Children’s Television producers in Australia are feeling the squeeze from a perfect storm of no sub-quotas on Free to Air networks, no streaming quotas as promised by July 1st and the downturn in commissions due to the advertising market.
At the Australian Children’s Content Summit, a show of hands from delegates demonstrated how many businesses are hurting right now.
Suzanne Ryan from SLR Productions and convenor of the Summit said, “We were promised a quota, and we worked very hard with our own dollars, going to Canberra and doing a lot of work over the last few years, when the subquotas left the Free to Airs. We really hoped that (quotas) would be here. I’m sure we could get a show of hands if you’re all feeling let down.
“If you’re finding it tough right now to get a show financed, if you want to put your hand up if you’re in that bucket.”
She continued, “The ABC are doing the heavy lifting. They are the number one place that we all go to. (ABC) cannot provide for the entire industry. It’s really hard a a company. You have overheads, you have staff, you want to develop really great content. We tend to go to the ACTF who’s also doing the heavy lifting to support us. It is really, really tough right now.
“We definitely need direct and indirect funding. We need more of it. We need support for the ABC. The ABC needs more money from government. The ACTF needs more money. Screen Australia needs more money. We need an uplift in the Offset. I know it sounds like a laundry list, but it’s true. We do need all of that, and we need more pathways to marketplace in Australia.”
Her words drew a round of applause from delegates at the Summit.
Dirt Girl World creator Cate McQuillen from mememe productions also addressed a panel saying, “If I was a blueberry farmer and what had changed in policy settings by government had affected my business so poorly, there would be a rescue package for me. And there isn’t. But I don’t want a rescue package. I want the whole industry rescued because I deeply care about children and stories that we’re telling.
“There are other industries that get a hand out, and we don’t want to hand out. We don’t really even want a hand up. I don’t want you to feel sorry for us. I want you to recognise who we are and what we do, and the joy and love that we share and that we’re a business.”
Minister for the Arts Tony Burke sent a video message of support telling delegates, “There’s so many great Children’s stories being told, I know, and I fought against the changes that were made before I came back to Office, where some of the quotas for the Children’s content were taken away. There’s a whole lot happening at the moment … we are doing everything we can to try to make sure that what we lost when those Free to Air quotas were taken away, we can find ways of rebuilding in terms of a guarantee of Children’s content. We have, as you know, provided funding for the Children’s Television Foundation. That’s an incredibly important part, but wherever wewe can find an extra edge for you, I want to do it.”
He continued, “What matters is every child will find the shows that speak to them, but unless we get the right policy around it with the right creatives -and that’s you- unless we get those things together, it just won’t happen. I don’t want us to have a generation of Australians who either watch their screen shows and think they live in a different part of the world, or are watching shows that never actually speak to them. I want them to see themselves.”
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