Is the last Australian show you’ve binged Round the Twist? Is your favourite Aussie movie of this century still Kenny? Is it news to you that Hoyts now has reclining seats? A new study seeks to shed light on the preferences and behaviours of Australian moviegoers and TV watchers.
Oddity Entertainment are asking how and why Australians watch movies and TV. A grand prize of one year’s free Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime Video will be awarded to the winning participant of the survey, which is open and free to enter.
Emerging producers Hew Sandison and Simone Thompson are behind the survey, curious what the average Australian – those not working in their industry – think of homegrown film and television.
“It’s a regular topic between our filmmaking peers” Hew commented “Is Australian content delivering what people look for when they load up iView or Netflix?”
The idea for the survey was born when Hew and Simone noticed how many people their age had no idea which Australian shows were on TV. When asked for which ones they’ve recently seen, Please Like Me often sat alone as the only Aussie show millennials watched to the end.
Hew said that in recent years, Australia’s screen production sector has been challenged by an evolving broadcast landscape. The Make it Australian campaign has brought together the industry to champion content obligations for streamers, improved tax incentives and funding for public broadcasters. Producers also face the challenge of keeping up to date with rapidly changing behaviours and preferences of audiences. It’s information that’s increasingly important to funding bodies, even as platforms fracture and streamers keep the numbers close to their chests.
“We want to discover whether Australian content is reaching and resonating with Australian audiences in the first place; do we even know what’s out there?” Hew commented “It’s an additional dimension to the great discussions Make it Australian has started, though one we believe could be discussed more.”
The survey is open until 11:59pm on Thursday the 24th of October. Any Australian citizen, resident or international student over the age of 16 can enter.