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Audience trends

Average expenditure per person on selected items, ranked by 1998/99 spending, 1988/89, 1993/94, 1998/99 and 2003/04

While the number of households grew by 9 per cent between 1998/99 and 2003/04, the number of people grew by only 6.2 per cent.

This measure shows how expenditure per person changes over time. Like the figures per household it can be used to show whether people are more inclined to spend money on cultural items than they were in the past, but it is particularly relevant to spending which relates more to individuals than to households – cinema admissions for example. Allowance should be made for inflation when considering the trend over time (between 1998/99 and 2003/04 the CPI increased by 18.3 per cent).

While annual expenditure on hire of video tapes has remained fairly static at around $24 per person over the four surveyed periods, expenditure on purchase of video cassettes (blank and pre-recorded) has grown from $7 to $47, probably mainly due to the recent surge in the popularity of DVDs.

Annual expenditure ($) per person % change 1999/99 to 2003/041
1988/89 1993/94 1998/99 2003/04
Home computer equipment, software and TV games, total2 36 78 101 150 49%
Home coputer equipment (including pre-packaged software) n.a. n.a. n.a. 122
TV games and computer software n.a. n.a. n.a. 28
Television (equipment, hire, etc), total3 43 58 68 100 47%
Television (equipment hire etc) excluding home entertainment systems n.a. n.a. n.a. 73
Home entertainment systems n.a. n.a. n.a. 27
Video cassette recorders, etc total 36 26 40 63 58%
Video cassette recorders n.a. n.a. n.a. 7
Video cameras n.a. n.a. n.a. 19
Set-top boxes n.a. n.a. n.a. 4
Digital video disc players/laser disc players and video equipment n.a. n.a. n.a. 33
Subscription TV fees4 n.a. n.a. 14 55 293%
Video cassettes and video discs (blank and pre-recorded), total 7 14 14 47 236%
Blank video cassettes and video discs n.a. n.a. n.a. 4
Pre-recorded video cassettes and video discs n.a. n.a. n.a. 43
Cinema fees and charges 13 24 34 40 18%
CDs, records and tapes, total 12 31 41 34 -17%
Pre-recorded compact discs and record (audio) n.a. n.a. n.a. 33
Audio cassettes and tapes n.a. n.a. n.a. 1
Hire of video cassette tapes and TV/computer games 22 28 24 24 0%
Online charges5 n.a. n.a. 6 19 217%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Expenditure Survey, 1988/89, 1993/94, 1998/99 and 2003/04 (unpublished data).

Notes:
n.a. data not available
1. Between 1993/94 and 1998/99 the CPI increased by 18 per cent.
2. Due to classification changes the TV games category has been combined with home computer equipment and software from 1998/99.
3. Includes TV aerials.
4. Included as a separate category for the first time in 1998/99.
5. Included as a separate category for the first time in 1998/99; includes internet service provider charges.

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