Latest ACMA research on kids' TV brings no comfort to Australian producers

Although the report purports to be about multi-screen behaviour, there is no breakdown of what devices are used, in what circumstances, or the content on those devices. There is also no data on children's use of YouTube other than a statement saying 43% of the sample - in the survey of parents - is using free online content, such as YouTube. Only 15% of children use only one platform. They would undoubtedly be the 0-4 group, but no table tells us that.

Not surprisingly, children aged 0-4 predominantly watched ABC2, but the figures are small and also declining. The programs they view are mainly short programs from the UK with Play School and Bananas in Pyjamas not rating a mention in the top ten.

The TARP figure (Target Audience Rating Points = Audience/Universe Estimate) is just 4.7% of all potential viewing children in that age group. In no table does ACMA give actual numbers for the 'universe' or potential viewing audience, but if a 5.6% TARP for Play School Celebrity Covers (1) equals 177,000 viewers then that implies a potential audience of close to 2.9 million so the program can hardly be said to be reaching its target widely. (1. This was the program made in 2016 for the 50 year celebration of Play School which was listed as the top children's program watched by 0-14 year olds.)

The decline in free-to-air TV viewing is consistent across all age groups with even pre-schoolers' time having dropped by 21%. The biggest shift is for the C and P programs that have been have moved to the multi-channels. In 2016, 81 % of all C and P programs were screened off the main commercial channels. Children aged 13-17 (do we regard someone aged 17 as a child?) watch more television on the commercial networks (double the ABC's average) but figures are low and have declined markedly since 2005. The data show 13-17 year olds are watching movies, reality television and infotainment/lifestyle programs rather than anything that could be called a children's program.

Programs made in the USA are the most popular with children aged 5-17, those made in the UK most popular with children 0-4, with Australian-made programs ranking lowest. In the 'parent survey', only 59% regard as 'important' whether or not a program is 'made in Australia or contains Australian content'. Of more concern to parents is the type of program, the time of the day, and the amount of advertising shown.

The assertions that have been made about the success of ABC Children's channels must be questioned as well by these figures. ACMA claims 'ABC2 is the most watched channel for children, particularly children's programs among pre-school children (aged 0-4).' But they show that only 4.7% of all Australian children aged 0-4 watched the ABC network in 2016. There are 1,464,776 children aged 0-4, so although the report claims that 4.7% is a rise since 2005, it's hardly a resounding success.

The audience share for the commercial networks dropped by between 42% (7 Network) and 59% (Ten Network). The figures are even more extreme for children aged 5-12: just 1.9% of all children in that age group – the group targeted by ABCME - watched the ABC, a drop of 9.5% since 2005. Free-to-air TV viewing has declined overall for all children aged 0-15 by 16% as they are moving to other devices.

So what about the regulated quota programs and their status among children – those that we might expect to be the main focus for ACMA?

'The data shows that children do not discriminate on the basis of a program.' They don't care where it originates.

All we can learn about C and P programming from the Report is that the shift to programming on multi-channels meant a significant drop for the top rating program in 2005 (185,000 viewers), into just 41,000 in 2016. To learn more about quota programs and who is watching, ACMA's research overview from 2015 is more useful. Children 0-4 represent the biggest audience of children's programs. Twenty one of thirty top programs were made in the UK in 2013, just three were Australian. Perhaps most disturbing was that the top C drama program on commercial television in 2013 was viewed by only 30,000 0-14 year olds. And Lockie Leonard , often spoken of in the same breath as Round the Twist, scored only 19,000 viewers and fewer than half that number were children 0-14. The overall numbers viewing these programs have dropped dramatically.

For the Australian and Children's Screen Content Review to be informed about the value of P and C classified programs, ACMA really needs to get its research questions and policy issues sorted out better than this. It should report findings from any such research in terms of the age categories most relevant to quota regulation categories. Reports from ACMA should be consistent. The 2017 Research report reads like an exercise in obfuscation, as though no one who has any sense of the policy issues involved, is overseeing this research. The real trends in Australian children's TV viewing and kids' interest in quota programs get little clarification from this report. Their very absences from viewing patterns suggest the current regulated Australian programs have little relevance for children's viewing.