Australians are still suckers for foreign content when it comes to television, a Roy Morgan survey has shown today.
Big Bang Theory came out on top on the list of the top ten shows we love to flick to, knocking Two And A Half Men to third place after two consecutive years on top. But only three locally-made programs made the cut. Packed To Rafters, Masterchef and Spicks & Specks held it down for homegrown productions. Let this be a note to those trying to pitch a new show; if it isn’t about big families, crying cooks or zany music trivia, you can kiss those advertisers goodbye.
The survey findings come at an interesting time in the Australian media landscape. The Sydney Morning Herald today released early findings from The Convergence Review, which examines rules regarding the content mix in TV and radio. Currently broadcasters are required to play at least 55% local content between 6am and midnight, with similar impositions regarding music and news for radio stations. However, initial reports seem to indicate that it is thought a shift away from this model, particularly in light of the internet, may be the future, which seems odd given how dominant international content is right now.
New suggestions for supporting Australian content creators have included scrapping the quotas altogether and giving SBS and ABC more money instead. Which would work, assuming people watched something they broadcast en masse other than Spicks & Specks, which will be wrapping up this year anyway.
Clearly we need to bring back ‘Round the Twist.
via The Australian
