In its annual report, the Australian Children\u2019s Television Foundation (ACTF) revealed that it has invested or committed nearly A$10 million ($6.5 million) in production funding during the 2022-23 financial year, as well as investing almost A$600,000 ($390,000) in the development of 20 new projects.<\/p>\n
A$3,792,096 ($2.5 million) was spent on production investment, with a further A$6,109,916 ($4 million) committed to projects at the financing stage.<\/p>\n
Five ACTF-supported programs premiered during the year\u2014Barrumbi Kids<\/em>, Crazy Fun Park<\/em>, Kangaroo Beach<\/em> season two, 100% Wolf<\/em> season two and The PM\u2019s Daughter<\/em> season two\u2014and three ACTF-supported programs went into production\u2014Eddie\u2019s Li\u2019l Homies<\/em>, Space Nova<\/em> season two and Little J & Big Cuz<\/em> season four. A further five ACTF-supported programs were financed during the year, with production to start in the 2023-24 financial year: Windcatcher<\/em>, Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/em>, Whale Shark Jack<\/em>, Runt<\/em> and Kangaroo Beach<\/em> season three.<\/p>\n The ACTF invested in the development of 20 projects, with a total spend of A$596,205 ($390,000). Projects to receive funding were a mix of live-action and animation and included four films.<\/p>\n Helen Silver,\u00a0ACTF board chair,\u00a0 said: “Most of us take quality Australian children\u2019s screen content for granted. If we didn\u2019t grow up with it ourselves, our children certainly did, and we know just how important it is to have Australian stories for children to watch.<\/p>\n “This report highlights the remarkable range of children\u2019s content we are supporting in development and production and shares our achievements in bringing children\u2019s content to the world through our international distribution arm and into classrooms via the work of our education team. We have a remarkable story to tell across these pages.”<\/p>\n In a section addressed to the ministers, Silver said: “I would like…to draw your attention to the challenges that we face. Most of us take quality Australian children\u2019s screen content for granted.\u00a0If we didn\u2019t grow up with it ourselves, our children certainly did, and we know just how important it is to have Australian stories for children to watch. It wasn\u2019t until I started working with the ACTF that I became aware of just how vulnerable Australian children\u2019s content is.<\/p>\n “I have discovered that the Australian shows my children watched when they were little were there because of a complex system of support\u2014via funding as well as regulations requiring broadcasters to screen Australian children\u2019s content. No one fully funds Australian children\u2019s content, and commercial platforms have never willingly accepted obligations to screen children\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n “The way we watch content is rapidly changing, and parents and children are telling us they find it difficult to find Australian children\u2019s content amongst all the offerings that are out there. These are complex challenges, requiring us to evolve and respond to changing times. It is imperative that the support mechanisms for children\u2019s screen content are updated to ensure they are effectively delivering for the children\u2019s audience. We need to review the regulatory, funding and discoverability issues to ensure that Australian children continue to find a range of different Australian stories across all the platforms they engage with.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In its annual report, the Australian Children\u2019s Television Foundation (ACTF) revealed that it has invested or committed nearly A$10 million ($6.5 million) in production funding during the 2022-23 financial year, as well as investing almost A$600,000 ($390,000) in the development of 20 new projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":26198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[412,411],"class_list":["post-26197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-actf","tag-australian-childrens-television-foundation","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n