A new report published last week by the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows that streamers invested US$217.5 million (AUD$341.5 million) in Australian programming in 2023/2024, up from US$206.5 million (AUD$324.1 million) in 2022/2023. 

ACMA’s fifth-annual SVOD Content in Australia report is based on a tally of the total amount of money that Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+ and Stan spent on commissioning or acquiring new shows for the Australian market. 

Streamers spent US$143.5 million (AUD$225.2 million) on commissioning or co-commissioning 55 shows, accounting for 66% of 2023/2024’s total spend. And this is up from US$139.7 million (AUD$219.2 million) in 2022/2023. The remaining US$74.1 million (AUD$116.3 million) went into 1,472 acquisitions, also representing a year-over-year increase of US$7.26 million.  

Despite these overall lifts, spending on Australian children’s dramas, non-dramas and documentaries in 2023/2024 reached an all-time low for the five-year-old report, falling to just US$9.74 million (AUD$15.3 million). 

By comparison, all other genres that ACMA measures (drama, sports and light entertainment) experienced spending growth, with annual sports spending boosted by US$25.6 million (AUD$32.4 million) to US$65.6 million (AUD$103.3 million) in total.