and running. And in the meantime, local jobs will be at risk.
"We might have 30 families hanging off one of our productions and so when that comes to a halt, the spin-off effect is not just for Blue Rocket, but actually a much broader part of the community here.
"All those people are likely to lose their jobs if there are no quotas and there's no obligation for the broadcasters or the streaming services to meet any Australian content quota."
Suzanne Ryan is the founder of SLR Productions, which makes children's shows such as Lexi and Lottie — Trusty Twin Detectives, and Berry Bees.
She says she's produced 19 children's productions in the 20 years she has run her business, 16 of which have been for the free-to-air networks.
But, like the others, she says the quota change has forced her to put some productions on hold.
"We are in production now but we don't know if we will have any productions next year. And until we know that we can't keep anyone employed after our current productions finish."
TV networks say quotas are outdated
But the TV networks argue the quotas are outdated and don't reflect the changing media landscape and falling advertising revenue.
"That's when most of the rules that we're currently living with were dreamt up — at a time when we had three commercial television stations, we had no internet and no pay TV."
Ms Fair, who runs the lobby group for free-to-air broadcasters, argues it's not realistic to expect businesses to continue to operate as if the pandemic has not happened by reinstating quotas.
She points to TV advertising revenue plummeting. In 2019 alone, revenues dropped 5.1 per cent from $3.6 billion to $3.4 billion.
Over the first half of this year, TV advertising revenue fell 22 per cent.
Ms Fair also points out audiences watching children's programming on television have plummeted.
Analysis of OzTAM data by Free TV demonstrates the extent of the decline. In 2010, only 23 per cent of the highest-rating "C and P programs" attracted an average of less than 10,000 children aged 0–13 years.
By 2019, the average child audience had shrunk to 1,000. Many C and P shows screened to fewer than 1,000 children on commercial free-to-air television.
But Mr Gurney says that's a misleading figure because it all depends on when and where the networks air certain content.
"The free-to-air broadcasters have moved the children's programming from their main channels and put them on their digital channels with no real marketing push behind them," he says.
He says by screening less locally produced children's content, the broadcasters "have no connection with that market — they're cutting their own throats".
"Within a decade they'll be having kids growing up who don't even know who they are — they'll have no identification with the broadcasters at all."
Calls for streaming services to face quotas
The situation is further complicated by the fact video-streaming giants such as Netflix, Stan, Disney+ and Amazon Prime don't face local content quotas.
Netflix has publicly argued it shouldn't have to. It says mandated quotas can breed mediocre shows.
But the local film and TV industry says there needs to be a level playing field between TV broadcasters and streaming services.
"We want Netflix, Amazon … Disney Plus to commission Australian content [and] to want to," Fremantle Media's Mr Oliver-Taylor says.
"It's with those sorts of quotas that we will see a strong production."
Ms Ryan says while funding in Australia is currently challenged, demand for children's content in the international market is growing.
"As new streaming services enter the Australian market, new family audiences are subscribing to these services and are looking for accessible and cost-effective entertainment for their children," she says.
In that context, she argues, it makes sense to have streaming services face the same local content quota obligations as the television networks do.
Future of the industry rests with the Government
In the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government provided a $400 million support package for the industry to attract foreign films and to support the industry in making those films.
The Government's options paper, released in mid-April, presented a number of pathways to future regulation and support for the film and TV industries in Australia.
Federal Communications and Arts Minister Paul Fletcher will make a decision on restoring quotas later this year.
The timing, his spokeswoman says, will depend on how quickly the screen sector can restore production and output.
"Work continues within Government on these issues," the Minister's spokeswoman told ABC News.
She says the Government has already put $50 million towards helping local film and television producers recommence filming productions halted due to the challenges in accessing insurance coverage for COVID-19.
And the $400 million funding package would "inject an estimated $3 billion in foreign expenditure into the domestic economy, create a strong pipeline of work for Australia's screen sector and create 8,000 jobs for Australians each year".
Australia falling behind other countries, expert warns
But Screen Producers Australia chief executive Matthew Deaner says Australia is falling behind comparable economies in support for its local production sector.
"Countries such as the UK, New Zealand, Canada and France are all outperforming Australia," he argues.
"Such a drastic and destructive measure [to freeze sub-quotas] has not been taken anywhere else.
"Other governments, such as the UK, [are] instead adopting time-limited, case-by-case consideration."
Mr Oliver-Taylor says local producers largely rely on support from Screen Australia, state government funding and tax offsets.
He says the Federal Government needs to put domestic players on the same footing as international ones, so local stories by local storytellers can be made.
"If there's no incentive financially for those networks to commission — to make content reasonably cheaper — then those networks will look to acquire content from overseas at a cheaper price point," Mr Oliver-Taylor says.
It's clear that it's not just economics that matters to those who want the return of quotas.
Many point to the massive cultural benefit of telling uniquely Australian stories to the rest of the world.
Ms Carnell fears without strong local content quotas, there will be less reason to make culturally significant films like Crocodile Dundee.
"Those are the sorts of things we want to see on our screens and we won't see them unless solid quotas are in place."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA5LTAyL2F1c3RyYWxpYW4tdGVsZXZpc2lvbi1hdC1yaXNrLW92ZXItbG9jYWwtY29udGVudC1xdW90YS1jaGFuZ2VzLzEyNTgzOTQ00gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyNTgzOTQ0?oc=5
2020-09-01 18:47:00Z
CAIiEG5sB9bd0WbV32ndd37pRTsqFggEKg4IACoGCAow3vI9MPeaCDDM2g4
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar