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Another call to merge ABC and SBS

Outgoing chairman of the ABC, Maurice Newman says that ABC and SBS should be merged.

Outgoing chairman of the ABC, Maurice Newman has told The Australian that ABC and SBS should be merged.

It’s a line that has been floated before, but curiously it wasn’t one that generated any traction under his own reign.

But with less than one month from his retirement, it’s now being raised again. He says he has been trying to convince the directors of the board to back a merger during his five-year term as chairman.

“I pursued it for five years and again during my previous term. I think it is an idea that has come but unfortunately not on my watch.

“SBS doesn’t need a separate broadcasting station. There’s only one underwriter and that’s the taxpayer,” he told the newspaper.

ABC is known to be far more reluctant on the idea than SBS, now managed by a former ABC exec, Michael Ebeid. Under punishing financial constraints, SBS is hoping for a lifeline in the May budget.

SBS has previously floated concepts for more multichannels, including an Indigenous channel, but funding is the key to any growth.

But the idea of a merger may only interest those who are closer to the problem. Across three Audience Inventory surveys on TV Tonight from 2009-11, the idea of merging public broadcasters has repeatedly attracted a “Not Important” vote from readers.

Newman’s replacement will be announced in the new year.

31 Responses

  1. The ABC had its chance to get its paws on running the multicultural broadcaster back in the days of the Fraser government. The ABC wasn’t interested then in operating any such service – even though it would have given them a precious second channel – so that’s what prompted SBS to be created in the first place.

    So the horse has well and truly bolted – although I do see some merit in merging some backstage operations between the two or even sharing facilities such as studios etc. Perhaps ABC should have gone into a MediaHub-type venture with SBS instead of WIN which would have seen some saving of tax dollars instead of us funding two sets of infrastructure.

  2. @ James….I don’t know which ‘bland’ channel you are watching?!?
    I watch quite a bit of SBS….movies etc….loved things like Go Back to Where You Came From…..and shows like Silvio Riviera’s Global Village…. etc….
    And FYI….I am anglo/saxon first settler convict stock…..and I enjoy watching and learning about other countries and cultures….and I do not think many of these things would survive under a merger.

  3. Pete is absolutely right on the issue of an ABC/SBS merger. Critics of an independent SBS should take the trouble to visit its website and discover the many services (other than TV) SBS performs for the multicultural community. How much would inevitably be lost in the ‘rationalizations’ of a merger?

    Regarding TV news, SBS’s coverage of world affairs is vastly superior, and programmes covering current issues – for example, Insight – are always very interesting and relevant. The variety and quality of programmes on topics from food to science and technology generally, sadly, leave those of the ABC in the dust, When it comes to film, SBS2 consistently presents a superb selection of world cinema,, including quality Asian films. When was the last time the ABC presented a feature film from Japan, or Thailand, or India? Unfortunately, the ABC seems unable to overcome an addiction to British drama. (Yes, many are well produced, but what about the rest of the world?) I believe Brideshead Revisited has been revisited. What’s next — the Forsythe Saga?

    Point is, both the ABC and SBS serve different functions for the substantially different interests of different sectors of the Australian (and overseas) community, and do so pretty well. They should be properly funded, and allowed to continue separately. We don’t need the mediocrity of homogenization.

  4. Pete has hit the nail right on the head. Mr Newman was another stooge installed by Howard and he’s shown that he is completely out of step with pretty much everyone else bar a few mendacious ABC senior staffers, and some mis-informed members of the general public who rarely, if ever, watch SBS.

    This is not simply about economies of scale and the potential savings to be made in HR and office equipment. Merging the two would be disastrous for SBS. SBS needs more funding not less. It is currently given a pittance which the govt could increase by 50% and hardly notice. The only thing I’d like to see is SBS content on iView.

  5. I’m not sure about this. Whilst it could be good, it could also be the death of multicultural broadcasting in Australia. If they were to merge, though, I think the following would be good:

    ABC1 – General Entertainment/News
    ABC2 – 6:00-18:00: ABC4 Kids, 18:00-6:00: General Entertainment
    ABC3 – Children’s Programs
    ABC4 – ABC News 24
    ABC5 – 6:00-20:00: Foreign Language Broadcasting, 21:00-6:00: World Movies
    ABC6 – Sport
    ABC7 – Knowledge
    ABC8 – Indigenous

    All channels should be 24 hours. I would only accept this If the charter of the ABC was changed to ensure multicultural and Indigenous programming was to remain compulsory

  6. We do not need two underfunded national broadcasters with two sets of infrastructure for staff and broadcasting hardware. We need one well funded national broadcaster capable of programming any number of distinctive channels. SBS is a 30 year old quaint idea that is totally out of date with modern Australia. The sooner they merge the better.

  7. What a beautiful world of public broadcaster efficiency Baz has predicted. If only it was true. There is nothing wrong with two public broadcasters with different mandates. Merge them and SBS will dissolve into the ever growing ABC bureaucracy. There are no shortage of ABC senior management who’d love to dismantle and wreck the SBS world and grow into theirs. I hope the politicians are are not enticed by Mr Newman. His lack of renewal pretty much sums it up and frankly if the Coalition gets in perhaps it could be a little brighter when it’s time for the ABC Chair appointment comes up. It is time for the ABC to take a good hard look at the lacklustre performance of many of its services (particularly TV) and improves those before it talks of takeovers.

  8. @Joe: “Have not watched since they started running ads in the early 90s”

    That’s the problem isn’t it. Some of the most vocal critics of SBS don’t actually watch it.

  9. I’m growing tired of The Australian’s daily complaining about the ABC since they were handed the Australia Network.

    In terms of a merger of the ABC & SBS – it could be done right and it could be done wrong.

    If it becomes a sly way to introduce advertisting on the ABC, reduce channels orreduce budget funding – then it would be done wrong.

    If it truly secures SBS’s future, removes the advertising completely, expands SBS content & efficiencies, makes better use of the two digital bandwidth slots and importantly retains a commitment to SBS’s cultural charter, then it can be done right.

  10. Sounds like a good idea.

    There is much duplication between the two service, both behind the scenes (administration, rights deals, programme distribution) and more obvious to audiences (e.g. news and current affairs).

    SBS does some fantastic things, but it is a pale reflection of what it once was. It seems far better to make any savings possible with a merger and invest these in providing the sort of programmes that SBS is supposed to, than to maintain an independent SBS with no money, increasingly bland programmes, and annoying ads.

  11. Mr Newman is right. The ABC and SBS are coming from the same place, they are funded by the taxpayer and we should be ensuring our money is spent wisely. A merger would provide huge administrative cost savings and thereby release more funds for commissioning across 8 FTA channels. ABC1 could stay pretty much the same. ABC2 could be more arts and ent focussed, ABC3 stays as the kids channel, ABC News 24 would absorb the SBS news and their various feeds, reducing repeat programming and removing the duplication of services. There could be a movie/drama channel that includes SBS’s foreign films, a factual channel for the superb documentaries that both ABC and SBS program, a sports channel for everything from The World Game to Tour de France and other cycling events to netball and local sport. There’s no reason why one of the channels couldn’t be commercial to continue to raise revenue for more programming. A merge is inevitable and should be made a high priority.

  12. They should never be merged. If they are, a future government will cut the overall funding, and the ABC will kill off the foreign language movies in an attempt to prop up news and current affairs.

  13. I am definately no expert….but I prefer them to have seperate identities….they are both coming from such different places…..and I agree ….more funds for SBS….and yes.. a seperate indiginous channel sounds good…and no…I have no underlying agenda for that….but I am very interested in indiginous culture and history and really enjoy ‘dreamtime’ stories…the little animation ones they showed on ch.2 were lovely stories….
    I do have deep concerns that SBS will become to the poor relative and lose its individuality if it combines with the ABC.

  14. Well. Mr Newman was appointed to the job at the ABC by a previous government. He had no background in broadcasting and brought absolutely nothing of value to the ABC Board bar occassional tied funding and dribs and drabs from the Howard government. He oversaw an ABC in decline. It was the Labor government which injected new funds and the ABC is beginning to shows signs of a recovery though it still lacks a coherent vision for content.

    The merger of ABC and SBS would be a disaster and SBS would completely lose any identitity it has and be thrown into the void of ABC bureaucracy. SBS has been able to do far more creatively than the ABC across a range of genres and for far far less money. Diversity of public broadcasters with different people,ideas and management is far healthier for public broadcasting than one big amophous mass called the ABC. I hope spokepersons in the ethnic communities lobby rigourously to defend SBS as a separate entity and to increase its budget. We need more media voices here, not fewer. I hope SBS have commenced furious defence with both the government and opposition to stop this. May Mr Newman never be involved in public broadcasting again. Let’s have a new ABC chair who knows a thing or two about broadcasting and how to deal with governments of whatever political colour.

  15. There is far too much programming on both networks (and their multichannels) to combine together. Also the approach of both are far too distinct, you cant combine what is essentially chalk and cheese.

  16. Just close SBS down, wont be missed. Have not watched since they started running ads in the early 90s. They don’t have enough content for one 24X7 channel, let alone 4 multichannels. Give the bandwith to the ABC so as SBS remains as an ABC4 multichannel and the leftover bandwith gets shared with NITV and loocal community stations in each state. And this would also free up enough bandwith turn ABCNews24 into an SD service so as to return ABCHD back into a main ABC1 HD simulcast. And ad to this the return of the current frequencies being used to wastefully transmit a single SD community tv service in each state.

  17. The fact that the idea hasn’t got up in more than 5 years of trying indicates it is not getting up anytime soon. Its time has not come, in fact its time has been and gone.

  18. The problem with them merging is the amount of rights SBS have and ABC already habing four channels with full schedules. Perhaps if ABC2 got rid of its kid programmong (ABC 4 Kids) then perhaps there would be enough space in the ABC schedule, but there would still be a lot left behind. On the upside, the ABC would then have channels on STV (World Movies and STVDIO), which unlike SBS FTA channels, are far more popular and profitable.

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