Quotas plan ‘for survival of broadcasters’

Streaming giants and the ABC would be forced to hit quotas delivering more Australian content under a major shake-up of broadcasting rules.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher will release a green paper on Friday outlining reforms aimed at supporting struggling free-to-air broadcasters. Picture: Getty Images

Streaming giants and the ABC would be forced to hit quotas delivering more Australian content under a major shake-up of broadcasting rules aimed at protecting jobs and boosting local news and drama.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher will release a green paper on Friday outlining reforms aimed at supporting struggling free-to-air broadcasters and ensuring vulnerable communities, including the elderly and regional Australia, do not fall behind.

Under the proposed overhaul, Australian broadcasters would be allowed to shift to new television licences with reduced regulations if they agreed to use less radio­frequency spectrum.

The extra spectrum would be auctioned to raise funds through the 5G rollout in support of two funds, the public interest news-gathering trust and create Australian screen trust, to help bankroll Australian-made news and drama.

The reforms would put in place quotas for public broadcasters and streaming companies, including the ABC, SBS, Netflix, Disney and Stan, to produce Australian content.

Under current arrangements, commercial Australian channels and Foxtel must commit to delivering 55 per cent and 5 per cent of local content respectively.

In a speech in Sydney on Friday, Mr Fletcher will argue that changes to spectrum and local content quotas are required for broadcasters to survive in a post-pandemic digital age.

“We think it is important to have a reform plan so the industry — and the nation — can get ahead of these issues,” Mr Fletcher will say.

“Both metropolitan and regional broadcasters have been calling for changes, although different parts of the industry, and indeed individual companies, have different perspectives on what is needed. But there is no ­disagreement that the business model of Australia’s free-to-air television broad­casters is under severe strain … the internet has changed our media world.

“Doing nothing is not an option­.”

The Morrison government’s local content reforms follow a $30m budget coup for Screen Australia, which has been tasked with driving local content and bringing international film and television productions here.

Separate to the broadcast media reforms, Josh Frydenberg is finalising legislation for a mandatory code of conduct forcing the tech giants to negotiate agreements with media companies to pay for news content and share data collection methods.

The News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code, which is described as a world first and has received in-principle ­support from Labor, is expected to be tabled in the final parliament­ary sitting week of the year.

In a statement released on Thursday, Mr Fletcher said the media landscape had changed “significantly over the past decade­”.

“With declining revenues, rising­ costs and an outdated regul­atory framework, the capac­ity of Australia’s media sector to provide Australian programming, local content and public interest journalism is being challenged.

“These structural pressures have been accelerated by the economic impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic, reinforcing the need for regulatory action.

“What we are proposing would rebalance Australia’s media regul­ations so that the industry can continue to support jobs, connect­ communities, and keep Australian stories on our screens regardless of whether they prefer to watch free-to-air television, subscription television or video-on-demand services.”

Nationals MPs, who have called for action on spectrum taxes to relieve pressure on struggling regional television and radio stations, succeeded in getting $41m in spectrum expenses waived earlier this year to lift pressure during the pandemic.