ASTRA uses a Deloitte report to press for anti-siphoning reform

By James Dore · 2026-10-22

The numbers

Subscription television contributed $2.4 billion in value added to the Australian economy in 2025, according to a Deloitte Access Economics report for ASTRA, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association. That is $759 million of direct contribution and $1.684 billion of indirect contribution.^[1]

The industry supported 15,728 full-time-equivalent jobs, 2,205 of them directly, and accounted for 28% of the broadcasting industry's value added. It has contributed $2 billion or more every year from 2019 to 2025, in 2025 dollars.^[1]

What Australians watched

Australians watched 2.6 billion hours of subscription television content in 2025, and 36% of it was produced in Australia. Sport was the biggest category at 1 billion hours, followed by news, factual and documentaries at 490 million and light entertainment at 428 million. The average Australian paid for 3.7 entertainment subscriptions.^[1]

The policy pitch

"Subscription television powers Australia's media, sport and screen industries, delivering meaningful economic value," said ASTRA chairman Peter O'Connell. "The way Australians view their sport and entertainment has changed and policy must keep pace."^[3]

ASTRA, whose members include Foxtel Group, BBC Studios Australia, ESPN Australia and Warner Bros. Discovery, is calling for the anti-siphoning scheme to be modernised and for a level playing field across platforms.^[3][2] Deloitte Access Economics was engaged by ASTRA to produce the report.^[1]

James Dore

James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.