Media reform: Cabinet approves dropping reach rule, 2 out of 3 ownership
Two big changes in media ownership get the tick from Cabinet -but it's bad news for the Pay TV lobby.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
It begins.
Yesterday federal Cabinet approved big changes to media ownership in Australia, in reforms presented by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield.
They include scrapping the “reach rule” which limits a network to 75% of the population, and the “two out of three” rule, which bans proprietors from controlling a newspaper, television and radio station in the same market.
It follows industry lobbying hard that the “pre-internet” rules were out of date.
But a push by the Subscription TV sector to change the anti-siphoning list, was not part of the proposals – a major blow to the Pay TV lobby.
Once approved the changes are expected to trigger a wave of mergers and acquisitions in media.
New laws to protect local content in regional areas, based on a “points system” will only come into effect after change in ownership.
There was also no word on dropping licence fees, leaving networks to see if the May budget will bring them further good news.
Source: Fairfax
21 Responses
Wow, regional Australia is going to get a voice! BS ! A royal commission into governments making their mates richer is what is required.
This is policy on the run. This not good news with even less diversity to be had. Regional Tv and radio will become more centralised. So much for save our voices campaign. Liberals catering for their mates. Pretty sure they will go next election.
SCA has a strong balance sheet. They will be the hunter not the hunted…..
Bad news for everybody, I suspect. What little media diversity remains in this country is likely to shrink even further.
Awesome can’t wait to see how the landscape changes
If the regional stations are acquired by the majors, would these channels cease to exist or be feeder stations with (some) local programming with using the main channel LCN?
Generally, but not always the case, the capital city LCNs have (1x: Ten, 2x: ABC, 3x: SBS, 4x: Community, 7x: Seven, 9x: Nine) and the regional aread are (5x: Southern Cross, 6x: Prime, 8: NBN/WIN). All the number ranges are used!
If the stations remain how they are now, how would the fourth commerical station that has been “discussed” for a long time be allocated a number anyway? However, if the LCNs are freed from a all regional areas, then the capital cities then have the capacity to use one of these ranges for the fourth commerical station.
40
Won’t community television be gone soon then the 40 range will be free but I couldn’t imagine a forth commercial network in Oz could you?
Oops ‘fourth’
A “fourth commercial station” has never been on the cards, any suggestion it was seriously “discussed” as an option are ridiculous, and the chances of it ever actually happening – now that the restack has left just a single spare RF channel available in capital city markets, with everything else earmarked for selling off for mobiles or data – are almost nil.
Talk of 4th commerical network died many years ago. Murdoch wanted it, but now News Corp have Ten.
There would only be 2 commercial networks if Gyngell hadn’t been able to make a billion dollars of debt vanish in the debt sale to Oaktree, Apollo and Goldman Sachs while bidding the NRL on credit. Or if Murdoch jnr, Gordon & Rinehart loaned Ten and extra $200m cash, before News Corp put in more for a stake, to allow Ten to service its debt, keep operating and rebuild.
TV is a contracting industry as video moves onto the internet.
I can’t see any need for a 4th commercial network. Years ago it might have been discussed but it would hardly be viable now.
Never happen with the likes of Netflix & Stan not t mention streaming now available. In fact l reckon there may be even less owners/stations as time goes by. FTA may be a thing of the past in 50 years.
Wow, I didn’t expect this to happen so soon.
Owning a TV station, a radio station anda newspaper wields about as much power as owning an iPhone in 2016. Expect a lot of very rich men to hit the skids in the next five years.
In ten years we’ll be able to choose between buying the latest iPhone or spending that money on a TV or radio station. Newspaper print companies will prob only be online by then.
Mylene: In Perth we have Seven & The West Australian owned by Kerry Stokes.
In the West everyday on front page promoting MKR .Only one paper in Perth.
They are trying to buy Sunday Times our Sunday Paper.
Lets hope this never happens otherwise they will have monopoly of newspaper market here in Perth.
In Melbourne The Herald-Sun, Channel Seven and 3AW promoted Premier Denis Napthine as if he could walk on water during the last state election and he was defeated in a landslide. Any power the press had (and these three are all the biggest media outlets in their fields) is long gone. People see old media as entertainment now rather than a source of information.
Let us hope that any changes in ownership are for the good of the viewers……….and not that just for the owners. We need local production in both the commercial and national sector. Too much production is being centralised.
Good bye WIN, NBN, Prime, SX. It was good knowing you.
Nine already has a controlling interest in NBN, it fitted in under the reach rule (along with Perth and Adelaide) with just a bit of dodgy accounting.
The regional conditions will be attached to the broadcast licenses. They will be added next time they are renewed (or given away free because they have no commerical value anymore according to the networks and the government).