Re-thinking local content for Pay TV

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is understood to be re-thinking local content quotas for pay television, over concerns that current standards were put in place when subscription television was in its infancy. In 2008, 31% of Australian households now subscribe to pay television.

Currently, Foxtel must spend 10% of its drama channels’ total expenditure on new Australian drama. This ruling has resulted in such programmes as Love My Way (pictured), The King, Dangerous, Satisfaction and Project Greenlight. But it does not have to broadcast specific hours of Australian content.

Free-to-air channels must make sure 55% of content broadcast between 6am and midnight is Australian. This quota includes mandatory levels of first-run drama and children’s content.

During the fight for the Free Trade Agreement with the US, local unions pushed hard to protect our local content laws. Under the current trade agreement, the Government is now bound to retain the current local content scheme but not extend it.

As Alex Farrar notes in The Age, increasing the drama requirement to 20% requires US consent, which is unlikely to be given. The Motion Picture Association of America has indicated it will oppose any increase.

It leaves you wondering whether former Howard government minister Mark Vaile really succeeded in protecting local content when he signed the Free Trade Agreement with the US.

Source: The Age