As the ABC marches towards a digital future – with the assumption that by 2028 the majority of audience engagement will be on digital platforms – the public broadcaster has announced a series of sweeping changes.
Referred to as ‘savings measures and reinvestment initiatives,’ the changes are designed to address rising costs and support the transition to a digital-first format.
The restructure follows the release of the ABC Five-Year Plan. The central purpose of the plan, published last Friday, is to ensure the ABC remains relevant and delivers value for Australians, as well as setting out the priorities for the broadcaster through to 2028.
Out
• Up to 120 employees, including journalists, editors, camera operators, and sound operators. 40 positions will be made redundant in the ABC News division.
• Political editor, Andrew Probyn
• Eight state-based 7pm Sunday news bulletins
• The whole standalone Arts team, including the digital arts editor
• There will be a reduced number of ABC executives involved in the commissioning and production process with the independent sector
See Also: “Flabbergasted”: ABC political editor Andrew Probyn comments on redundancy amid restructure
In
• ABC News Sunday, a new national bulletin replacing the eight state-based bulletins
• A digital-first 10-minute reintroduction of Stateline
• A dedicated Climate, Environment, and Energy reporting team
• Enhanced iview, ABC News, and ABC Listen
• New roles established in the digital teams
In response to the announcement, the MEAA said in a statement that “The ABC’s decision to make its political editor redundant along with dozens of experienced journalists will inevitably weaken its ability to deliver quality journalism to the Australian public.”
ABC managing director David Anderson said “Along with media organisations here and overseas, the ABC is operating in an environment that is subject to inflationary pressures. We also need to increase investment in digital transformation to improve our efficiency and meet the needs of audiences.
“The continued migration of audiences from broadcast services to digital provides an opportunity to ensure the ABC is a trusted, central part of daily media consumption for more Australians.”
Chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor – who joined the public broadcaster in March from his previous role as Netflix’s director of production ANZ – said: “Our audiences have changed, we know this because we are part of the audience. We all watch Netflix or listen to music through Spotify. The biggest streamer in the world is YouTube. We all understand this audience behaviour,” he said.
“Linear has a place and remains a major focus for us, but we now must ensure the ABC commissions and delivers its content to all Australians in the way that they want to consume it.”