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And SBS and NITV) the Future of National Public Broadcasting

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And SBS and NITV) the Future of National Public Broadcasting I Want My ABC (and SBS and NITV) The future of national public broadcasting A public broadcasting sector designed for the 21st century would look different to the one we have today. There are opportunities and risks relating to all reform options for Australia’s public broadcasters. Discussion paper Fergus Pitt February 2016 ABOUT THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE The Australia Institute is an independent public policy think tank based in Canberra. It is funded by donations from philanthropic trusts and individuals and commissioned research. Since its launch in 1994, the Institute has carried out highly influential research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues. OUR PHILOSOPHY As we begin the 21st century, new dilemmas confront our society and our planet. Unprecedented levels of consumption co-exist with extreme poverty. Through new technology we are more connected than we have ever been, yet civic engagement is declining. Environmental neglect continues despite heightened ecological awareness. A better balance is urgently needed. The Australia Institute’s directors, staff and supporters represent a broad range of views and priorities. What unites us is a belief that through a combination of research and creativity we can promote new solutions and ways of thinking. OUR PURPOSE – ‘RESEARCH THAT MATTERS’ The Institute aims to foster informed debate about our culture, our economy and our environment and bring greater accountability to the democratic process. Our goal is to gather, interpret and communicate evidence in order to both diagnose the problems we face and propose new solutions to tackle them. The Institute is wholly independent and not affiliated with any other organisation. As an Approved Research Institute, donations to its Research Fund are tax deductible for the donor. Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the website at https://www.tai.org.au or by calling the Institute on 02 6130 0530. Our secure and user-friendly website allows donors to make either one-off or regular monthly donations and we encourage everyone who can to donate in this way as it assists our research in the most significant manner. Level 5, 131 City Walk Canberra, ACT 2601 Tel: (02) 61300530 Email: [email protected] Website: www.tai.org.au Summary If a public media sector was designed in 2016 with an eye to the future, it would be different to Australia’s current one, with the ABC, SBS and National Indigenous Television (NITV). A system designed for the 21st century would not likely consist of eight free-to-air TV channels, another pay TV service, 15 broadcast radio services, two separate on-demand TV services, two podcasting catalogues, and two sprawling online platforms. The missions of the public broadcasters, however, have never been more relevant, their cultures more valuable, or their local market advantages more pronounced. The country needs high quality news, local content and multicultural broadcasting as Australia faces a changing media environment, cultural challenges and globalised markets. Reform of public broadcasting brings opportunities and risks. The most desirable and achievable, goals and benefits of reform would be to: Accelerate transition to digital-first strategies, protecting and growing future relevance; 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. Considerable risks arise with any moves to reform: Potential to alienate existing audiences and undercut strong stakeholder support; Potential for major disruption to operations, staff and management; and Potential degradation of SBS and NITV’s distinct characteristics. Four options for reform are addressed in this 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. To achieve the most desirable goals of structural change — namely digital orientation and the removal of advertising — the latter two scenarios must be explored. Importantly, however, these are also the scenarios that carry the greatest risk. I want my ABC (and SBS and NITV) i A key observation is that a merger of administration and back-office functions will not achieve worthwhile financial efficiencies. The ABC and SBS have already achieved significant operating efficiencies, exceeding those identified in the Lewis Review. Recommendations: Holistically review the entire suite of radio and TV broadcast services. The ABC, SBS and NITV broadcast a large number of services. A review could identify consolidation opportunities, and places where niche audiences would be better served online or by other parts of the media ecosystem. Such a process may reveal sources of significant savings, savings that could be invested in reducing the broadcasters’ reliance on advertising, and/or into a re- orientation towards digital services, in particular for the organisations’ journalistic output. Furthermore, this process may reveal opportunities where culturally diverse voices can reach wider audiences. Consolidate online services 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. 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. The ABC’s extensive and increasing online news output could be made available for translation and interpretation to the SBS’ languages other than English. The over-riding goal is to produce more and better content, but maintain fewer, better-built online channels. Any savings from reform must be re-invested into public broadcasting Administrative and operational re-structuring could save money, and this must be reinvested into the public broadcasters to assist in their delivery upon charter obligations. Any attempt to reduce expenditure, instead of improving the services and defending public media from long-term threats, would undercut the entire rationale of structural reform and leave the ABC, SBS, NITV and their viewers and funders in a weaker position to face the challenges of the 21st Century. ii I want my ABC (and SBS and NITV) Table of Contents Summary .............................................................................................................................i Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Analogue Legacy ........................................................................................................... 1 A Fickle financial Environment ..................................................................................... 3 SBS advertising revenue ........................................................................................... 3 Online distribution costs .......................................................................................... 4 The Recent History of Australian Public Media Policy ..................................................... 6 The 2014 budget cuts and efficiency review ............................................................ 6 Triennial funding ....................................................................................................... 8 Merger proposal ....................................................................................................... 8 Whole-of-sector reform attempts ............................................................................ 9 Opportunities for Australia’s public broadcasters ......................................................... 11 Cultural diversity ..................................................................................................... 11 Difficulties of commercial news ............................................................................. 13 Challenges for Australia’s public broadcasters .............................................................. 14 Transition to digital ................................................................................................. 14 Performance standards .......................................................................................... 14 SBS advertising ....................................................................................................... 16 SBS digital ............................................................................................................... 17 Goals or Benefits of Structural Reform .......................................................................... 19 Financial security .................................................................................................... 19 Digital reach ............................................................................................................ 19 Removing advertising from SBS .............................................................................. 20 Strengthening the SBS’ delivery on its charter ....................................................... 20 Finding efficiencies without altering services ........................................................ 21 Reallocation of broadcasting spectrum .................................................................. 21 Structural Reform
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