★★★★★ 0/5

Community TV channels awaiting fate

Community TV channels are awaiting a decision on their fate by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

8
Leave a comment

2014-08-13_0129Community TV channels are awaiting a decision on their fate by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Fairfax reports broadcasters in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are expected to learn by the end of October whether the government will renew sixth television channel spectrum access or force them to move online.

Transmitter licences expire on 31 December 2014 with the government is said to be considering an extension of 12 months.

Richard McLelland, secretary of the Australian Community Television Alliance, said a forced transition to the internet would kill the sector.

“We are pushing to have it longer than that because our expectation is that community TV will be moved across to the internet and that’s just not viable, it’s not even meeting the remit of what community broadcasting is all about.”

Graeme Samuel, former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said the sixth channel could be used for telecommunications services, medicine and education, rather than snapped up by rival broadcasters.

Rove McManus has pledged his support to a Commit to Community TV campaign, tweeting: “I started on Community TV in Australia and now the govt is considering shutting it down. Sign up.”

McLelland added, “Community television serves a valuable role in the community. There are no economical, logistical or technological reasons to close down community television.

“Community television should be preserved, and allowed to build on its twenty year history for the potential benefit of all Australian viewers.”

8 Responses

  1. @Andyh2, are you connected high up in HunterTV?(perhaps 2IC to Rod Breis?) I live at Port Stephens but am in touch with some people in Newcastle. We’re looking to form a group to produce programme content for HunterTV. Is this at all possible? Also, is it possible for me to contact you more directly via the HunterTV website? And finally to David Knox, does this website have provision for personal messages?

  2. @Maaclr, I’ll agree with you on community radio(I’m a former presenter) that several “community” stations are trying too hard to emulate their commercial “rivals”, But I heartily disagree on community TV. I’ve said elsewhere(on another website) that community TV would provide an excellent training ground for up-and-coming talent, both in front of, and behind the cameras. Malcolm Turnbull, don’t kill off community TV!

  3. Andyh2: The ACMA declined our application from Feb 2014 for a Narrowcast transmitter, but a few days later they did a backflip and and they will now consider a new short term 12-Month application we lodged in April. We still have a chance! Details are here: huntertv.com.au/acma-licence-application-timeline/

  4. Community TV may have made sense 20 years ago but it doesn’t today. Move it online and if people don’t watch then that sends a clear message as to the worth of the programming. And in regards to rove saying it should be retained because he got his start in community TV, well anyone can produce quality content and post it on YouTube and could get their start that way these days. Community radio is another area that needs to be looked at, some stations are so commercial you wouldn’t even know they have community licenses.

  6. I don’t understand why more support isn’t given to the community broadcasters… You could almost make the case that each state should have its own ‘state broadcaster’ given how heavily centralised all the networks are these days.

Leave a Reply