Understanding the changing television market: A comparison of the macroeconomy of the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

Abstract

The business of television has been transformed by digital distribution and internationalisation. The implications of these changes vary based on a range of structural dynamics such as national scale, language and pre-existing norms tied to particular macroeconomic conditions, of which, the balance of funding is key. This article looks beyond the general sense of crisis tied to digital disruption to investigate the macroeconomic conditions that shape how national television industries are able to adapt and respond to the disruption. Although disruption is universal, different macroeconomic conditions enable different industrial impacts and possible policy solutions. The article uses comparative analysis of three English language countries with very distinctive television ecologies to reveal the under-acknowledged role macroeconomic features – particularly the advent of new tools for advertising – play in shaping the options and opportunities for national industries going forward.

Supporting children’s drama in the on demand age: Assessing the efficacy of forty years of Australian policy frameworks and funding schemes

“…Unlike the UK, Australia has always had a very high dependence on advertising revenue to fund local content including children’s. Other revenues are limited due to low uptake of satellite and cable services and a PSB that is entirely and unreliably funded by government at less than half the per capita rate of the UK (Lotz et al, 2022). In 2019, commercial broadcasters spent nearly $A12 m on children’s drama (ACMA, 2021: 4), that source of revenue has now largely disappeared.…”