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SBS to consider more ads

SBS will explore additional advertising but there's division over who gets the revenue.

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SBShqSBS will explore additional advertising on its channels, up from 5 to 10 minutes per hour, but media reports claim the government opposes the broadcaster retaining the increased revenue.

The Australian reports SBS wants to utilise the revenue back into the corporation but the government is said to be against the move.

Both SBS and ABC have been the subject of an efficiency review by former Seven West Media chief financial officer Peter Lewis.

The Federal Budget announced cuts of $120m over the next four years to the ABC plus the termination of the $220 million Australia Network contract.

Further funding cuts, of $50 million to $100m, are expected to be announced in mid-October.

The SBS annual report showed advertising and sponsorship was $58m in 2012-13, up from $51m the previous financial year.

9 Responses

  1. Unfortunately, I doubt SBS has a large enough viewer base for this to actually be viable but…..

    While still keeping their current commercial FTA model, it would be awesome to be able to pay a small monthly subscription, and watch programs on their catchup service commercial free. (without having to use adblocking software)

    By using these sorts of additional funding sources, SBS might survive without Government money. It could be a truly independent broadcaster, while avoiding the threats and manipulation that this Government (and future Governments) hold over public broadcasting.

  3. Maybe it’s time the government stopped treating them as a national broadcaster, and started treating them as the commercial broadcaster they are? The ABC could do with the extra money – either SBS’s share of government funding (like that’s likely!), or from renting facilities & services to them.

    I used to be a big watcher of SBS, but all that stopped one night in October 2006…

  4. If the government funded SBS as they should then they wouldn’t need any advertising, but as they won’t do that then the network really doesn’t have much choice. I loathe the ads, but I understand why they have to have them. (I pre-record nearly everything and edit out the ads before I watch them, so it doesn’t really effect me anyway.)

    SBS has some of the best shows on TV and lets us see stuff we simply wouldn’t get to experience without it.

  5. Why shouldn’t SBS be allowed to supplement government funding cuts with increased advertising revenue? Surely the government would want the ABC and SBS to be less reliant on the public purse? Especially given the reasons for cutting funding is due to this ‘budget emergency’ rather than supposedly anything ideological.

  7. Am sure 7,9,10 are not too happy with SBS further encroaching their claws into the advertising market?
    Time SBS was sold off if it becomes too commercial. It has gone way beyond the reasons it was first set up in the late 70’s.
    I have not watched it since it started to run advertising in the early 1990’s.

  9. The Government can’t stop SBS retaining the revenue.

    They can cut SBS’s funding by a like amount in the next budget, or in a mini budget towards the end of the year. In which case SBS won’t increase ads and the status quo will be preserved.

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