ABC’s audience reach tipped to fall despite overhaul of its operations

The taxpayer-funded broadcaster is expected to continue to shed viewers and listeners despite overhauling its operations, and SBS falls short of its own goals       

The ABC’s audience is expected to fall as the taxpayer-funded broadcaster transitions its broadcast and digital services into one integrated operation.

The budget papers say the ABC’s combined weekly audience reach – which has a target of 67 per cent this financial year – is expected to fall to 63 per cent. It is expected to drop again in the 2024-25 financial year to 62 per cent, a result blamed on “softer news web services”.

In the ABC’s five-year plan, it states that the broadcaster’s goal “is to be an essential part of everyday life for all Australians through news and entertainment that appears to different ages and audiences”.

The Albanese government had already locked in five-year funding for the ABC and SBS. These arrangements began in July last year.

The papers showed the total government revenue for the ABC is budgeted at $1.19bn in 2024-25 – an increase of $58.5m from 2023-24. The ABC’s employee benefits, which includes wages, is estimated to climb from $586.2m in 2023-24 to $640.45m by 2027-28 – an increase of more than 9 per cent.

Total expenses for the ABC are budgeted at $1.29bn in 2024-25 – a net increase of $50.3m from 2023-24 due to salary increases, additional operating costs, leasing transactions and other charges.

The ABC’s budgeted net position in 2024-25 is at $1.2bn, a ­decrease of $1.9m on 2023-24.

The transition of ABC staff from its Ultimo headquarters in Sydney to its new site at Parramatta has started and will include relocating employees from both the TV and radio arms.

ABC managing director David Anderson before a public hearing of the communications legislation amendment (prominence and anti-siphoning) bill at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

The budget papers also show SBS has a target set for this financial year to reach 13.7 million digital registrations, but it is expected to fall 900,000 short at 12.8 million due to the “purge of inactive accounts”. The total digital registrations target is set at 11 million in 2024-25, and 11.9 million by 2027-28.

During the five-year funding term the expenses for both broadcasters for operational ­activities and transmission and distribution services will climb from $1.688bn in 2023-24 to $1.749bn in 2024-25, $1.801bn in 2024-25 to $1.8bn in 2026-27 and $1.813bn in 2027.28.

This is a total of $8.85bn over five years for both broadcasters. The ABC’s estimated expenses will equate to $6.268bn – or $1.25bn a year during this period – with SBS expected to spend $2.58bn, or $516m a year.

Tougher rules to help combat scams relating to social media will also be the focus of the nation’s media and consumer watchdogs.

The federal government will provide $67.5m over the four years from 2024-25 to the Australian Communications and Media Authority and Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to help them “administer and enforce mandatory codes for regulated businesses to address scams on their platforms”.

This includes codes that regulate businesses to ensure they target telecommunications, banks and digital platforms for services relating to social media, and also paid content in online search ­engine advertising and direct messages. After the four-year ­period ends, $6.8m will be provided annually to ACMA and the ACCC to continue work relating to the industry codes.

Originally published as ABC’s audience reach tipped to fall despite overhaul of its operations