Scott to address ABC / SBS merger proposal at National Press Club

Outgoing ABC managing director will address the National Press Club today and is expected to argue in favour of merging parts of ABC and SBS.

Fairfax reports one proposal could see ABC and SBS continue to broadcast separate primary channels but ABC2 and SBS2 would be merged into one channel. There is also talk of them becoming online channels, joined by ABC3.

Transmission fees of $150m a year could be saved by the moves.

Meanwhile ‘think tank” the Australia Institute also argues in favour of change.

“The ABC, SBS and NITV maintain separate systems and infrastructure that provide fundamentally the same service, specifically media on-demand, news article publishing, and podcasting,” says author and former ABC digital manager, Fergus Pitt, says. “Given the apparent poor performance of SBS’ online news – which should be an important part of SBS strategy and charter delivery – this seems a severe problem.”

Four options for reform were addressed in the paper:

Combining the board and executive management levels;
Combining support and back-office functions;
Consolidating digital content, publishing and on-demand services; and
A comprehensive rationalisation of services, leadership and management.

“High quality news, local content and multicultural broadcasting all face pressures from a changing media environment, cultural challenges and globalised markets. It’s vital to provide financial and political security for both the ABC and SBS,” said Pitt.

“There are no easy answers. The easy reform options will achieve little, while the reforms that could reshape the public broadcasters for the 21st century carry risk.”

The report identifies the potential benefits of reform to ABC and SBS:

Accelerate transition to digital-first strategies, protecting future growth;
Remove advertising from SBS;
Improve the cultural diversity of the ABC;
Strengthen the delivery of SBS’ multicultural charter obligations; and
Provide financial and political security for both organisations.

Save Our SBS President Steve Aujard said,  “In reality it would not be a merger, it would be a takeover of SBS/NITV by the ABC. We are opposed to that. If SBS became part of the ABC, aside from the loss of our identifiable multicultural broadcaster, operational costs to the ABC would sky-rocket. SBS have always found ways to work with less than the ABC does. Sometimes SBS spends only a fraction of the cost for a similar service and often with a much better outcome than the ABC. Then there are the thousand or so staff who work at SBS. They are paid a lot less than their ABC equivalents. A single public broadcaster would uniform wages to the higher level. All this adds up.

“The report confuses the medium – the broadcast spectrum or platform – with the message – the broadcaster’s content – and in parts is critical of SBS meeting its charter obligations but it is light on examining ABC content and avoids discussion on areas where the ABC may be failing its charter.

“What with ABC boss Mark Scott questioning the need for a second public broadcaster and now talk of a merger, Save Our SBS hopes that the ABC – a very worthwhile institution – will focus on its own service in its bid for greater funding, without attempting to acquire SBS as a means to bolster that funded to the ABC.”