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Australia Network guides will have to get Govt. ok

Next operators of the Australia Network will have to deliver their weekly programming to the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

The next operator of the government’s Australia Network, will have to comply with strict guidelines on programming and operational issues.

The free-to-air international satellite television service, which plays in 45 countries across Asia and the Pacific, opened to tenders in November.

Both the ABC and SKY News have been interested in its operations.

The Australian reports that new operators will have to provide the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with a programming schedule for every timeslot over a seven-day cycle, to be assessed as its worth as an “intelligent mix of the best of Australian content”.

The operator will also have to pay an annual “contribution” to the government and agree to running it on a non-exclusive basis.

Under the new changes, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will even have powers to influence programming.

Source: The Australian

7 Responses

  1. Paul — My sister lives in Canada and quite often I see Home and Away, Underbelly and one of the melbourne crimes shows (cant remember if its rush or city homi.) on what they call super channel. i also saw neighbours at one point very very late at night (thanks to jetlag) lol on a channel called peachtree tv from the Atlanta, GA region.

  2. @Ben: The vast majority of content currently airing on Australia Network airs on free-to-air TV anyway. With the addition of ABC News 24, all the major news content airs in Australia – Newsline w/ Jim Middleton (11:30pm on 24), Australia Network News (1:30am) and The World (9pm). They are different versions, but essentially all news content aired on Australia Network makes it to free to air. Then they air things like Home and Away, New Inventors, Q and A and various documentaries that have already aired on other ABC channels. So while it would be good to have access in AUS, we’d really only be getting an hour or two of additional unique content each day.

  3. Could this mean more or less sport on weekends? The AFL and the NRL won’t be happy with the new arrangement as Australia Network is the only channel available to showcase both codes into the region.

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