Turnbull Government to abolish licence fees in media reform package
The Turnbull Government is set to abolish broadcasting licence fees, further restrict gambling advertising in live sporting events across all platforms and repeal the two out of three and 75% audience reach media ownership rules as part of a comprehensive package of reforms that the government says will “improve the sustainability of Australia’s free-to-air broadcasting sector”.
Announced this morning, the measures, which are part of the government’s budget, include:
- Abolishing broadcasting licence fees and datacasting charges.
- Applying a fee for the spectrum that broadcasters use at a level more reflective of the current media landscape.
- Further restrictions on gambling advertising in live sporting events across all platforms.
- Amending the anti-siphoning scheme and list.
- Repealing the two out of three and 75% audience reach media ownership rules.
- A broad ranging and comprehensive review of Australian and children’s content.
- Funding to support the broadcasting of women’s and niche sports
Many of the reforms will still be subject to Parliamentary approval. Previous attempts by both the Labor and Liberal governments have stalled at that stage.
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And very quickly Ten is conveniently valued at a price for News / Foxtel to acquife. Watch out Nine, you just may get squeezed out of future NRL and cricket deals by someone with deeper pockets.
About bloody time!
This gives the industry the chance to consolidate and drive efficiency resulting in better local and content outcomes!!
Long overdue and very welcome changes. But would be interested to see the detail on the anti-siphoning list, particularly around AFL.
There are already fewer games on free-to-air this year, 3 per weekend instead of 4 (part of TV rights deal signed a year or two ago). Will this continue? When will it end? Will just the finals series be played on free-to-air? Or maybe a Friday night game each week?
More than happy to pay to watch more AFL (Telstra/AFL app has every game at just $5 per week – but is mobile and tablet only), so long as the options available to me follow these media reforms and move into the 21st century. I don’t want to pay for 30 channels of ad-filled garbage just to get a few channels of AFL and other sports. Hopefully technology and new competitors continue to twist the screws on a pay TV offering that is stuck in the stone age, desperately clinging onto what it once had…
The good old government, they always know to close the seacocks when the ship is just about to disappear below the waves; means there will be a lot of bailing to do, but at least the industry has a chance to float high again eventually.
Hi Concerned,
We’ve just published some more details on the changes to anti-siphoning: https://staging.mumbrella.com.au/government-proposes-reduce-anti-siphoning-list-100-events-442921
Cheers,
Miranda – Mumbrella
700mhz auctions showed how valuable these lower frequency uhf and vhf channels are to digicomms. FTA tv got a huge reduction in cost compared to telcom historically, but the buggers are broke, so I struggle to understand what appropriately priced spectrum will be.
This joint package is designed to allow news to buy TEN, without any ACCC or , even remotely, broadcasting law issues. They result, if passed, is that joint tv and newspaper news rooms, the death star to competitors, will be, as in Perth for Seven West Media, no go zones for any network competitor. So from every major East coast town from Cairns to Grafton, and all capital cities of states and territories, other than Canberra and Perth, eventual news near monopolies. This is a disastrous plurality of news outcome. That the government won’t separate the 75% reach rule, which would pass the senate, and allow Bruce Gordon to buy ten, instead of News, is the final tombstone Turnball is leaving Australia, in his hopeless Prime Ministerial record, and rendering apart the Liberal Party. One hopes the Greens, Labor and senate cross bench reject the complete Bill , and seek to pass only those things which have logic to change, licence fees, 75% reach rule, and some local content oddities such as children’s content. News already has 5 out of 4 media, APN and Ten control in the negative, DMG radio , Foxtel, and most Australian newspapers. The others have generally not even to 2. Fairfax with the completely incompatible partners at Macquarie Radio, and SWM in Perth. God save Australian democracy if this gets through.
It may be in the fine print, but I saw no mention of relaxing radio licence ownership rules. CRA made no mention of it but perhaps it’s not important enough for the legislators. Too late for MM Ltd anyway.
Alan Robertson.
This seems like a generous reading of the tea leaves. Consolidation and efficiency in media typically lead to lower quality and fewer choices. Also, mass layoffs, less diversity, etc.