ABC to axe content and shift staff from Sydney in bid to save $40m

ABC management rejected key recommendations outlined in a government-funded efficiency review that was made public hours after staff were informed of the national broadcaster's new five-year strategy and plans for 250 job losses.

The 120-page efficiency review, led by former Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh and former media regulator Richard Bean, proposed the closure of two ABC broadcast channels and the sharing of back-office and support services with fellow public broadcaster SBS.

ABC managing director David Anderson presented his new plan to staff on Wednesday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

ABC managing director David Anderson informed staff on Wednesday of a range of cost-saving measures at the public broadcaster under a new five-year strategy including a reduction in episodes of high-profile shows Australian Story and Foreign Correspondent and the removal of the 81-year-old flagship 7.45am radio news bulletin.

He also announced plans to cut poor-performing content and lease space at the ABC's Sydney headquarters in Ultimo, and confirmed 250 job losses, including 70 from the news division and 53 from the entertainment and specialist division.

The role of chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici is among the proposed redundancies in the news division, according to confidential documents obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The Tonagh-led efficiency review was commissioned in 2018 by the Turnbull government. It was handed to the Morrison government in March last year, but its details have remained confidential as Mr Anderson developed his owns plans to manage a $40 million annual saving.

Some of the other recommendations made in the Tonagh-led review, including an increased focus on digital growth, improving the ABC's iview platform and reducing investment in products that are not central to the ABC charter – such as lifestyle website ABC Life – were effectively adopted by Mr Anderson.

An ABC spokesman said that if the broadcaster had implemented all of the efficiency review's changes, staff and viewers would have been worse off.

"The adverse impacts on jobs and audiences would have been far worse if the efficiency review recommendations were implemented, as they would involve closing broadcast channels and considering increases in networked local radio," the spokesman said.

Wednesday's announcement was the biggest for Mr Anderson since he took the helm from Michelle Guthrie in 2018. Under the ABC’s five-year plan, ABC Life will be rebranded as ABC Local and shift focus to suburban and regional news coverage, while ABC Comedy will be jettisoned to focus on programs relating to the arts, science, education and religion. The ABC's 7.45am radio news bulletin, which has been running since 1939, will be axed.

The ABC also wants at least 75 per cent of its staff who make content to be based outside of its headquarters in Ultimo.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher welcomed the move. "The ABC needs to reflect all of Australia, and Sydney is not Australia, and Ultimo is not Sydney," Mr Fletcher said. "I welcome the commitment to the ABC being managed in an efficient and accountable fashion. I think that's what taxpayers would rightly expect."

Mr Anderson told ABC News it had been a "terrible day" for the organisation.

"This is a terrible day to be in this job, but this isn't about me," he said. "It's about the people we serve and it's about internally here at the ABC, it's about the people who are receiving bad news today... This is a terrible day but we will ... recover from this eventually.

"What we're trying to do is to make sure the ABC is as important in the future, and the important role it plays in the lives of all Australians, as much in the future as it is today."

Shadow communications spokesperson Michelle Rowland lamented the announcement.

"The media is in crisis, yet Scott Morrison’s cuts are forcing the ABC to scale back its radio news operations," Ms Rowland said.

"These cuts mean the ABC will spend $5 million less each year in Australia’s already struggling screen sector and there will be fewer Australian stories as a result."

The ABC’s latest restructuring is related to a funding freeze that is expected to cost the broadcaster $84 million over three years. But the ABC will still receive $1.1 billion in funding from the government this financial year, according to budget papers.

Spending on digital services like ABC iview will be increased as the national broadcaster tries to attract young audiences and "recently arrived Australians".

Optional sign-in to ABC digital products and email alerts are expected to be introduced over the next five years to personalise services for audiences. About $5 million will be cut from factual and entertainment shows rather than drama and children's programming.

The broadcaster will also commission content in different languages to attract "diverse communities" to its platform, and investment in emergency coverage for natural disasters such as last summer's national bushfire crisis will also increase.

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