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Seven in local content breach in Mildura

ACMA finds Seven did not broadcast any local content in Mildura for the 16 months after it acquired Prime Television.

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Seven has been found in breach of local content rules for failing to broadcast any local content in Mildura for the 16-months after it acquired Prime Television.

Watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority found while Seven met local content requirement in seven other regional markets it failed in Mildura.

Under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, Seven is obliged to provide 100 minutes of local content or 50 minutes of local news per week in the Mildura area.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said, “Regional television audiences are entitled to content that is meaningful to their local area and, in the case of Mildura and its surrounding areas, Seven has let its viewers down.

“This is especially disappointing given a network of Seven’s size and sophistication should have been on top of and meeting its regulatory obligations.

“The period of non-compliance has remained unresolved for more than a year, to the detriment of local residents in and around Mildura.”

A Seven spokesperson said, “The breach now identified by ACMA arose out of a miscommunication, compounded by having two different types of broadcast licence in Mildura, one of which is exempt from local programming requirements. Seven is now recruiting a journalist to produce news for Mildura / Sunraysia.

“There was previously no requirement for local content in the Mildura / Sunraysia licence area, whereas all other ‘trigger events’ (that is, following Seven’s acquisition of Prime in 2022) impacted markets that had existing local programming obligations. All other Prime licence areas met the increased local programming obligations.”

Following the breach ACMA has also accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Seven, requiring it to take steps to begin complying with the local content rules by no later than 4 February 2024.

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    1. The HSV7 News from Melbourne, just like south coast NSW carries ATN7 News from Sydney with so-called “local news” inserts – 20-30 secs of rip-and-read, by abysmal readers, using old overlay vision, in commercial breaks, repeated over and over and over to make the requited 7 minutes per day. Of course it would be too hard to do what NBN3 Newcastle has done for eons and have breakout windows of about 7-10 minutes in their one-hour bulletin to carry a proper regional news segment as NBN3 does for Newcastle, Central Coast, etc. But isn’t it great that “Seven is now recruiting a journalist to produce news for Mildura / Sunraysia”. That will really tear a hole in the Seven News budget. Do they hire a camera person too? Or will it be one person does all?

  2. Sometimes you have to wonder what the point of the ACMA even is if they aren’t willing (or maybe able) to set fines or impose sanctions on broadcasters.

    1. … their predecessors, the ABT and before them the ABCB were indeed able “to set fines or impose sanctions on broadcasters” ensuring that they were “fit and proper persons” to hold broadcast licences … but Bob Hawke got rid of all that with his 1992 Broadcasting Services Act in order to keep certain media moguls on side to help him win elections …

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