Parrot Analytics Genre Trend reports reveal which genres and subgenres appealed to a market's audiences the most during the quarter.

The key questions investigated in this report include:
1. Which genres are most in-demand for Australian audiences this quarter?
2. How do genre trends in Australia compare to global trends for the quarter?
3. Which subgenres are most in-demand for Australian audiences this quarter?
4. For only digital original series, what genres are most demanded by Australian audiences this quarter and how is this different to the overall shares?

For all titles, which genres are Australian audiences demanding most?

• Between July and September 2020, audiences in Australia expressed the most total demand for series in the drama genre. 39.2% of demand expressed was for a series in this genre. Australia’s most demanded drama in these three months is the sci-fi drama The 100.
• Comedy is the second most demanded genre with a 15.2% share of audience attention. From July to September, NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine is Australia’s most in-demand comedy series.
• Reality is close behind comedy as the third most in-demand genre in Australia with a 14.5% demand share. Of the remaining genres, each captured less than 10% of Australian audiences’ attention during the quarter.

How do Genre Demand Shares in Australia compare to global trends?

• When genre demand shares in Australia are compared to worldwide shares, we see drama series are less demanded in this market. The demand share from Australian audiences for drama is -3.4% lower than the worldwide average demand share.
• In Australia, the reality genre captures a larger share of attention compared to the global average. In Australia, the demand share for reality is +5.3% greater than the global share. Between July and September, the most demanded reality series in Australia was the Australian version of The Voice.
• For all other genres, the difference between the global and Australian demand shares is less than +/- 1%. This suggests that, aside from drama and reality, Australian genre preferences are largely similar to the global average.

For all titles, which subgenres are Australian audiences demanding most?

• Despite drama’s demand share being lower than the global average, it is accounts for the largest share of demand in this market. This is apparent here where the most in-demand subgenre for the quarter is crime drama.
• In global trends, thriller is the 9th most in-demand subgenre for the quarter. In Australia however, the 9th most in-demand subgenre is competition reality. This is the most in-demand reality subgenre this quarter, accounting for 2.4% of total demand.
• Demand in Australia for sitcoms and comedy dramas helped make comedy the second most in demand genre in Australia between July and September. In particular, sitcoms accounted for 7.3% of total demand here compared to the global average of 6.8%.
• Children’s (school age) content was the 4th most in-demand subgenre in Australia during the quarter with a 4.1% share of total demand. The most in-demand school age show during this time is PAW Patrol.

For digital original titles, which genres are Australian audiences demanding most?

• Looking now at only digital original series, the Australian demand share for drama remains the largest of all the genres. Compared to the drama share for the overall market of 39.2%, the share for digital original dramas is even higher at 42.0%.
• The demand for action and adventure series increases substantially for the digital original market compared to the overall market, going from a 7.3% share to a 19.7% share. Between July and September, the most in-demand action and adventure digital original for Australian audiences is Disney+’s The Mandalorian.
• Reality accounts for a significantly smaller share of demand among digital originals in Australia (2.9%) compared to its total share among all series (14.5%). Interestingly, reality series made in Australia account for 40.2% of Australian demand for all locally produced content. This could indicate an opportunity for more digital original reality content to satisfy Australian’s hunger for the genre.

This report is intended as a high-level overview of genre trends in this market. To access more granular genre demand trends for specific platforms, types of titles, timeframes and more, please contact your Parrot Analytics representative.

For more information, check out the most up-to-date Australia television industry overview.