Media reform must be rushed through while regional media is ‘viable’ says Senate committee chair

The man heading up the latest media reform Senate hearings has warned changes to existing legislation must be rushed through before regional broadcasters stop being “commercially viable”.

Speaking to Mumbrella on the sidelines of the ASTRA conference Senator James Paterson, who was part of the original reform committee, said further changes beyond the reach and two-out-of-three rules could be made at a later date.

That would deal a blow to the pay TV industry which is currently lobbying to have issues around anti-siphoning and over-the-top players and spectrum dealt with under the same package.

Most major media companies are pushing for changes to laws restricting how many types of media they can own and how much of the population they can reach as they seek to merge regional and metropolitan businesses in a bid to fight global online businesses like Facebook, Google and Netflix.