Community TV misses out from Budget

Community TV groups weren’t impressed with last week’s Federal Budget, noticing that commercial broadcasters and producers all came away with something in their respective showbags.

Channel 31 Melbourne is worried it will get left behind as viewers move to digital platforms, while it is left to transmit on analogue. And with dwindling viewers so too will revenue fall.

The largely volunteer station has already installed a fully digital transmission facility with a state of the art transmitter. But it seems Mr Costello and co aren’t tuning in.

31 is noted for not only representing various sectors of the community, but it was also pivotal in the career of Gold Logie winner Rove McManus. SBS is also about to launch Vasili’s Garden, another 31 discovery.

Press Release

Federal Budget provides no help for community television

C31 Melbourne is extremely disappointed to find that once again the government has demonstrated a lack of support for community television, with a total absence from last night’s Federal Budget of any assistance for community television to convert to digital broadcasting.

The Government has previously given the national broadcasters $1 billion and the regional commercial stations $250 million to upgrade to digital. Commercial and national broadcasters have also been given a double helping of valuable broadcasting spectrum so that they can run analogue and digital services in parallel. Meanwhile, community television has received nothing. Whilst C31’s audiences are currently holding steady at 1.3 million viewers per month, the station faces a future of diminishing viewers as more and more people convert from analogue to digital reception in the next few years. In fact, with the Government trying to get more viewers to convert to digital, it almost seems as if they are actively trying to drive viewers away from watching community television.

With no Federal funding, C31 is reliant on sales of sponsorship and program airtime to raise revenue. These are activities which require a critical mass of viewers, and there is a very real risk that within one or two years there will not be enough viewers still watching on analogue to keep the community television business model viable. Without some assurance of digital broadcasting in the near future, C31, like rest of the community television sector, faces an inevitable decline in revenue. By the time the Government takes action, it may be too late for community television stations that have run out of money and viewers.

There is no timeline for the conversion of community television to digital. There is not even a definite plan of how it is going to occur other than a vague “don’t worry, we’ll see you right” gesture in last year’s Digital Action Plan, which includes taking away the current allocation of broadcast spectrum from community television and selling it off to commercial interests. Even the most promising possible option for digital – being carried by the successful bidder for the Channel A datacast licence to be auctioned off later this year – would require C31 to pay access fees far greater than its current costs of transmission; fees that the station would not be able to afford to C31 without government support.

We are pleased to note that the Government perceives some value in the concept of community broadcasting, and has allocated $10.5 million to assist community radio as they start the process to convert to digital broadcasting. At least the same mistakes that have been made with television are not occurring again for radio, and such assistance from the outset will help community radio to avoid the problems that television has faced in going digital.

C31 is keen and ready to join the rest of Melbourne’s television services in digital broadcasting. We have already installed a fully digital transmission facility, and are equipped with a state of the art transmitter that could be converted to digital whenever the Government gives the green light. We are prevented from going digital only by the lack of regulatory and financial support from the Federal Government. We call upon this Government to start giving community television some concrete promises to reassure the station and the community television sector that they are not being left to die.”