In his first major speech as the new chair of ABC Australia, Kim Williams (pictured) mapped out several key programming priorities in his vision for the public broadcaster to serve as a “national campfire” in an age of increasingly fragmented media consumption.

Williams, who took over from outgoing chair Ita Buttrose in March, addressed an audience in the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne on June 19. He referenced improving the ABC’s content offering and understanding the needs of its audience as priorities for revitalization, adding that greater investment will be the key to achieving these goals. In today’s digital world that offers viewers so many different avenues to content, Williams noted that it’s more important than ever for the ABC to represent the shared ideas of the country and reflect what it means to be Australian.

And Williams made sure to emphasize “the precious territory” of kids and educational programming among his priorities. He acknowledged that the ABC is in a significant position to champion Australian culture in the content aimed at the country’s youngest audiences.  

“No other media organization of substance stands up for Australian accents, values, plurality and aspirations which are planted firmly in, and dedicated to, this nation,” he said. “Make no mistake—without that precious education and children’s material, the outlook for Australian knowledge and values is really quite grim.” 

“We need to defend and expand [these] categories of programming in response to the dramatic incursions we have seen from numerous mighty offshore providers,” he added. Williams also mentioned the critical importance of elevating ABC iview as an even better streaming platform with a heavier ballast of Australian-produced content.

The broadcaster has already been busy lately making efforts to revamp and evolve with the preferences of its kids and family audiences. Earlier this month, it overhauled its channel portfolio by launching two new nets (ABC Kids and ABC Entertains) and four new digital streams on its iview streamer, as part of a strategy to boost discoverability.

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) supported Williams’ call for investment, noting that the ABC has had a much tougher time lately serving its audiences within severe budget constraints. Said CEO Matt Deaner in a statement: “If it weren’t for the ABC and its ongoing investment in children’s programs, the deregulation of Australian content requirements for commercial broadcasters in 2021 by the Morrison Government would have been the finish of an entire sub-sector of our industry. As it was, many were forced out of business.” 

Just last month, a report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority noted that commercial broadcasters’ investment in kids programming was on a steep decline in the region—their estimated spending on “children’s other” content dropped by 15% in 2023/2024 compared to the previous financial year. Aussie producers have also expressed grave concerns in recent years about the impact of the removal of children’s content quotas for local broadcasters in 2021 and the challenges of doing business with global streamers.