Subscription television industry invested a record $893 million in local television content, including a 35% increase in Aussie drama over the past year.
The 12% investment increase also fuelled growth in locally produced movies (up 25%), sport (up 14%), news and current affairs (up 11%), and general entertainment and lifestyle (also up 11%).
The subscription television industry employed 8,339 people on 30 June 2016.
Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association CEO Andrew Maiden says the growing budget for local content helped it compete in a crowded global media market, but warned future growth depended on favourable regulatory conditions.
“Our record investment has funded 60,000 hours of first-run Australian productions filmed in every capital city, together with more than 100 regional towns and communities across the country, creating jobs for local people as well as television industry workers,” he said.
“We’ve grown the television production sector by $900 million and added more than 8000 jobs, even in the face of protected competitors and the arrival of unregulated new streaming services.
“If Canberra takes off the regulatory handbrake by winding back our competitors’ protections and lowering the regulatory burden, we will invest more and create extra jobs."
The industry’s drama productions include Secret City, Wentworth and The Kettering Incident. More than 30,000 hours of Australian content was exported to overseas markets.
The data, audited by professional services firm PwC, also revealed the subscription television sector broadcast 242,000 hours of Australian content, 60,000 of which was premiere content never broadcast before.
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