FOR STREAMING TV, NONE OF MY TOP PICKS WAS AUSTRALIAN, WHILE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FREE- TO- AIR FAVOURITES WAS HOME GROWN. AUSSIES NEED A HAND
Let’s play a game shall we? Grab a pen and a bit of paper and jot down your top five favourite shows that you watch on a video ondemand service ( i. e. Netflix, Stan, Amazon, Hulu). Got it? Okay.
Now take a look at that list. Think about your favourite characters, the funniest moments, the most nailbiting cliff hanger endings. Those are some fine choices you’ve got there — well done! Now, stop and look at the list again. How many of those shows are Australian?
Okay, how about we try that again? But this time let’s do it for free- to- air shows. How many of those are Australian?
If you’re anything like me then the two results were completely different. For streaming TV none of my top picks was Australian, while every single one of my free- to- air favourites was home grown. So why the discrepancy? For me the answer has nothing to do with the quality of Australian productions. It’s more about quantity. At the moment, traditional broadcasters like free- to- air channels and Foxtel are required to offer 55 per cent local content between 6am and midnight.
Within that figure there are also sub- quotas for specific categories like Australian drama, documentary, and children’s television.
Their digital counterparts are under no such obligation.
They’re free to provide whatever content they wish regardless of its origin.
The issue is under review by the Federal Government, with industry folk like Screen Australia arguing that digital providers should have to meet the same quotas to even out the playing field.
While I’m usually apprehensive about imposing quotas as a way to correct imbalances, I think in this case there are some big upsides.
The Australian television industry is minuscule in comparison to the giants in the US, even when Netflix and the like are taken out of the equation. They can throw huge sums of money behind large- scale productions like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, and have the luxury of being able to take a gamble on risky shows like Breaking Bad, House of Cards or Orange is the New Black which may never have seen the light of day.
At home most TV producers are left scrambling for scraps of funding to put together even the simplest of shows. Then, when it’s finally released into the world it has all the big names to compete with.
We’ve never been short of great stories to tell. What’s held us back has been the opportunity to showcase it to as many sets of eyes as possible. By bringing the streaming services in line with the rest of the industry we’re not only ensuring a wider audience for local productions, but we’re also providing a whole new avenue for Australian stories to be brought to the screen.