The ABC has spent more than $5.2 million this financial year to promote its platforms, new figures show

The taxpayer-funded broadcaster has spent more than $10m this financial year on advertising, promotions and audience research.

The ABC has spent $5.2m on advertising so far this financial year to help boost its profile, despite declining audiences.

The new details of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s expenditure have been revealed in a response to a Senate estimates’ question on notice on May 23, which disclosed the media organisation had also spent $4.3m on audience research and $625,279 on promotions.

The estimates’ response said the ABC spent $3.19m — 60 per cent of its advertising spend on screen platforms — to increase the “public’s awareness of product and content running across ABC TV and ABC iview.”

It also spent $993,046 on audio advertising to boost its audio products including ABC local radio, Triple J and its app ABC listen, and $397,577 on digital advertising to promote its online products including ABC News.

The Australian Institute of Public Affairs’ deputy executive director Daniel Wild said given the ABC spends millions on audience research, the broadcaster should have a better approach to delivering content that appealed to a wider audience.

“For the millions of dollars the ABC spends on audience research, management is certainly not getting the message that mainstream Australians are sick and tired of being talked down to or told their country is a terrible place,” he said.

“When you have one of the most senior journalists at the ABC publicly ranting against one side of politics, and stating Australia has always been a racist country, without fear of punishment, Australians can have no faith in the independence and integrity of the taxpayer funded broadcaster.”

ABC managing director David Anderson. Picture: Martin Ollman.

Last week The Australian revealed that the ABC’s most high-profile journalist, 7.30 political correspondent and ABC staff-elected board director Laura Tingle, had told the Sydney Writers Festival that Australia was a “racist country” while also attacking Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. It prompted extensive backlash and resulted in the ABC cautioning Tingle over the incident, with managing director David Anderson admitting at Senate estimates the matter had “hurt” the broadcaster’s “ability to be impartial”.

Opposition communication spokesman David Coleman questioned the amount of spending by the ABC and said it was important the broadcaster justified its expenditure.

“In the middle of the government’s cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever that the ABC is careful with every taxpayer dollar that it spends.” he said.

In the 2022-23 financial year, the ABC received $1.07bn in funding and an additional $83.7m sweetener.

In the same period the broadcaster spent more than $16m on advertising, promotions and audience research.

The ABC was contacted multiple times for comment but did not respond.