Efficient, trusted, valued

Efficient, trusted, valued

Your ABC: Efficient, trusted, valued ABC Open Today, the ABC is better value for Australians than ever before. The ABC continues to adopt smarter ways of working and harness the benefits of new technology to deliver more quality and distinctive content and across more platforms at a lower cost. The ABC was created to serve the Australian people. We tell the nation s story and help Australians understand their place in the world. We connect Australians wherever they live and bring them together around the moments that matter. We are the place where unique Australian stories are created, and where young and old alike can be inspired and delighted by the arts, music and the wonders of science. For generations, the Australian people have invested significant funds in establishing the ABC as a critically important social and cultural institution. The legacy of this investment: the unique Australian stories told, the great national debates that have been contested, the art and the music that has been created, is woven into the fabric of our country. The ABC acknowledges that it operates in a society where there are many competing demands for public funding. The ABC understands that to honour the trust placed in it by the Australian people, it must manage the funds given to it wisely and responsibly. Over the past thirty years the ABC has continuously sought efficiencies to maximize the amount of money we spend on great content and services for all Australians. Despite a real decline in funding per person, the ABC has been able to enhance the services it provides to the Australian public. Services like iview, the ABC News channel, the comedy channel, digital radio services, podcasts and increased investment in regional reporting have all been funded without additional real funding from Government. 1 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

2017 Slate Launch Funding In 1987 the ABC famously cost eight cents a day. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, the ABC today costs each Australian just half that amount. Since the mid-1980s our real funding has decreased by 28% or $336 million. Our funding is 34% lower than the average of 18 comparable public broadcasters. Efficiency As technology changes the ABC has provided Australians with more content, services and platforms. We have done these additional things at lower cost and with around 2,000 fewer employees than thirty years ago. We have achieved this by continuously looking for ways to improve the way we work. In the last five years alone, working smarter has allowed us to invest an additional $70 million into new programs, services and platforms, while also returning $254 million back to government. Creative talent As Australia s largest creative employer, we enrich the lives of our fellow citizens by discovering and showcasing the talents of Australian people. We promote and invest in the broader creative community. 56% of the music we play on triple J is Australian. 100% of the music on triple J unearthed features new Australian talent In 2017 we invested $94.5 million in independent productions, creating private sector jobs for writers, producers, directors, actors and the businesses that support them. Trust In a world of abundant information, the need for trusted information has never been greater. Despite the ABC s declining funding and efficiency initiatives, we have invested wisely to ensure that that the ABC continues to maintain very high levels of trust and quality. More than 80% of Australians trust the ABC, compared to average trust of 57% for commercial media. 2 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

In 1987 In 2017 the ABC cost 19.2 cents per person per day (2017 value) and delivered... the ABC cost 9.7 cents per person per day and delivers... TV 2JJJ 105.7 FM SYNDEY SYDNEY RADIO And more... No digital services PODCASTS 3RD PARTY PLATFORMS AUDIO PLATFORMS SOCIAL PLATFORMS DIGITAL And more... 6,092 Full-time equivalent Employees EMPLOYEES 4,097 Full-time equivalent Employees

Funding declining in real terms ABC Operational Revenue from Government incl Capital Indexed at 2016/17 levels - December 2016, six months CPI Index - 28% reduction from 85/86 to 17/18 1250 1200 $1,201 1150 1100 1050 $ Millions 1000 950 900 850 $865 800 750 700 650 600 85/86 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90 90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 Years The funding that the ABC has available to make content has declined by 28 per cent or $336 million in real terms since the mid 1980s ABC cost per person per day 1987 v 2017 20 19.2 15 Cents 10 8.0 9.7 5 0 1987 Funding Adjusted for inflation Actual 2017 funding per capita * Excludes orchestras, transmission and distribution CPI based on ABS calculator - June 1987 and June 2017 Data sourced from the 2016/17 Annual Report The decline in real funding combined with population growth means that the ABC now costs half as much per person compared to 30 years ago 4 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

Per capita funding for public broadcasters, 2014 * A$ per inhabitant 0 50 100 150 200 Norway 179 Switzerland 178 Germany 142 Denmark 127 Sweden 126 Finland 124 Country United Kingdom Austria France 73 101 114 Belgium 69 Ireland Australia Spain Japan Italy Canada New Zealand 29 17 38 57 Average = 86 57 Australia 54 54 Australia invests 34 per cent less per person in public broadcasting than the average of comparable democracies United States 3 Source: Nordicity analysis of the annual reports of public broadcasters * Excludes any commercial revenue earned by public broadcasters Note: Australia includes ABC and SBS combined Commercial revenues and per capita funding for public broadcasters, 2014 A$ per inhabitant 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Country Norway 179 179 Switzerland 178 61 239 United Kingdom 114 57 170 Germany 142 23 165 Austria 101 38 138 Denmark 127 124 Finland 127 3 127 Sweden 126 126 Ireland Belgium France 57 69 73 48 30 15 105 99 88 New Zealand 17 69 86 Average = 118 Australia Japan 57 54 9 9 66 63 Italy 38 18 56 Spain 54 1 55 Canada 29 17 46 United States 3 4 7 359 Many international public broadcasters supplement their income through commercial activity such as advertising. The ABC does not take advertising on its domestic services Per Capita Funding Per Capita Commercial Revenue Source: Nordicity analysis of the annual reports of public broadcasters Note: Australia includes ABC and SBS combined 5 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

ABC Funding Comparison The ABC serves a population one-third the size of the UK but does so with a total income one-eighth the size of the BBC. $8.6bn ( 5.0bn) $1.1bn Source: 2016/17 Annual Report Source: 2016/17 Annual Report Exchange rate: 0.5778, 16 Jan 2018 6 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018 ABC Open @Clare_Chris

Focused on Efficiency ABC Open Cumulative ABC Budget Cuts/Savings - 2014-15 to 2018-19 120 Cumulative Budget Cuts $254m $108m 100 Cumulative Content Reinvestment $70m Cumulative Total $324m $86m 30 80 $71m 20 ($M) 60 $47m 40 17 71 66 78 20 0 $12m 3 9 30 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Content Reinvestment Budget Cuts Over the last decade the ABC has undertaken several substantial reviews and transformation programs to improve efficiency and provide Australians with greater content and services. We have achieved savings by cutting management positions and back office expenses. We have also reduced the cost of transmitting and distributing our broadcasting signal. Accumulated savings over the 2014/15 to 2018/19 period total $324 million. More than three quarters has been handed back to government, while $70 million has been reinvested in new content for audiences. Savings by the ABC have allowed us to meet the rising expectations of audiences for high quality content and services. The ABC has found efficiencies beyond those required to meet more than $200 million in Government funding cuts. These funds have been reinvested in regional journalism as well as the creation of Arts, Science and Education content. More innovative and distinctive content is on the way. 7 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

ABC delivers value for money By working more effectively with the independent sector the ABC is able to drive its investment further to produce significant volume while maintaining its reputation for quality. The first two series of House of Cards reportedly cost in the order of AUD$125 million to produce. For the same money the ABC produced 50 Australian programs, including 24 drama series. $125M looks like: House of Cards 22 hours of content over two series ABC 277 hours of commissioned Australian content 50 Australian programs (including 24 drama series) 8 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

Trusted by Australians No Australian media organisation is more trusted, valued and distinctive than the ABC 83% 82% 89% of Australians value their ABC of Australians trust the information provided by the ABC of Australians believe the quality of ABC online services are good 81% of Australians believe that ABC Television provides good quality programming 72% of Australians believe the quality of programming on ABC Radio is good Charter Performance 78% 76% of people regard the ABC as distinctively Australian and contributing to Australia s national identity of people consider the ABC encourages and promotes Australian performing arts such as music and drama of people consider the 82% ABC provides programs of an educational nature 78% 75% of people believe the ABC reflects the cultural diversity of the Australian community of people consider the ABC achieves a good balance between programs of wide appeal and specialised interest 9 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

ABC NEWS Trust Survey Survey question: For the following media institutions and information providers, please indicate whether you tend to trust the information that they provide. 100 80 82% 73% 60 44% 58% 59% 56% (%) 40 56% 48% 50% 46% 37% 20 38% 30% 0 ABC 18% Internet search engines like Google 10% Commercial Radio Stations 9% Commercial TV Stations 10% Newspaper Publishers 7% Facebook Trust a great deal Tend to trust 10 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018

Valued by Australians 71% of Australian adults watch, read or listen to ABC content every week Television 12.3 million Australians watch ABC TV each week We produce 8,860 hours of first-run Australian content each year We produce 342 hours of first run local programming for kids each year Digital 7.6 million unique Australians visit ABC online each month 54 million ABC programs are played on iview and our apps each month 31 million ABC kids programs are played each month Radio 4.9 million Australians in five capital cities listen to ABC Radio each week Australians downloaded more than 200 million ABC podcasts in 2017 News The ABC News channel reaches an average of 4.4 million viewers each week 5 million Australians access ABC News content online each month 2.3 million Australians consume ABC News content through Apple News each month 11 AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION EFFICIENCY PAPER 2018