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“Mount Everest” of a challenge to move online, says Community TV.

Community broadcasters are asking Malcolm Turnbull for more time before a Dec 31 TV cut-off.

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The Community TV sector is pushing for an extension of the December 31 cut-off it faces to switch from broadcast to being online television.

The Australian Community Television Alliance has met with Malcolm Turnbull twice in recent weeks to address the transition to online amid concerns it needs longer to formulate a new business model and financial viability.

“Over the past few months the CTV sector, in response to the Minister’s announcement in September 2014, has undertaken a thorough process of due diligence and research into the steps required to successfully transition its key stakeholders – participants, content producers, sponsors and viewers – from a free to air broadcast model to an online model of delivery. Unsurprisingly it shows that the task is a Mount Everest of a challenge,” C31 General Manager Richard McLelland said in a statement.

“In response ACTA is in discussions with the Minister’s office regarding the current deadline on transmitter licences conveying that business modelling suggests a dual platform approach for a longer period than the end of 2015 is essential for any successful migration to an online only model.”

Channel 31 Melbourne, TVS Sydney, 44 Adelaide, 31 Brisbane, West TV Perth were advised of the changes in September, which will return valuable spectrum.

ACTA has also submitted to the ‘Digital Television Regulation’ review seeking the continuation of CTV on free-to-air television.

“Considering the fluidity and uncertainty of the prospective broadcast technology and regulatory changes and related timing there is a strong argument for at the very least an extension to the Apparatus Licence, and indeed support for a permanent continuation on FTA,” McLelland wrote.

“Nonetheless whilst research abounds about the pros and cons of online growth contrasted with still high levels of viewership of broadcast TV, there is no denying that online consumption of video content is rapidly on the rise. C31 is actively preparing for this. It is encouraging that we are still in discussion with the Minister’s office.”

39 Responses

  1. Community radio(of which I was a participant for many years) is not your average “wallpaper music” broadcaster. Community radio was active, rather than passive listening. You tuned in for your favourite show each week(one or more shows) and listened from beginning to end. Community TV could be the same, offering programmes the viewer may actually want(stress the word “want”) to watch, instead of the dross offered(spewed) up by commercial stations, and some crap that turns up on ABC and SBS(cooking shows and unfunny comics like Micalef spring immediately to mind). Community TV, definitely the way to go!

  2. As others have said there must surely be room for them on one of the muxes, with SBS being the obvious choice. It would surely be a fair trade in return for more advertising.

    Surely there must now be space on all muxes for extra channels – here in the UK they’ve been upgrading them constantly over the last decade or so and we’ve gone from having 4-6 channels on a mux to as many as 13. Even the HD muxes can now take 6 HD channels compared to 3 just 5 years ago.

  3. Further to my comments earlier in the week, I feel SBS ONE Should rebrand to become another channel under ABC ‘s suite of channels. And then SBS TWO could be disbanded to give community TV more spectrum space. On sell the SBS 2s to the other channels.

    1. I know that is a controversial thing to say, but im looking for the best solution for all the networks involved. I am not part of the industry, so it is just my uneducated opinion. I honestly don’t understand the purpose of SBS 2 though…How does it contribute to multicultural broadcasting?

      2. SBS2 does broadcast a lot of non-English language programming during the day. In evenings it frequently broadcasts a Chinese dating show among other things.

        In the evenings SBS1 is awash with UK and other Anglo-based programming.

  4. Community TV in 2015 reminds me of watching GTS/BKN in Whyalla from January 1974 to July 1982 but without any on the good things GTS/BKN put on (ie Batman, Banana Splits, Star Trek, Battlestar Galatica, Buck Rodgers, etc). The trick in keeping GTS/BKN from becoming beyond boring was that it only broadcast about 14 hours in one day. I guess this is due to budget issues.

    Community TV in 2015 is expected to be on 24/7 diluting already scarce good programming over even more time. leading to whole periods with nothing worthwhile on.

    If community TV could just put on some rare and uncommon TV programs that have not seen on FTA or Pay TV (ie H. R. Pufnstuf, Twins Of Destiny, Spakatus Beneath The Sun, Belle & Sebastian, Kimba The White Lion, etc) then more people may watch it.

    1. Community TV, is not about playing US retro titles. It’s about opportunities for emerging talent, and giving voice to grass-roots communities who have little or no presence on Free to Air. I loved HR PufnStuf, but what’s Community about Freddie the Flute and Witchypoo?

      1. You have shows like Mighty Car Mods. Which could of been a community TV show on Sydney community channel and growth of the show would been limited, because whom could receive a signal to watch the show. Also schedule a time in personal calender to watch the show

        Perhaps what trying to get at. The distribution of content changed and limits of community tv prevented a global audience from seeing the content. Not to mention running community TV was expensive

        Briz31 has a shocking analog to digital conversion thing going. Its like I am watching a VHS tape or Betacam… So its wasting spectrum too

      2. Well said, David K.! Community TV is the perfect training ground for up-and-coming producers, directors, presenters, and every other position you could think of. Yet we have these free-to-air channels totally wasted by the likes of IShopTV, 4Me, Extra and Extra+ when community TV could give us a viable alternative to SBS, ABC, and the commercial stations with their crappy “reality” shows. Turnbull should’ve been sacked from his portfolio for the harsh, unjustifiable decision made last year. What hurt the most was that 2014 was Community TV’s milestone anniversary year(20th). What sort of incompetent minister would give a sector such an undeserved “kick in the teeth” in a milestone anniversary year?

  5. I think those of us in the industry can see some value in community television but the truth is very few people are watching. Sadly, TVS looks like regional TV circa 1980 and features an endless array of B&W movies and serials. Online provides us with slick and clever streaming sites which make TVS look like a heaving dinosaur, not to mention the $7m loss of tax payer funds. It is unfortunate but they had a two year reprieve from Conroy and then granted a further 12 months from Turnbull. If it wasn’t for Turnbull they would have closed in 2014.

    1. Firstly “Dazzle” have the courtesy to use your real name if you are going to make such gratuitous comments, especially if you are going to claim to be from the industry. Secondly, CTV channels have more viewers than most of the Foxtel channels. Should Foxtel abandon the bulk of its channels? Thirdly, TVS runs very few movies, but as it happens they are quite popular. Fourthly, what $7m loss of taxpayer funds are you referring to? It doesn’t exist.

          1. Possibly because it mentions ~$7 million owed by TVS Sydney to UWS, and Dazzle thinks that Uni money = taxpayer funds?

          2. As the minutes reflect, the “debt” is fully provided for and in any case it is essentially an accounting treatment. UWS has covered much of the operating costs over TVS’s ten years of operations. So less than $1M a year averaged out. Rather than being seen a debt as such it has been an investment in a vehicle that has provided significant marketing and positioning for UWS and, most importantly, has provided students with a real world work experience opportunity as an adjunct to their studies. Well worth the money as clearly demonstrated by the fact that UWS has provided its support for TVS for the past decade and would no doubt have continued to do so but for a short sighted government decision to take away the channel’s spectrum.

          3. Those minutes are hardly confidential. The confidential parts of the meeting covered have been redacted.

            However, the $7m mentioned refers to UWS funds that cannot be recovered from TVS. Much of UWS’s funds come from international and domestic students and not via taxation.

            UWS has no doubt provided services in excess of $7m in value since it became a major partner in TVS. Whether the $7m in question is seen as debt or equity is a matter of perception. The federal government has put TVS in a position where it is unlikely to be able to do anything of value, so UWS is pulling out of it.

  7. Once they move online they will disappear. What percentage of people who watch these local stations regularly now will follow them to wherever they end up on the internet and happily sit in front of their computer or watch them on a mobile device? I’d be willing to bet that it’ll be less than 25% which is a massive slashing of your audience.

    At least now they are listed in most TV guides. Will that continue once they transition or will they be out of sight, out of mind?

    Instead of simply wiping out community TV why not allow networks to have their main channel as HD and then set up a deal for SBS to stream each state’s community station in the freed up capacity, like they do with NITV now?

  8. I am just saying maybe the Minister is bending to the networks who could see community TV as a threat.
    Radio has shown that the fastest growing sector is community radio, unfortunately we do not have community TV in Tasmania, but moving to an online platform is just ridiculous……it will not work and the community deprived until a change of government hopefully brings it back.

    I used to have ADSL 2, I now have the NBN and what streamed without buffering on ADSL 2,, now annoyingly halts every so often with the NBN. I do not intend to subscribe to any online streaming portal, all way too slow, I buy the DVD so I can watch it again without paying again. Same as music, I will not purchase from iTunes, anything. Apple are too big, too greedy, dont care about the consumer, only think about making obscene profits and not paying Australian taxes.

    1. FYI… the TV networks have always been very supportive of community TV and have never sought to have it moved online. In fact CTV is a great teaching vehicle from which many network people have emerged.

    2. > I am just saying maybe the Minister is bending to the networks who could see community TV as a threat.

      Minster is probably the most smartest technological person in government. Next to Ludium and Conroy

      From his point of view. Community TV isnt fessible to continue and likely to die out in two years due lack of fund

      Netflix just arrived. Which quite a game changer and over the past 6 months you start to see a repeat of what happened in the us around 2006, Where alot of new content was produced online and bypassed mainstream media.

      You had venue filled with people. Its already happened in Australia with Dan Illic filling the opera house

  9. Why is the Government moving community TV online. There’s no shortage of free-to-air spectrum (look at all those shopping channels). The fact is a large percentage of CTV viewers do not have the ability to watch TV online yet. I can understand that this is not a priority issue for Malcolm Turnbull, but as the founding CEO of TVS (Television Sydney) I also can personally attest that his department has long wanted to do this. It is a real shame to see them finally get their way. There are literally hundreds of people working in the electronic media who got their start on a community channel (radio and TV). It is hard to see CTV surviving, much less prospering, online given that they need to have audiences big enough to attract sponsors to cover their operating costs.

    1. Laurie, might I suggest that you, together with the heads of all other CTV stations(established and aspirant – Hunter TV’s Rod Breis could be roped in here as well), group together, and the next time Turnbull appears on Q & A, you turn up at the ABC en-masse and really put the heat on him.

  10. “Prospective Broadcast Technology” and “regulatory changes”? There is no broadcasting there is no regulation; they will be streaming and that is not licensed or regulated. So they have commissioned a report that has no clue about the digital age.

    There are no slots, so there is no need to buy up the SVOD rights to stuff no one else wants to fill them which they do now. They just need a channel to stream their content on demand. Either pay the ABC to host it on iview or use youTube. They will competing against all the other people doing that same stuff, but without government subsidies.

    As Channel 31 in an FTA system with 17 channels that people are increasing only watching for an hour or two a day live they only have a few thousand viewers anyway (The SBS weather test pattern out rates them), so they can’t really do much worse. The internet is coming and only a few major…

  11. C31 should continue on another channel. There’s a “spare” channel on SBS, it’s called SBS HD which is only used for simulcasting. Seven has an unused shopping channel. If Malcolm wants to flog off the community channels spectrum, the least that his Govt can do is to provide an alternative at the same cost!

    1. They wouldnt survive in 2-4 years without someone booting them out

      Its like that guy whom rented your spare room. Whom using emotions to prevent you leaving

    1. Fair point. But the shopping channels are on spectrum belonging to the networks. SBS has a spare / unused channel that would be best used for CTV.

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