ABC Chair Kim Williams has described a Information Company article on ABC waste as an “inaccurate, unbalanced and agenda-driven assault on the ABC.”
“ABC prices Aussies greater than a Netflix subscription as lavish $1.1 billion greenback finances revealed” was a procuring record of ABC expenditure, stating “the ABC prices every Australian family greater than the value of a Netflix subscription” and that “the broadcaster fails to achieve 10.6 million Australians.”
The article by Stephen Drill drew upon ABC’s 2024 annual report citing 62% of Australians watched, listened to, or learn ABC content material throughout a median week.
It additionally cited prime government salaries, a “$100 million long-service depart time bomb,” ABC’s 1.1b finances and Kim Williams urging for a rise, prices aligned to Walkley Award entries, net redesign prices, Parramatta base prices, promoting, ABC Reality Checks, Garma Pageant and US Election attendance and incorrectly stating Bruce McAvaney had travelled to Paris to cowl the Olympics for ABC Radio (it has since been corrected).
Kim Williams assertion is beneath:
“On a month-to-month foundation the ABC reaches round 80% of Australians. Yearly, fewer than 3% of Australians don’t use the ABC. Utilizing Mr Drill’s methodology, an ad-free Netflix service prices households greater than double the ABC per thirty days.
“In any occasion, the comparability is meaningless. Netflix is a industrial leisure video service. Companies the ABC offers embody, however aren’t restricted to:
A significant Emergency Broadcasting service that at instances saves folks’s property and even their lives. Thus far this monetary yr the ABC’s EB service has coated 460 emergency occasions. In a single week this month we broadcast 76.5 hours of devoted emergency radio programming simply on the north Queensland floods
Australia’s most trusted information service on TV, radio and on-line, together with steady 24-hour information on ABC Information TV channel, NewsRadio the ABC NEWS net and app
Metro and regional information companies working from 67 areas throughout the nation (10 in capital cities, 56 regional areas and one outer-suburban location). An estimated 1.4 million regional Australians take heed to ABC Native Radio each week
Worldwide bureaus in 10 areas in addition to extra devoted Pacific reporters
Top quality, domestically made and freely obtainable Australian broadcast and streamed drama and leisure. This month the ABC received 13 AACTA awards for display screen excellence
Australia’s most-watched children content material, specialist academic content material that’s aligned to the curriculum and devoted information content material for younger folks from Behind The Information and BTN Excessive
Worldwide companies that make ABC storytelling obtainable on TV, radio and on-line worldwide, with a deal with our area. The ABC Australia TV service has a month-to-month viewership throughout the Asia-Pacific of no less than 10.5 million folks and is carried by greater than 100 broadcast companions.
Some related info on the ABC’s finances:
Within the final decade, the ABC’s working income from authorities has fallen by 13.7% in actual phrases – an annual discount of $150 million.
Funding the ABC represents a tiny proportion of the federal authorities finances — and it has been getting smaller. Simply this century the ABC has declined from an general share of Commonwealth outlays of 0.31% in 2000-01 to only 0.13% in at this time’s outlays.
Presently, Australia invests round 40% much less per particular person in public broadcasting than the typical for a comparable set of 20 OECD democracies.
The ABC offered Mr Drill with these content material and viewers highlights from the final 12 months, none of which he used:
The ABC Community was the No 1 ranked tv broadcaster in 2023–24 with a attain of 36.4%, or 6.6 million folks, throughout the five-city metro inhabitants.
In 2023–24, ABC Information and Present Affairs on ABC TV and ABC Information channel reached 5.2 million common weekly metro and regional viewers.
ABC Information is Australia’s No 2 digital information writer. The ABC’s December viewers was 11.75 million folks with a median learn time of 31 minutes per particular person.
ABC Information Prime Tales is Australia’s No 1 information podcast and the ABC was general the No 3 most listened to writer within the Triton Podcast Ranker. The ABC options extra titles within the Prime 200 than every other writer.
ABC Information is the No 1 Australian information supplier throughout all social media by followers. The ABC is at the moment No 1 on Fb and Instagram and No 3 on TikTok and YouTube. ABC Instagram surpassed 1 million followers final yr and the YouTube ABC Information In-depth channel is approaching 2 million subscribers.
ABC iview was the primary ranked BVOD service in 2023-24 primarily based on on-demand minutes, with a 34% share of on-demand minutes throughout the yr.
ABC Radio reached an estimated 4.77 million folks every week within the 5 capital cities.
The ABC is the No 1 digital stay streaming audio community, with a 25.6% share of stay radio streaming.
ABC YouTube channels averaged 60 million month-to-month views.
Lots of Mr Drill’s different claims are deceptive or lack important info that will put them in correct context for his readers. These embody:
Mr Drill’s examples of ABC “waste” embody launching an improved ABC Information web site and app with added options and performance for all customers, opening the ABC Parramatta workplace, protecting the US Presidential election, protecting the Garma Pageant, offering a reality checking service and promoting to let audiences know what content material and companies can be found.
We don’t consider any of those is a “waste”. As has been publicly acknowledged, the opening of ABC Parramatta and refurbishment of the Ultimo workplace has been fully funded by means of the sale of former property in Artarmon on Sydney’s north shore and by leasing out area within the Ultimo head workplace. The ABC has a really small promoting finances, with an estimated 2.5% share of expenditure. Main streamers comparable to Stan and Amazon Prime have between 10 and 20 instances the advertising spend of ABC iview.
“The ABC has refused to disclose how a lot incoming boss Hugh Marks can be paid simply weeks forward of his begin date, saying it will be listed in subsequent yr’s annual report.”
As Mr Drill was advised, the wage vary for the ABC Managing Director is ready by the Remuneration Tribunal, not the ABC. It’s also printed within the ABC annual report. ABC disclosure necessities are according to all Commonwealth businesses.
“The ABC has confirmed it paid 1000’s to place up Bruce McAvaney in Paris whereas he was protecting the Olympics on radio after he was snubbed by 9, the official TV broadcaster.”
Bruce McAvaney, an distinctive sports activities broadcaster, was not in Paris, he known as the Paris Olympics with our staff in Sydney. The ABC broadcast the Olympics throughout regional and distant Australia in addition to a variety of capital metropolis ABC stations, together with Adelaide, to make sure each Australian might entry stay audio broadcasts.
