ABC content chief puts shows on notice as Netflix, Stan alumni enter the fray

The ABC will take a “forensic” look at how weekday television spots can be better used going into next year, after a string of shows underperformed in prime-time slots and risked losing audiences.

The notice was given in an email sent to staff from content division head Chris Oliver-Taylor on Monday, seen by Crikey, highlighting the broadcaster’s “hits and misses” last week on the heels of the largest organisational shake-up seen at the broadcaster in more than five years.

Oliver-Taylor, a former Netflix executive brought in as part of the ABC’s restructure, raised questions over six shows in his note to staff. One of them was New Leash on Life, a six-part dog rescue series starring comedian Joel Creasey, which performed “a little under where we wanted”, he said, given its prime-time 8pm slot. “Really enjoyed the show though.”

The show’s “slightly softer launch” had a knock-on effect for The Black Hand, a documentary starring Anthony LaPaglia, which is also “not delivering the broad audience” expected, Oliver-Taylor said. Matters were worse for the team responsible for the BBC docuseries My Life in Ten Pictures, which was described as causing bosses “a major headache” for the killing effect it had on audiences in the slots following it from 8pm on Thursdays.

“Then that flows into Grand Designs New Zealand, which is also not holding up, this then affects Elders and Art Works which mean [sic] neither of those vital Australian shows get a solid lead-in to help build audiences,” Oliver-Taylor said.

The ABC declined to comment.

Earlier on Monday, the ABC announced two high-profile appointments to its content ranks, both from commercial streaming competitors, as the broadcaster attempts to compete for streaming audiences via ABC iview. Former Stan commissioning boss Rachel Okine was tapped as the ABC’s head of scripted, with former Netflix executive Susie Jones taking the reins as the broadcaster’s head of factual.

Some staff read the note, friendly as it may have been, as a warning shot symbolic of a more cut-throat working environment under their new boss, sources told Crikey.

It wasn’t all bad news, though. There was praise for the “massive numbers” secured by the return of Back Roads, a series following journalist Heather Ewart’s visits to remote towns and regions, which continues to prove a “clear audience favourite”, Oliver-Taylor said.

“I think a few more episodes in 2024 might make sense, although a little softer on ABC iview than we would like, so we will keep watching those,” he said.

He was also “really pleased” with the numbers clocked by Utopia and Gruen, “staples of the Wednesday night line-up”, as well as Gold Diggers, a show he “didn’t think would work as well as it has”, saying early iview numbers were strong.

Oliver-Taylor was appointed the ABC’s first chief content officer in March, reporting directly to managing director David Anderson, shortly before the ABC released its five-year plan. In it, the ABC outlined intentions to move resources away from AM radio band transmission and TV to podcast and on-demand programs, delivered through its ABC iview, ABC listen and ABC News platforms, with hopes to have a majority-digital audience by 2028.

As a result of the five-year plan, the ABC wielded the axe on some 120 jobs, including that of high-profile political editor Andrew Probyn, to refocus on attracting digital audiences.

In an email to the content division shortly after the restructure was announced in June, Oliver-Taylor said declining broadcast audiences are a “fundamental challenge” everyone at the organisation “must recognise”.

“The reality and context setting is vital,” Oliver-Taylor wrote in the email, seen by Crikey. “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.

“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, growing ABC iview and ABC listen is a key priority for us all.”

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