SUBMISSION TO THE INQUIRY INTO THE AUSTRALIAN FILM AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY 7 April 2017 Mr Luke Howarth MP Chair Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 By email:
[email protected] Introduction Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts inquiry into the Australian Film and Television Industry, and the factors contributing to the growth and sustainability of the Australian film and television industry. This submission is made on behalf of the three major regional television broadcasters, Prime Media Group (Prime), the WIN Network (WIN) and Southern Cross Austereo (SCA). Challenges to the growth and sustainability of the Australian television industry Prime, WIN and SCA play a vital role in their local communities, broadcasting free to air television to their viewers, employing locally, supporting local businesses and playing a central role in the life of their regional communities. With the proliferation of alternate sources of entertainment and the rise of tech media companies like Google and Facebook, the free to air television industry is facing a decline in audiences and revenue, and the regional television industry faces its own unique challenges above and beyond those faced by metropolitan networks. There is a significant question mark over the on-going ability of the industry to provide the current level of local, and other services, to all the regional viewers it seeks to serve. The aggregation model that was introduced in the late 1980s has not met the expectations of either the regional television industry or our regional television viewers.