ABC Cries Poor, Advertises More

You can’t advertise on the ABC, but the ABC can spend millions of dollars of your money advertising itself.

Sophie Elsworth reports:

The ABC’s spending on advertising has soared to its highest levels in the past decade despite the public broadcaster’s repeated claims that it has been beset by budget cuts over the same period.

New figures obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws reveal the ABC has already spent $7.2m on advertising between July 1 last year and May 31 this year – up 31 per cent compared to the entire 2019-20 financial year.

The data also shows the ABC has splashed a total of $12.8m across advertising, market research and promotion in the same period, overtaking the $12m the ABC spent in the 2019/20 financial year in the same categories.

That’s your money, people, being spent to promote views opposed to your own.

The FOI advertising figures come just three days after The Australian revealed the ABC has admitted its employee numbers have climbed in the past 12 months despite many claims publicly that the organisation’s headcount was on a downward trajectory.

Let’s hear from an ABC spokesgenderneutralperson:

An ABC spokesman said the broadcaster operated across multiple platforms and, “it is important for all Australians to hear and know about the content and services the ABC offers to deliver as much value back to taxpayers as possible”.

“While we predominantly use our own platforms to promote programs, we also have a modest marketing budget to reach and engage with new audiences across the nation,” he said.

$12.8 million for marketing is “modest” – for a free-to-air network that functions as its own marketing. The ABC is an obscene indulgence.