ABSTRACT
Drama is an important part of Australia’s free-to-air television schedule. During 1998, the most popular drama series on television were all Australian. In the period from July to October that year, the two most popular drama series in every week of the ratings period were Australian. American programs appeared lower in the top ten programs. Australian drama is consistently more popular than imported drama. Many of the changes in Australian television drama over the years can be linked to funding arrangements for the medium. The international context is particularly important for the genre of television drama. The Film Finance Corporation (FFC) is ‘the Commonwealth government’s primary agency for providing investment to the Australian film and television production industry’ and aims ‘to realise the Commonwealth’s objectives of ensuring the Australian film industry contributes to the projection of diverse images of Australia locally and overseas by direct investment in film and television’.
