ABC Head Rejects ‘Narrative of Decline’, Says Broadcaster More Relevant Than Ever

Hugh Marks also told his reporters not to ’self-censor' or be held back by political blowback to certain stories.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Managing Director Hugh Marks addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia on Nov. 19, 2025. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks has pushed back against claims the national broadcaster is losing relevance, unveiling fresh audience data he says contradicts the “narrative of decline” surrounding the organisation.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Nov. 19—his most public address since taking over nine months ago—Marks argued traditional ratings no longer capture how Australians consume content from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

“Some are running a narrative of decline and irrelevance. They could not be more wrong,” he said.

Marks pointed to the 550,000–600,000 metro viewers who still watch the 7 p.m. bulletin nightly, but said this figure represents only a fraction of the public broadcaster’s true audience. Once digital platforms are counted, he said, the broadcaster reaches millions more.

Add another 10 percent via the ABC News Channel, 10 percent on iView, 2 million daily ABC News digital users, 1.3 million on the 24-hour news channel, 8.1 million minutes watched on YouTube each day, and 400,000 daily social interactions, and Marks said: “Consumption of ABC News is growing. We are becoming more important. It’s just different.”

Call for More ‘Town Hall’ Style Engagement With Locals

Marks, who previously headed Nine Entertainment, said he wants the ABC to evolve—not by chasing sensationalism, but by broadening its storytelling.

“There’s a lot of bad things happening in the world … I do find that we need to balance that sometimes with the positivity of things that happen in our country,” he said, calling for more human-interest reporting and community-focused narratives.

He also said the ABC should bring back more town-hall style formats, allowing the public—not just politicians or commentators—to shape conversations.

“Rather than our journalists having to present balance in different perspectives, I do feel like we need to embrace the town hall notion a bit more,” he said.

Speaking on funding, Marks said the broadcaster could expand children’s content, documentaries and science programming with greater funding but must also redirect existing resources.

“We can do more with more money,” he said, adding the ABC must continually “deprioritise” lower-value work to invest in content that better serves Australians.

ABC’s Digital Reach

Marks highlighted growth across children’s content, radio and drama.

Each week, ABC Kids and family programming reaches 3.7 million Australians, with 400,000 more viewing on iView and 250,000 using the ABC Kids app. ABC family channels attract 6 million weekly views on YouTube.

“Where would we be if the ABC didn’t serve Australian children?” he said.

In drama, he cited the success of “Fisk,” which averages over 3 million viewers per episode.

ABC’s radio channels also reach 5.5 million metropolitan and major-regional listeners each week, plus 2.1 million in regional Australia. The broadcaster is the number one streaming radio network in capital cities.

And regarding podcasts, the ABC produces three of Australia’s top 10 shows.

ABC Needs to Better Commercialise Content

Marks also warned that the ABC must do a better job of retaining the value of its hit programs, pointing to Bluey as a cautionary example.

The globally successful children’s show, created in Australia and first broadcast on the ABC, now generates an estimated $300 million a year for the BBC.

The British broadcaster gained control over global commercial rights while ABC retained domestic ones.

“Let’s not make the same mistake again,” Marks said, arguing the ABC needs better business models to capitalise on home-grown projects if they become international success stories.

He stressed, however, that the ABC should avoid becoming “over-commercialised,” and maintain its core public-service mission.

Asked whether the ABC might one day take a BBC-style global brand approach, he said the name was already taken—and commercial ambitions were limited.

“Commercially, we already do a lot,” he said. “We make television, audio and news programs that have real value, but over time the ABC has allowed much of that value to slip away.”

Controversies Acknowledged

Marks’ defence of the ABC also comes as the broadcaster navigates several recent controversies, including disputes over coverage of transgender issues, high-profile complaints about impartiality, and criticism of a Four Corners report on the Jan. 6 incident in Washington D.C.

Just a week earlier, the BBC was forced to apologise and see two executives resign after a “mistaken” edit of a speech delivered by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, which gave an inaccurate portrayal of what he was saying.

Marks rejected any suggestions the ABC’s Four Corners had committed similar errors.

“The faults were not consistent on both programs. I didn’t accept that was legitimate criticism,” he said.

Meanwhile, he welcomed scrutiny of the ABC’s balance, particularly on sensitive subjects.

“Particularly about transgender issues and where the ABC sits on that … these are discussions that are reasonable to be asked externally and are reasonable for us to be thinking of ourselves internally,” he said.

‘Own Mistakes and Move On’

Marks urged staff not to self-censor or second-guess editorial decisions for fear of political blowback, saying there existed “a fearfulness of external force.”

“It’s important no-one is second-guessing themselves and trying to tick this off and that off. Stick to the journalism, the storytelling,” he said.

He said the ABC must correct missteps quickly but avoid defensive posturing.

“We have to not cower, but we can’t be defensive. When we make a mistake, own it. It’s not hard,” he said. “People accept this is a fast-moving world … we make the correction, we move on.”