ABC ad spending blitz ‘shameful use of taxpayer funds’

The ABC has doubled its spend on advertising in the past year to promote the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster.

Prominent advertising in sought-after inner-city locations in Melbourne and Sydney have been on display in recent weeks, promoting the ABC’s online streaming and news services.

The ABC has doubled its spend on advertising in the past year, with a blitz on billboards, public transport hot spots and social media posts to promote the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster.

Prominent advertising in sought-after inner-city locations in Melbourne and Sydney have been on display in recent weeks, promoting the ABC’s online streaming and news services. But the move has raised concerns given the public broadcaster’s advertising spend has more than doubled in just 12 months.

Some of the key locations featuring ABC advertising include alongside Kings Way in Melbourne, at tram stops throughout Melbourne’s CBD and in Sydney’s Kings Cross.

Industry sources have questioned the recent advertising blitz given the ABC already has a huge reach across its TV, radio and online platforms, and some say the public broadcaster’s spend on commercial advertising should be reined in.

In the ABC’s latest annual report, it revealed its advertising spend soared from $2.7m in the 2018-19 financial year to $5.5m in the 2019-20 financial year.

Institute of Public Affairs director of communications Evan Mulholland said the ABC’s advertising spend was a “shameful use of taxpayer funds” and they should not be using commercial ads to boost their viewership.

“The Morrison government should amend the ABC Charter to prevent the ABC using taxpayers’ money to compete against private media organisations,” he said.

“The ABC’s guaranteed $1bn per year funding gives it an incredible competitive advantage, but now it is actively trying to diminish the market share of other media organisations.”

Some of the advertisements seen in prominent locations are promoting the ABC’s streaming service iview and feature slogans such as: “When business matters to you it matters to us”.

But an ABC spokesman defended the advertising campaigns and overall spend, arguing they have a “modest marketing budget to reach and engage with new audiences across the nation”.

“This external marketing budget is substantially lower than our commercial competitors and fluctuates from a low base year-to-year, depending on what campaigns and content we offer,” he said.

“Our current promotional campaign for ABC iview reflects the fact that more Australians than ever are using video-on-demand services and it’s our responsibility as a public broadcaster to make them aware of the outstanding content we have on offer.”

The spokesman also said it was important all Australians were made aware of “the content and services the ABC offers, to deliver as much value back to taxpayers as possible”.

The ABC confirmed it had a limited budget for advertising but would not disclose the amount.

Ben Willee, general manager and media director of ad agency Spinach, said billboard and rolling adverts at public transport stops were frequently used by TV networks and radio stations “to target the commuter network”.

“Outdoor advertising is a very powerful medium,” he said.

The ABC’s advertising spend in the past five financial years hit a high of $5.8m in the 2015-16 financial year.

Originally published as ABC ad spending blitz ‘shameful use of taxpayer funds’