Nine tells government to halt media reforms until it has cut licence fees

The Nine Network appears to be the only major media company to have changed its position on media reform, calling for any changes to be “deferred” until licence fees have been cut.

Marks: Media reform should be halted until licence fees have been resolved

A one-page submission to the reconvened government inquiry into changing some media ownership rules saw Nine’s CEO Hugh Marks describe licence fees  – money paid by commercial, free-to-air broadcasters to the government in return for public airwaves – as “onerous and unfair”.

In a March submission to the previous media inquiry Nine also called for the licence fees to be cut, but stopped short of urging that no more reform be passed before the cuts are made. In that submission Nine also noted its annual EBITDA had halved over the past 15 years.