Mixed messages over future of shows like THE WEEKLY at the ABC

As the broadcaster focuses on iView an executive proclaims a change in the shows that will be commissioned.

There was an interesting comment made this week at the Screen Forever conference by ABC’s Director of Content, Jennifer Collins, that will sound alarm bells for people like Charlie Pickering.

During a panel about “Getting to know the ABC audience” there was the discussion about future acquisitions by the national broadcaster.

As the industry starts focusing on a digital audience, the ABC is using data obtained through iView to see what is resonating with the online audience as opposed to the traditional broadcast audience.

While broadcast is still dominant in genres like current affairs and general entertainment, the audience is going to iView to watch dramas like Vera. And it turns out ‘evergreen’ shows like Hard Quiz and Muster Dogs are also favourites on the digital platform.

Sunday dramas are watched on iView by 45% of the audience and 25% on broadcast television. Another 25% catch the shows through encores.

You can watch my video explanation of this story on INSIDE MEDIA, which I make for 7NEWS.

Compare that to Wednesday night entertainment which is watched live on the ABC by 45% of viewers. 35% of people watch the encores and just 10% watch through iView.

Collins told the room that as the ABC transitions its audience over to iView, future commissions will be based on what resonates with that audience instead of the traditional broadcast audience.

She elaborated further, saying topical satire shows don’t have a long shelf life on iView, so going forward they are less likely to be commissioned. During this explination she specifically named The Weekly With Charlie Pickering, saying satirical shows like his would not be commissioned going forward.

This does not mean that show, or others like it, are going to be axed in the near future. What we’re talking about here are shows likely to be given the green light in the future. So, if a show like The Weekly was pitched now, it would have less chance of being picked up by the ABC whereas a show like Hard Quiz, which does not rely on topicality, is more favourable because of its ‘long tail’ (ie people will watch it for years to come as it is not time specific).

While this thinking makes sense, it would be a shame to see the loss of this type of format by the ABC which has had a lot of success with these formats. To me the ABC needs to find the balance between ‘evergreen’ formats and shows like The Weekly that might only have a short tail, but have a big impact on our culture and our understanding of topical events.

But that’s a view not shared by Managing Director Hugh Marks, who I spoke with on Thursday morning at the conference. When I asked him about the change of strategy going forward, he firmly told me he does not agree with it. While he said there always needs to be a balance when it comes to commissions, he did not believe satire shows should be dumped for evergreen content.

Marks is relatively new to his role as Managing Director and I genuinely believe he will be good for the ABC, but it looks like further discussions need to be held to get everyone on the same track.

This is an extract of my INSIDE MEDIA column which appears on the 7NEWS website every Monday and Thursday.

For the full story CLICK HERE.