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$109.4m to ABC and SBS

The ABC welcomes a boost to its funding of $89.4 million for news, current affairs and online services.

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2013-05-15_0045The ABC has welcomed an additional $89.4 million in additional funding over the next three years, announced in the Federal Budget last night.

An additional $20m will go to SBS.

The new ABC funding includes:

  • $59.4 million over three years to build upon the ABC’s news and current affairs services
  • $30 million over three years for the ABC’s online content distribution; and
  • A loan of $90 million to enable the ABC to consolidate its Melbourne operations in new premises at the Southbank site.

ABC’s managing director Mark Scott said, “This investment acknowledges two of the prime areas where the ABC is using its digital expertise to deliver on its Charter obligations to inform, educate and entertain Australians.

“The funding will better equip the ABC to provide the mobile and online content that audiences are demanding in ever-increasing numbers. It will also allow our News Division to create new cross-platform content that showcases the best of the ABC’s journalism, including the work of our new specialist reporters, bureaux and regional resources.”

Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said, “This additional funding will allow the ABC and the SBS to continue to innovate and keep pace with the changing media environment and continue to reflect Australian culture and diversity.

The funding in the 2013-14 Budget is in addition to what the Government will provide to the national broadcasters through the next triennium funding agreements with $2.5 billion to the ABC and $568.7 million to SBS.

Friends of the ABC (Vic) were cautiously welcoming of the news.

“Increased funding for the ABC is welcome,” said Glenys Stradijot.

“Though Friends of the ABC is also disappointed that the ABC did not receive more funds.

“The public broadcaster’s operational revenue has decreased by $253 million (23.1%) per annum in real terms since 1985-86.

“In the absence of sufficient funding, the ABC is meeting new community expectations for the delivery of digital content at the expense of its equally important traditional services.”

The Australian today also notes ABC TV would suffer a $10 million cut to $664m under funding projections published up to 2016-17, according to budget papers.

Meanwhile the Government also announced $2.7 million over four years for an increased range of radio services on the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service.

“The VAST service is being deployed across Australia to provide digital television and radio services in remote and regional areas, replacing the Aurora satellite platform, which will cease transmission at the end of 2013,” Senator Conroy said.

“Not only will this initiative continue important existing services, it will create opportunities for these communities to access a range of new radio services, such as the ABC’s digital-only radio channels: Dig, ABC Country, ABC Digital Extra, ABC Grandstand, and triple J Unearthed.”

David Knox blogs Eurovision for SBS.

8 Responses

  1. I want to give thanks to ABC analogue radio. I’m sorry I didn’t before. Because when they get rid of analogue TV the only reliable communication device country towns have is analogue radio. Often the internet is unreliable. When the power goes out digital television will be dead. Including in my house. The digital mobile phone technology often is dead. It can’t handle distance, smoke and stupid population increases. Also in some country towns the landlines can be rendered dead. Because smoke can block communication between the city and country also power outages kill cordless phones and answering machines. All that’s left is analogue radio. When they kill that there will be nothing left.

    Thank you so much for existing. I hope they never kill the technology. Because when they do they just can’t be bothered with competent outside communication with country towns anymore. I won’t be surprised when it happens. By the way when the power is out digital radio is also dead. On bushfire day the power is often out particularly before a town burns down.

  2. I’m glad the ABC and SBS got some money although it worryingly doesn’t sound like enough. I guess it’s a beginning.

    As for the BBC paying less for radio than the ABC don’t the BBC have more money? Also they have less area. So they’d have less radio transmitters. I’ll admit I don’t know the details. But it just seems like common sense to notice the British Ilse including Ireland has less land mass than a continent like Australia.

    I agree with Stan. In that the public broadcasters are more likely to survive the current century. As well as the internet generations.

    But I still don’t get encouraging people to avoid ads altogether with pop-ups as well as (“now” and ) “next” announcements and ads during the credits. Sorry the logic still escapes me. Because I thought the ABC wanted to sell DVDs, CDs and books.

  3. MrJimboJones, what a foolish thing to say. With everyone stealing copyright content left, right & centre, public broadcasters have never been more relevant. Because as private entertainment companies fall due to no-one paying for what they consume, public broadcasters will be the only ones left standing. It’s evidenced through ABC being innovators in IT, & as commercial news websites put up pay-walls, ABC News Online has seen massive hit increases. If anything, public broadcasters are major benefactors of the destruction of the entertainment & news industries.

  5. In the year 2013 with the internet in full swing, there is no need for publicly funded broadcasters

    Privatise them Prime Minister Abbott

    Also, SBS is no longer what is originally setup for, now just another bland TV network

  6. The ABC operational funding is ~$1b p.a.
    With the little adds ons like these they have been geting an extra $250m p.a. So they haven’t lost any funding in real terms at all.

    Unlike other public service agencies the ABC has not been subject to efficiency dividends so they have kept all the savings that efficiencies generated by the last 25 years of digital technology in editing, archiving, distribution and transmission.

    The ABC is doing fine.

  7. It’s on ok result for the ABC – strategically it would be very difficult for the coalition to come in and reduce this baseline commitment. However television content – in particular that which is commissioned from the independent sector is once again being treated as an optional extra which could be cut if there are any more austerity measures inflicted upon the public sector. SBS must also be disappointed with only $20m extra – it doesn’t help them much as they are struggling to do any local drama. Perhaps it’s time the put a Head of Drama in place with a track record of raising funds to help stretch their meagre funds?

  8. hmmm it is welcome, but still only a small portion of what they need. The ABC is substantially underfunded compared to the average in the 80s.

    Also I see there was no mention of an increase in budget for ABC TV content production.

    Also too much money is spent on radio, which is a dying medium. Last time I checked a massive 27% of the ABC budget is spent on it, compared to 17% for BBC. That 10% of total budget could be a massive boost for ABC TV.

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