ABC advertising spend hits $8.92m as it works to fix radio, TV ratings

The public broadcaster’s spending on market research and advertising has surged in the past year to help it promote its brands and content.

ABC managing director David Anderson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

ABC spending on advertising has surged to $8.29m in the past year as it works to fix its declining radio and TV audiences and overhaul its digital strategy.

Data seen by The Australian shows that in the 2022-23 financial year the ABC’s total expenditure on advertising, promotions and market research jumped to $16.07m. This including the $8.29m ­advertising spend, plus $7.09m on audience research and $687,000 on promotions.

This compares to $12m spent on market research, advertising and promotions in the 2019-20 ­financial year – the most recent figures available. The ABC did not disclose the amount spent in those areas in its past two annual reports.

In recent months ABC ­advertising has been scattered across the nation’s cities to promote its news services, streaming content and other programs ­including children’s content such as Bluey.

The latest data, obtained by think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, shows the ABC spent $1.762m on advertising in June, which was more than in any other month of the financial year. In the same month it also spent $1.21m on audience ­research and $88,200 on promotions.

Bella d’Abrera, director of the IPA’s foundations of Western civilisation program, said the ABC’s spending showed it was “in the grips of a crisis of relevancy”, after its ratings had dropped “like a stone”. “Now ABC management has had to resort to spending even more taxpayers’ money to dig ­itself out of a hole of its own making,” she said.

“Australians have every right to ask why they are continually forced to fund a broadcaster that is out of touch, biased and does not represent mainstream Australia.

“I am sure commercial broadcasters are asking the very same thing.”

In the 2022-23 financial year the ABC received $1.07bn. It ­also received a $83.7m sweetener last year after the federal government reversed cuts made under the ­Coalition.

In its 2022 annual ­report the ABC said it was increasing its ­advertising in order to connect with audiences. “The ABC is ­increasing its efforts to connect and inform audiences to grow awareness through targeted ­advertising campaigns (including off-platform activity) and improving brand attribution of ABC content in third-party environments,” the report said.

In 2021 the ABC set up an internal advisory group to review all radio metropolitan programs. A report was submitted to the board in June. Chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor has been asked to work on a shortlist of recommendations that can be implemented quickly.

Managing director David ­Anderson also said in June that the ABC would adopt a “digital-first approach” to try to engage a younger audience in order to address falling ratings across TV and radio.

The plan is to deliver a “digital-majority audience” by 2028. An ABC spokesman said the changes in expenditure, including on advertising, was a result of ­increased costs and it was done to “ensure that content can be found by audiences in a highly fragmented media landscape”.

“The changes in expenditure reflect significant cost increases for data research that are affecting the entire industry,” he said. ­“Industry data costs for video, audio and digital have all ­increased over the past year as the industry seeks to make improvements to measurement. Separate to this, the ABC’s marketing ­budget is small and targeted compared to others in the industry.”

A spokesman for Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was asked if the level of spending by the ABC on advertising, promotions and audience research was appropriate.

“The ABC has operational and editorial independence,” he said. “Questions about funding decisions made by the public broadcaster are a matter for ABC management”.