Anyone doubting the scale of the challenges facing the ABC right now need only look at the figures revealed in the Senate last Friday to see how great they are.

In response to questions on notice from the Greens' Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the ABC coughed up a set of numbers that point clearly to the conclusion that the national broadcaster is stretched to breaking point in some key areas.

The money allocated by the ABC to Australian content other than news and current affairs last year was down almost 9 per cent from 2012-13, from $188.14 million to $171.86 million. The dollar amount declined in each of those four years, meaning that while CPI rises pushed the cost of productions higher, the money available to fund each of them was dropping. Unsurprisingly, that resulted in fewer hours of Australian content.

Last financial year, the ABC produced or commissioned just two-thirds as many hours of fiction (drama and narrative comedy) as it did four years earlier. All told, it produced just 70 hours of the stuff, and spent 18 per cent less ($45.2 million versus $55.1 million) doing so.