Response to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’ Issues Paper, Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Sector Review Tuesday, 7 September 2010 INTRODUCTION This paper is written in response to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’ (DEWHA) Issues Paper, Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Sector Review (the Review). The structure of FOXTEL’s response is as follows: 1. Overview of FOXTEL’s business and reconciliation activity 2. Relevant background including: - The rise of the digital economy - Indigenous broadcasting and the digital economy 3. Policy recommendations re NITV including covering: - Importance of independence, certainty and adequate funding for NITV - Free to air broadcast of NITV and the Digital Dividend - Training and skills development For further information on this submission, please contact: Mr Adam Suckling Director, Policy & Corporate Affairs FOXTEL E: [email protected] P: 02 9813 6140 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The rise of the digital economy – including lower production and distribution costs, increased consumer empowerment and the demand for greater channel choice – mean that it is more economically feasible to produce and distribute channels such as NITV, and also to find audiences who are interested in programming such as NITV’s, than it ever has been. While such developments in the digital economy make it possible to provide, and find audiences for a channel such as NITV, there are also political, cultural and social reasons why NITV should continue to be funded on a sustainable basis and maintain an independent editorial voice and governance: Cultural – Indigenous Australians have over 40,000 years of cultural development as well as distinct and multiple perspectives on contemporary Australia. This history and contemporary perspective provides a rich source of stories from which Indigenous Australians can draw on, which are not only important for the first Australians, but can also illuminate and add to Australia’s understanding of itself and broader cultural identity. Having a sustainably funded NITV provides an important vehicle for telling and broadcasting such Aboriginal stories. Political – There is some support across the political spectrum for NITV. The channels was set up and funded by the previous coalition Government. Its continuation and expansion was also supported by the subsequent Labor Government’s creative panel at the ‘20:20 Summit’. The Government said in its response it is considering a range of options in relation to NITV. Social – NITV has provided an important vehicle for broader reconciliation, training Indigenous Australians in the digital industries of the 21st Century (for instance NITV directly employs 35 Indigenous Australians and over the past four years has worked with 40 production entities that are Indigenous controlled or have significant Indigenous input), and broadcasting programs – such as health and education programs aimed specifically at Indigenous Australians – that can play a part in educating and informing, and ‘Closing the Gap’. The outlays from the Federal budgets to support NITV have been comparatively modest – compared with the funding that the ABC and SBS receive. For instance, in 2009/10 NITV received just over $15m in funding from the Government compared with $858m for the ABC. In other words, NITV received or 1.7% compared with ABC’s $858m budget. Recommendations Against this backdrop, FOXTEL recommends the following in response to the DEWHA’s Issues Paper: 1. Funding for Indigenous Broadcasting to be distributed under the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, consistent with funding for the ABC and SBS, rather than DEWHA were it currently sits. 2. NITV continues to be funded on a basis that it can maintain an independent editorial voice and governance. 3. A minimum of five years funding to be allocated to NITV to provide certainty and to assist with planning. 4. An increase in NITV’s modest funding in comparison to the ABC and SBS, to support new productions, delivery over new digital and terrestrial platforms, such as mobile and internet, and to provide opportunities for the Independent Indigenous production sector. 5. Make NITV available free to air to provide maximum access for Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences through allocation of one block of Digital Dividend spectrum to community broadcast (as well as providing funding for such transmission). 6. Funding for scholarships, sponsorship and dedicated placements in schools and tertiary institutions to fill a shortage of skilled Indigenous candidates in production, post production and technical operations. 1. ABOUT FOXTEL FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and is connected to over 1.63 million subscribing households on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL strives to ensure our six million viewers find TV they want to watch every time they switch on their television through delivery of more than 200 channels covering news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL commenced distributing its services on cable with 20 channels in 1995, expanding to 31 channels and satellite distribution in 1999 and increased its offering to 45 channels in 2002 following the completion of the FOXTEL-Optus Content Supply Agreement. The FOXTEL Digital service was launched in 2004, and FOXTEL is now giving Australian viewers the choice of more than 200 Digital channels. Since its launch, FOXTEL has extended its Digital innovations by adding a raft of new channels and interactive features including additional news, sports and weather applications, as well as FOXTEL iQ, a fully integrated Personal Digital Recorder, launched in 2005. FOXTEL launched its mobile service – Telstra Mobile FOXTEL in 2006 which now carries 33 channels and is one of the world’s most substantial mobile offerings. The live broadcast service FOXTEL Live2Air on Virgin Blue was launched in August 2006 and is now available across Australia on the Virgin Blue jet fleet providing 24 channels of live FOXTEL. FOXTEL launched its High Definition service in June 2008 with five dedicated 24- hour HD channels- BBC HD, Discovery HD, National Geographic Channel HD, FOX SPORTS HD and ESPN HD plus Australian television premiere blockbuster movies available immediately when you want them through the FOXTEL Box Office HD On Demand service. The new generation FOXTEL iQ2 combines HD programming with a huge disk drive and intuitive and easy to use electronic programming guide making it even easier for subscribers to watch what they want and when they want. FOXTEL launched FOXTEL Next Generation in November 2009 which provides customers with: the increased choice of 30 new channels; new navigation features such as iSuggest – which enhances navigation with 200 fresh movie and program suggestions for iQ recording every week - and Record Me – which allows you to record shows directly from an on-air program promotion; the most comprehensive HD offering in Australia of 15 HD channels; and Sky News Local which provides a dedicated local news service for each major Australian capital city. In 2010 FOXTEL announced a ground breaking partnership with Microsoft to offer around 30 FOXTEL channels over the internet direct to our customers’ television sets via Microsoft’s Xbox Live product. FOXTEL and Microsoft aim to launch the new service towards the end of the calendar year. FOXTEL will offer FOXTEL on Xbox Live with various packaging and prices and under flexible agreements. FOXTEL will also launch in late 2010 FOXTEL services over the internet direct to FOXTEL customers’ television sets via around 780,000 deployed internet enabled iQ boxes. This new service will be launched towards the end of this calendar year. The service will offer customers even more choice and control over their television viewing, liberating a video store of choice with hundreds of On Demand movies and television programs. FOXTEL directly employs more than 1900 people and a further 1400 workers are indirectly engaged by FOXTEL in sales and installation services nationally. The FOXTEL Television Centre at North Ryde in Sydney is the headquarters of FOXTEL's national subscription television operations and houses FOXTEL’s television studios, broadcast operations and cable and satellite transmission facilities. FOXTEL also operates a national Customer Solutions Centre based at Moonee Ponds in Melbourne, a purpose built state of the art call centre. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Consolidated Media Holdings Limited (25%). A full overview of FOXTEL’s products and business can be found at www.foxtel.com.au. FOXTEL & Reconciliation As a digital subscription broadcaster reaching six million viewers each week (7.5 million with AUSTAR subscribers), FOXTEL has a powerful and unique opportunity to contribute to reconciliation through reaching audiences and providing economic opportunities in one the industries of the future. FOXTEL recently published its second Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in conjunction with Reconciliation Australia. FOXTEL’s RAP promotes cultural respect, builds core relationships with Indigenous suppliers, and provides Indigenous employment opportunities and skills development in-house. FOXTEL’s RAP can be found at www.reconciliation.org.au. FOXTEL welcomed NITV to the platform in 2007, providing access to every subscribing household. FOXTEL continues