SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE CORPORATION (SBS) Submission
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SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE CORPORATION (SBS) Submission to the Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and regional Australia Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts February 2016 The Committee, under its power to inquire into the annual reports of government agencies, will inquire into the importance of public and commercial broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and regional Australia, including the arts, news and other services. Introduction SBS occupies a unique place in Australian broadcasting. Its services are a vital component of national strategies to ensure the continued success of Australia as a multicultural society. The SBS Corporate Plan articulates the organisation’s goals and objectives and how they link to SBS’s purpose. SBS has two overarching goals to: deepen Australians’ engagement with content that reflects our Charter; and grow audiences. SBS has a national footprint and the network’s signals are received across the country. While SBS does not have discrete regional content, it covers regional and rural stories across all platforms. Regional and rural Australia is integral to our values and sense of identity as a nation. The regions’ unique and diverse culture, landscape and people are a rich source of stories waiting to unfold before a national audience. SBS Radio’s language programs provide significant resources to Australia’s multicultural communities, encouraging participation by creating links to services such as health, employment and education. Through its SBS and National Indigenous Television (NITV) television services, SBS plays a vital role in exploring Australia’s cultural diversity and creating opportunities for intercultural understanding, providing services which meet the communication needs of Australia’s multicultural and Indigenous societies. SBS’s schedule of radio, television and online services provides all Australians access to content that addresses themes of social inclusion in a diverse and complex society. Through in-language news, radio and online services, SBS helps to address the communications needs of multicultural, multilingual and Indigenous Australians. These services improve opportunities and support for individuals, families and entire communities to participate more fully in the Australian economy and society. Importantly, the services that SBS provides are not replicated by the commercial broadcasters, nor by the ABC. The SBS schedule is designed to maximise the exposure of audiences to social cohesion and multicultural themes and to content which creates conversations and debate. These themes are equally relevant to audiences in rural and regional areas as to audiences in metropolitan areas. SBS seeks to reflect and delve into the challenges, opportunities, issues and stories from all across the country. As the traditional broadcast model is being increasingly challenged by fragmenting audiences and an expanding array of digital (streaming and catch-up) content providers, SBS has continued to evolve its offering to ensure it broadens its availability on new devices and on platforms, such as social media. While traditional linear platforms are the most widely used by Australians, it is important that Australian values and a focus on social cohesion continue to influence public debate and the national conversation as new distribution platforms are increasingly adopted. 2 SBS reach in regional areas SBS reaches Australia’s widespread population through digital television, analogue radio and digital radio as follows: 97% through digital television (via 344 digital TV transmitters); 63% through analogue radio (via 15 analogue radio transmitters); and 52% through digital radio (via 6 digital radio transmitters). These figures do not include self-help and direct-to-home satellite services. Regional and remote communities that do not receive SBS or do not receive clear broadcasts can establish their own retransmission facilities for the broadcast of SBS and other television and radio services in their area. Such services are owned and operated by local communities – mainly local councils – and mostly in regional and remote areas of Australia. SBS operates a Self-help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme to provide financial assistance to eligible communities to set up such facilities. Funding is available to set up radio transmission facilities (100% of the installation costs) and digital television facilities (75% of the installation costs). The scheme was available for analogue televisions services up until 2010 when digital switchover started rolling out. As at June 2015 there were 190 self-help digital TV transmitters and 162 self-help analogue radio transmitters in regional and remote Australia. For further information on how SBS content is transmitted, please see Appendix 1. In terms of audiences, regional Australians watch more free-to-air (FTA) television than metro audiences. SBS monitors viewing figures from regional areas through RegTAM. SBS television reaches just under 4 million people per month in regional areas and holds 5% of the free-to-air audience share in regional areas. In June 2013, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) undertook research informing its regional commercial television local content investigation which showed that “regional Australians’ need for local content was generally being met through a combination of currently available sources, that the provision of higher speed access to the internet in regional Australia would present both opportunities and threats to regional broadcasters, and that FTA television news audiences had generally declined over the last 11 years, with a few exceptions”1. As high-speed internet becomes increasingly available in regional Australia, so will opportunities for SBS to provide even more content to these audiences. A significant amount of SBS content is already available online, including news, current affairs, documentaries, drama and comedies. The provision of SBS radio on digital television has increased awareness of programs and provides a strong footprint. In addition to this, SBS radio is available on mobile apps, through the 1 http://acma.gov.au/sitecore/content/Home/theACMA/About/The-ACMA-story/Meeting-our-standard/quality- research-to-inform-regulatory-policy-and-decision-making website, and on analogue radio. SBS constantly strives to ensure that its programs are available on every platform, in order to provide access to Australians throughout the country. Migration to regional Australia Between 2006 and 2011 the number of overseas-born persons living in regional Australia increased by 30%. This trend is set to continue and represents a small but significant shift from longstanding trends of substantially greater growth in the capitals. This also reflects the impact of the mining industry. Agriculture is another area of economic growth that will likely contribute to the growth of migration to regional areas. As noted in the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper (2015) “…changing technologies and markets mean there is a need for a more diverse and highly skilled workforce with skills across a wide range of disciplines.” Migration to regional areas in the last decade differs from earlier flows as it: includes a mix of high skilled and low skilled migrants includes a large non-European background component there have been changes to the religious diversity of the population plays an important ‘replacement role’ for outmigration of Australia-born youth depends on the availability of support services, housing, and ability to manage language and cultural barriers. In line with trends seen throughout the ageing Australian population, ageing migrants also move to regional areas, heightening the need to have their communities represented through SBS television, radio and online broadcasting. Social Cohesion and the Media The Scanlon Foundation report Mapping Social Cohesion 2015 concluded that while there has been a small decline in social cohesion overall, Australia remains highly cohesive by international standards. The report told a generally positive story about multicultural Australia: 92% of Australians express a sense of belonging to Australia 84% of Australians agree that multiculturalism is good for Australia 75% of Australians think multiculturalism benefits the economic development of Australia However, there were a number of negative perceptions held within Australian society that were highlighted as follows: 19% of Australians indicated they have experienced discrimination because of skin colour, ethnic origin or religion (highest level recorded since 2007) 5 42% of Australians consider the current immigration intake to be too high 25% of respondents had negative sentiments towards immigrants from the Middle East Research has shown that media can have a significant impact on social cohesion and discord through the propagation of stereotypes, reproduction of racism and the silencing of minority groups. Media can also be a powerful force for developing cultural awareness and education. Recent research found that media can play an important role in challenging negative social stereotypes and promoting diversity and multiculturalism in the community. News and Current Affairs Public broadcasters have a privileged role in the media, with access to spectrum and public funding. Therefore, it is understood that they have high standards and levels of accountability applied to them. This has the benefit of