Tony Lynch

Ampere Analysis was quoted in the The Australian Financial Review today, in Sam Buckingham-Jones's profile of Australian broadcasters’ renewed focus on reality programming. For those of you in the industry, here is some more detail around the themes of Sam’s article, because, as the article describes, the global trends around unscripted programming are nuanced. Ampere’s proprietary data shows there has been a clear shift towards unscripted TV over the last couple of years on a global basis. Some insights from Ampere’s global commissioning data sets: ↗️ In 2021, about 70% of global TV orders were unscripted (30% scripted). In YTD 2024, that has increased to 75% (25% scripted) (and in case you were wondering, this is not being skewed by the US, where the % change ‘21-‘24 is comparable). ↗️ ↗️ And - the change in mix of orders from the major streamers really outpaces this - about 54% of their orders in '24 were unscripted vs 36% in '21 - a major shift for players like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Max & co. As Sam notes, Australia bucks this trend a bit. Ampere’s data shows that whilst from ‘21-‘23, there was a broad shift to unscripted from the Australian broadcasters, across ’24, there’s been a rebound of sorts for scripted TV, representing ~20% of series orders vs 16% in ‘21. This is mainly coming from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Nine, Paramount's networks, and also Amazon. 🔔 But - the broader story is that⚡ volumes of TV have just dropped⚡. Back in Q3 2023, globally there were ~1,100 scripted series commissioned in the quarter, and ~3,300 unscripted. In Q3 2024 that had dropped to ~900 scripted series and ~2,800 unscripted. This data bears out what we are all experiencing - the whole industry has faced a tough period from a cost-cutting perspective, which has been slightly more extreme for the scripted TV producers. For Australia, the market is definitely favouring scripted in ’24, and the cuts to unscripted have largely fallen on documentary content - reality has been fairly stable year on year. Hope this extra insight helps – if you’d like more detail on this, DM me, or comment below if a quick one. https://lnkd.in/gEgQs-iM Richard Broughton Matthew Trickett

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"NOVA is more than just an upgrade, it’s a fundamental enhancement of your studio’s sound, making it a critical tool for producing outstanding audio." These are the words of Australian-born producer and mix engineer Daniel Nesci, after upgrading his studio with a NOVA processor. Learn more about his experience getting set up with the unit and his first impressions! Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/ekcgza73

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SPORT STREAMING: STAN Australia newspaper advert from today's Daily Telegraph (Sydney) for STAN SPORT coverage of the Super Rugby Pacific Quarter Finals. Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 6th June, 2024. If you have questions about the products, marketing and strategy of Pay TV and streaming businesses worldwide, or you'd like to see other notable case-studies and examples, please reach out. #stan #stansport #nineentertainmentco #australia #streamingvideo #sportstreaming #superrugby

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Immersive experiences are reinventing our industry. But it’s not because of all the fan-fare and impressive technicality. This style of events has increased: spectator expectations and the value they see in attending. My partner and I recently looked at going to see a well-known comedian in Sydney. But once we factored in all expenses (travel, accommodation, dinners etc) it was going to be at least a $1200 affair. $1200 for a 1-hour performance and a performance that - I hate to say - we can easily watch (and enjoy) on Netflix. For that kind of money, I want a much more spectacular experience. People are craving to be fully immersed in experiences. They want to be part of them. They want to forget about their lives for a few hours - now more than ever. On the flipside, for event professionals, the people that will get the most out of the events industry, career-wise, in the next 3-5 years will be the ones that understand and adapt to this change (and the technology coming along with it). They will figure out how to use it in a proactive and positive way to expand the reach of events whilst making them affordable. What are you currently paying attention to in the world of immersive experiences? Photo cred: cosmopolitanme

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While Screen Australia can’t share the details of specifics applications and decisions made due to tax legislation, Producers absolutely can with their own projects - and do. Producers all talk to each other, all share the results of Offset decisions and details, and all see where inconsistencies exist in decisions across projects, particularly in relation to related party transactions and budget sizes. If Screen Australia makes interpretations of the legislation that go beyond it’s terms of reference, and are inconsistent in its application, they’re administering the offset in a way the legislation didn’t intend, and as such leaving themselves open to direct litigation - which we seem to be building towards. The legislation is there to support and stimulate industry and Producers should be bold (and public where necessary) in fighting claims they believe are being unfairly or inconsistently treated. The AAT is one way to do that, and more regular use of FOI requests to explore decision making can be of benefit also. But what Screen Australia can do: and which I call on them to do, is publish for the first time a detailed set of guidelines on its interpretation of and its internal framework for, arms length transaction rates and percentage scales. But it can’t be just words, the industry needs numbers. This could mean specifing acceptable baseline ranges for certain types of fees with corresponding guidelines for how the agency then considers figures outside these ranges. This would benefit the industry greatly by giving greater certainty to projects, allow for more confidence with budgeting, and ensure greater compliance. Projects might need some secrecy, but the (detailed) framework of decision-making shouldn’t.

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Imagine stepping into a recording booth with years of acting experience under your belt—but no clue how to deliver a single commercial line. That was Andrew James when he came to me. Andrew’s credits include some of Australia’s most prestigious stage productions, but when it came to voiceover, he was swimming in uncharted waters. 🎤💡 The Challenge: It’s one thing to move an audience in a theatre—it’s another to convince someone they need a jar of Jalna Yoghurt or a bottle of Glenfiddich in 30 seconds. Andrew’s raw talent was undeniable, but he struggled with nailing the timing, tone, and energy required for commercial voiceovers. His reads felt too much like dialogue and less like the quick, persuasive bites needed to grab attention. The Fix: We shifted gears. Instead of fighting his instincts, I wrote scripts that allowed his theatrical strengths to shine. Scripts that felt like monologues with a twist. We leaned into his storytelling ability and let his voice do what it does best—captivate. With spots like Liquorland and Jalna Yoghurt, Andrew’s ability to emote and connect became his secret weapon. As for the KFC and Qantas spots, we dialled down the intensity and worked on delivering a more casual, conversational tone—no hard sell needed. The Result: In just two sessions, we built a demo that showcases Andrew’s voice across a variety of genres, from laid-back to hard-hitting, without losing the authenticity that makes him unique. Best of all, Andrew can walk into any studio session with confidence, knowing that if he’s called on to recreate one of those performances live, he can easily do it. We didn’t have to spend hours meticulously stitching together words and phrases to get that perfect take. It’s all him—real, raw, and repeatable. If you’re a stage actor thinking of jumping into VO, take a listen to what I created with Andrew. This could be you too—because there’s no one way to land a gig. 🎙️👇 https://lnkd.in/gqfYeMxc

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Exciting times ahead

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The Australian screen industry has been waiting for nearly ten years for the Australian Government to regulate digital streaming platforms for the benefit of Australian audiences. With legislation on the horizon, now is the critical time to get the details right. WHY IS REGULATION NEEDED? In short: Australian audiences deserve to see Australian stories on screen. Regulation is needed to ensure that, like other platforms, streaming services fulfil their mutual obligation to invest in minimum levels of Australian content now and in the future. This will bring streaming services into a regulatory system for Australian screen content that has served audiences and our industry so well for the past 70 years and deliver on a promise made to us in our National Cultural Policy, Revive. Audiences are currently able to see some great Australian stories on their screens and we want to know that this will continue into the future, irrespective of offshore business decisions. HOW CAN I GE INVOLVED? In the coming months when laws to debate this issue are in Parliament, we need your help. Everything you do to support our campaign helps us and our industry. We have tough, influential, and well-resourced opponents, and so we need you to use your own voice to support our efforts.

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📽️ BOX OFFICE RECAP 📽️   🍿 Last weekend delivered yet another strong box office performance, with Australia surpassing 1 million admissions for the fourth weekend in a row, alongside an outstanding result of 179,000 admissions in New Zealand.    🧠 Inside Out 2 is rapidly climbing the all-time animation ranks, reaching the milestone of the 4th highest-grossing animated film ever in Australia.   👀 Despicable Me 4 has surpassed the earnings of Despicable Me 3 and is closing in on Despicable Me 2, positioning it to become the top-grossing film in the Despicable Me/Minions franchise.   🌪️ Twisters had a strong opening weekend, grossing $3.7 million at the Australian box office and $430,000 in New Zealand. The film drew over 178,000 Australians and 20,000 Kiwis in its first four days, with 56% of the audience in both markets being fans aged 25-54, reflecting strong nostalgia for the original film.   Source: CineTAM 2024. #ValMorgan #BoxOffice #InsideOut2 #DespicableMe4 #Twisters

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Weekly Executive Briefing: Exciting updates in the industry this week: - First Citizens is now offering business loans up to $250,000 without personal guarantees, providing a fantastic opportunity for clients in need of capital without risking personal assets. This could be a potential selling point for larger projects or expansions. - VFXnow Hardware Buyout Program is offering a no credit check option for equipment buyouts, allowing clients to smoothly transition from rental to ownership. A flexible choice for studios looking to build long-term infrastructure. - AWS is extending financial assistance for POCs, Migration, and Modernization of Workflows for new and existing clients. This presents a significant opportunity to offset initial deployment and migration costs, serving as an incentive for clients hesitant about cloud transition expenses. - AWS Deadline Cloud Update introduces a new fully managed render farm service, simplifying setup and management of cloud-based rendering. A scalable solution tailored for VFX, animation, and design clients. - Secure Studio is offering Core Studio Managed for $3,000 per month compared to an in-house Engineer priced at $120,000 - $200,000. Emphasize the vital importance of keeping security and backups up-to-date while considering the opportunity to provide a co-managed service for less than a Jr. admin. Stay informed and seize these opportunities in the evolving landscape! #ExecutiveBriefing #VFX #media #CloudSolutions #youtube #creative

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I could write an essay or professional white paper on the many remarkable experiences I had this week at the 2024 NAB Show. I was introduced to the technological roadmaps of such iconic and trusted names as Grass Valley, Chyron, EVS and Ross. My immediate, initial takeaway is this: In a sports production world where betting (rather, “gaming”) is strongly emerging from the shadows to the forefront, we as an industry have a decision to make: are we going to serve the gaming industry or are we going to innovate for the rest of our audience? Real time technological Innovation means introducing inherent processing delay. Inherent delay, no matter how small, sits well with neither the gaming industry, nor their oversight commissions. Thus we, as an industry, are at a crossroads of which no one is really speaking. I will state the obvious for those who will not: The broadcast / media distribution industry can either innovate and move technology forward for the larger viewing audience *with* the introduction of understood, inherent delay … OR we can dial back and simplify our presentations (and still introduce inherent transmission / distribution delay) to accommodate the needs & desires of the gaming community to the best of our ability. We absolutely cannot do both, nor can we do either without the introduction of some form of delay. In my view the gaming industry must accommodate their own needs with no reliance upon the media distribution companies. Watching an event on television should have no bearing upon those who chose to place wagers. It should absolutely be incumbent upon the companies accepting those wagers to provide an “as-close-to-real-time-as-possible” version of the gameable events as they unfold in real time. This may seem trite, perhaps even a no-brainer for those who understand broadcast or app based distribution models of media, but I have yet to see one person come out and openly state that our industry cannot serve both. It’s truly one or the other and, quite frankly, I would prefer that my beloved industry continue to innovate and introduce further processing delay, while leaving the realtime gaming to the gamers.

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My latest feature on ABC "No Plan B".. check it out below.

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My dear friend Darren K Hawkins, the Director, and producer and co-writer of “Kennedy” speaks to Cinema Australia about our upcoming film. If you’d like to learn more about this incredible feature film, click the link below. #kennedythefilm

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As Big Tech platforms de-prioritise News, and in Australia and Canada refuse to pay news providers and block News feeds, what does this mean for The Fourth Estate? Most certainly continued decline, particularly among GenZ and young adults, who search for news mostly on social media. At Snibble we have a solution for this. We feature only News - meaning the latest and greatest short form videos - from only professional news providers including Al Jazeera, Brut, Canadian Press, CBC, Cheddar, Euronews, Fox, New York Post, Times of India et al.. We also the latest Music News, Sports News, Gaming News, Entertainment News and Celebrity News. If this is not enough, we provide our users with unique social features that allow them to share their favourite News clips with just one tap. Snibble, where you can find all the world's latest News that's fit to share! #snibble #genz #nofakenews #digitalcanbebetter

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