2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

77youth music festival, National Youth Week, the Next Wave Festival ConFusion and Sonic Allsorts. SBS Radio Trainingmaintained a wide network of partnerships with related bodies, both national and State.2.3OBJECTIVE:Maintain and increase government funding supportMEASUREMENT:Increased fundingBase funding by the Government for SBS’s ongoing activities increased by $2.8 million to $82.6 million. This increasewas the result of the application of the relevant cost increase index, plus an amount of $0.8 million to allow SBS to payhigher employer contributions for superannuation in line with increased Commonwealth-wide charges. During the year,SBS funding was increased by a further $12 million to cover the additional costs of the digital transmission rollout.SBS submitted proposals for funding new multichanelling, closed captioning and new media initiatives, extensions tothe National Radio Network and 24-hour television services. The Corporation also submitted a proposal to the Departmentof Communications, Information Technology and the Arts for a Video Acquisition, Indexing and Editing System for digitaltelevision broadcasting for consideration under the Government’s ‘Backing Australia’s Ability’ initiatives.SBS ensured awareness of SBS funding requirements by maintaining high level relationships with relevant ministers andministerial officers, other politicians and Government department officials.2.4OBJECTIVE:Increase the proportion of total organisational resources devoted to content and services through: efficiencies inadministration and production, internal partnerships and budget managementMEASUREMENTS:Increased percentage of budget directed to content and services; industry benchmarks to be identified and reportedagainst annually; and cost savings or other efficiencies generated by internal partnershipsSBS is continually searching for greater efficiencies in its operations and closely monitors the amount of fundsexpended on administrative overheads. In 2003-04 the percentage of the total budget spent on these items (13%) wasa marked decline from previous years (16% in 2000-01). SBS’s average cost per hour of television – about $17,000 – isby far the lowest of all the free-to-air networks. SBS’s average cost per radio hour broadcast is $2,740.In 2003-04, the percentage of Television’s budget allocated to provision of content and services other than engineeringand divisional management was 92%, compared with 90% the previous financial year, while the salaries budget(excluding redundancies) as a proportion of the total expenditure budget fell from 39% in 2002-03 to 37% in 2003-04.As a result, more money became available for program content.Sixty-two per cent of SBS Radio’s full-time equivalent staff are on-air broadcasters, with a further 20% in roles directlysupporting daily programs (Newsroom, Studio Operations and Resource Centres). Of the remaining 18%, five per centare in Training and Marketing, four per cent are managers or assistant managers, and the remaining nine per cent arein administration or specialist roles. Consequently, the vast majority of Radio’s budget is directed to program making.