★★★★★ 0/5

SBS: ‘Put ads on ABC too’

6
Leave a comment

SBS’ Managing Director Shaun Brown says the ABC should be forced to run ads.

He has made the claim upon the ABC to The Bulletin magazine.

Brown also defends SBS against accusations it has been dumbed down by screening ads.

“If you travelled the world and asked about other public broadcasters, with the exception of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), you would not find adherence to the concept that unless you are commercial-free, you’re somehow corrupted,” he said.

Source: news.com.au


6 Responses

  1. No Ads On SBS: Why?

    In late 2006 SBS-TV began interrupting programs for commercial breaks. This is a fundamental departure from its past practice of screening advertisements only between programs. Commercial/promo break interruptions into program are annoying and not natural. These interruptions disregard the viewer experience and destroy the program integrity. Ads and commercial sponsorship are against the spirit to which all public broadcasters should aspire and are not part of the SBS Charter.

    SBS is a tax-payer-government funded public broadcaster.

    The need to appease advertisers seeking to maximise audiences, will affect SBS programming and result in SBS losing its unique character as a multicultural broadcaster admired around the world. Inevitably, the Federal government will withdraw further from its responsibility to fund the public broadcaster if SBS continues to run ads.

    The SBS experience has demonstrated that once the commercial foot is in the door, its presence grows.

    Sign the petition to protect SBS, stop the ads and maintain our multicultural public broadcaster funded fully by government. Click http://petition.saveoursbs.org and wait while you are redirected to the eptition server.

  2. Once you allow ads, it does appear to be a slippery slope and I wonder if at some point it *can* influence programing and chase ratings.

    I didn’t mind SBS putting ads between shows but it’s a shame to have them during the show.

    SBS hasn’t attracted me much since the Movie Show hosts switched networks. I think it’s quite telling that it was over their disillutionment about changes at the network.

  3. Hi David,

    I’m not sure that SBS has ‘dumbed down’ as a result of the ads – maybe they just coincide. But I’m very sure it’s a whole lot less pleasureable to watch. Show the ads (if they must) between programs, certainly not within programs.

  4. Shaun Brown should be put on a list, entitled ‘People who are not allowed to work for the ABC.’
    –
    What a nonsense suggestion! Why on Earth are some people so obsessed with puttng ads on everything??? Are we not entitled to have a national broadcaster, with freedom of journalism? Have we not seen time and again the compromises that journalists hve to make in commecial media?

  5. SBS is worried because it’s Labour Government policy to challenge SBS’s right to run ads during programs. I wrote to Senator Conroy (then shadow communications minister) a couple of months ago about this and he not only said that it was his belief that it was illegal, but that he had spoken out about it twice in the Senate.

    I personally don’t mind if the ABC gets ads (they already do, effectively, with all their ABC Shop promos) or if SBS continues to have ads. Just don’t interrupt programs to show them when those programs are not meant to be interrupted.

    Mythbusters? Fine. It has ad breaks already.

    RockWiz? Not fine, it is meant to be shown in one go, and they’ve had to do some judicious editing to shoehorn ad breaks into it.

    Movies? NO ADS. PERIOD.

  6. I don’t watch commercial TV for 2 reasons. One is the number of annoying adverts and pop ups and the other is because its not on the Foxtel EPG. On SBS I enjoy watching “Shameless” and “Top Gear” and “Is your House Killing You” however I find the ad breaks really annoying especially during a one hour drama like Shameless. I don’t mind adverts before and after programming but I don’t agree with advertising during programmes. Tax Payer funded broadcasting should not contain adverts. – BarrieT Perth

Leave a Reply