Australian Broadcasting Authority annual report Sydney 2000 Annual Report 1999-2000 © Commonwealth of Australia 2000 ISSN 1320-2863 Design by Media and Public Relations Australian Broadcasting Authority Cover design by Cube Media Pty Ltd Front cover photo: Paul Thompson of DMG Radio, successful bidder for the new Sydney commercial radio licence, at the ABA auction in May 2000 (photo by Rhonda Thwaite) Printed in Australia by Printing Headquarters, NSW For inquiries about this report, contact: Publisher Australian Broadcasting Authority at address below For inquiries relating to freedom of information, contact: FOi Coordinator Australian Broadcasting Authority Level 15, 201 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: (02) 9334 7700 Fax: (02) 9334 7799 .Postal address: PO Box Q500 Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.aba.gov.au 2 AustJt"aHan Broadcasting Authority Level 1 S Darling Park 201 Sussex St Sydney POBoxQ500 Queen Victoria Building August 2000 NSW1230 Phone (02) 9334 7700 Fax (02) 9334 7799 Senator the Hon. RichardAlston E-mail [email protected] 'nister for Communications,Information Technology and the Arts DX 13012Marlret St Sydney liarnentHouse anberraACT 2600 In accordancewith the requirements of section 9 andSchedule 1 of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, I ampleased to present, on behalfof the Members of the AustralianBroadcasting Authority, thisannual reporton the operations of the llthorityfor the year 1999-2000. Annual Report 1999-2000 4 Contents Letter of transmittal 3 Members' report 7 . Chapter 1 - The Australian Broadcasting Authority 16 Achievements against the Corporate Plan 22 Managed regulation of broadcasting Chapter 2 - Regulation of broadcasting services Codes of practice 29 Australian content 31 Pay TV 33 Children's television 34 Investigation into the minimum licence fee requirement for Australian children's drama 36 Research 37 Anti- siphoning 42 Anti-hoarding 42 Ministerial directions 43 Submissions to parliamentary committees, public inquiries and reviews 45 Investigation and enforcement strategies 46 Investigations Investigations into progra·mming matters 48 Commercial radio inquiry 51 Control of broadcasting services 54 Licence fees 58 Chapter 3 - Internet content regulation Scope of the scheme 59 Complaints 62 Research 66 External initiatives 69 Licensing of broadcasting services Chapter 4 - Licence area planning and licence allocation Allocation of spectrum 73 Black spots 75 Out of area satellite television reception 75 Planning in the solus markets 76 Public consultation and consequential analog changes 76 Licence allocation 77 Chapter 5 - Digital broadcasting Conversion schemes 82 Digital channel plans . 82 Implementation plans 84 Advice on digital technology 84 Continuous improvement and leadership strategies Chapter 6 - Management improvement and information management Management improvement 86 Information and knowledge management 91 5 Annual Report 1999-2000 Appendi)(es 1 Freedom of information 97 2 Staffing 106 3 C & P classified programs 109 4 Investigations completed in 1999-2000: No breach finding 111 Breach finding 118 Summaries of breaches 123 5 Licence area planning and licensing 145 6 Legislation 153 7 Arrangements for outside participation 154 8 Publications of the Australian Broadcasting Authority 158 9 Financial Statements 160 Index 190 Tables and figures Tables 1 C and P program classifications 35 2 Investigations resulting in breach findings 49 3 Action taken in relation to prohibited and potentially prohibited content 65 4 Prohibited and potentially prohibited content hosted outside Australia 66 5 Conferences addressed by Authority staff 69 6 Totalnumber of licences on issue at 30 June 2000 77 7 Section36 commercial radio licences allocated in July 1999 77 8 Section 36 commercial radio licences auctioned in May 2000 77 9 Section 39 commercial radio licences allocated 78 1 O Section 40 commercial radio licences allocated 78 11 Aspirant broadcasters required to terminate a broadcast 80 12 Subscription television licences allocated 81 Appendix 2: Financial and staffing resources summary 106 Sydney staffing 107 Canberra staffing 108 Appendix 3: C & P classified programs 109 Appendix 4: Investigations completed in 1999-00: no breach finding 111 Investigations completed in 1999-00: breach finding 118 Appendix 5: 1 Final and draft licence area plans released during the year 145 2 Number of new transmitters planned in final licence area plans 145 3A Open narrowcasting licences auctioned before 1 July 1999 and allocated in the reporting period 146 38 Open narrowcasting licences auctioned in November 1999· and allocated in the reporting period 146 4 Permanent community licences allocated 147 5 Permanent community licences offered but not allocated 148 6 Community licences advertised by not yet allocated 148 7 Aspirant community broadcasters 1999-00 149 8 Final and draft digital channel plans determined in 1999-00 152 Figures 1 Complaints received, by month 63 2 Typesof Internet content investigated 64 3 Complaint investigation outcomes 64 6 Members' report While the Authority's commercial radio inquiry, and in particular its public hearing into 2UE Sydney, grabbed the lion's share of the headlines, the year under review produced a number of other notable highlights. The Authority auctioned a new commercial radio licence for Sydney, its first in a metropolitan market. The price paid, $155 million, exceeded just about everyon_e's expectations. The Authority registered codes of practice for Internet service providers and introduced a complaints scheme for prohibited Internet content. Despite dire predictions, the scheme has worked effectively and has attracted worldwide interest. In preparation for the introduction of digital television on 1 January 2001, the Authority has planned digital channels, released digital television channel plans and allocated test licences for digital terrestrial television broadcasting and datacasting. The Authority's ground-breaking use of single frequency networks in planning for digital has enabled channels to be set aside in all markets for datacasting, a new category of service. The Authority celebrated the twentieth year of the quality standards for children's television last year and this year released a research study, 20 Years of C, in conjunction with the Australian Film Finance Corporation and the Australian Children's Television Foundation. The study documented trends in ·the categories, styles and origins of children's television programs over the past 20 years, examined their scheduling and ratings and looked at the current production environment. In keeping with the undertaking in its new corporate plan, the Authority is committed to carrying out its regulatory functions with the interests of the general public foremost in mind. The Authority is also mindful of the need to foster industry responsibility while ensuring broadcasting and online services comply with relevant laws, in working towards achieving its planned outcome: an accessible, diverse and responsible broadcasting industry. Commercial radio inquiry Intense media and public interest focused on the Authority's first major public hearing, into whether commercial radio station 2UE had breached the Broadcasting ServicesAct 1992 or the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice, as a result of broadcasts by its high profile presenters Mr Alan Jones and Mr John Laws. The hearing was part of what became a wider inquiry into commercial radio, popularly dubbed the 'cash-for­ comment' inquiry, as the terms of reference of the initial investigation were expanded to include 3AW Melbourne, 5DN Adelaide and 6PR Perth. At the conclusion of the investigations into the four stations (soon after the date of this report), the Authority found that there appears to ha;e been a systemic failure to ensure the effective operation of self-regulation in the commercial racj.io industry, particularly in relation to current affairs programs. Within a significant proportion of 7 Annual Report 1999-2000 "f6 At the release of the report of the ABA hearing into 2UE Sydney: the panel: Kerrie Henderson, Jan Robertson, Michael Gordon-Smith. current affairs programs, the codes are not operating to provide appropriate community safeguards, the Authority found. After the hearing into 2UE Sydney the Authority imposed two conditions on the licence of 2UE Sydney. The Authority now proposes to determine three program standards for all commercial radio licensees. The system of co-regulation introduced by Parliament in 1992 always envisaged that the Authority might have to closely administer practices in the industry. The standards the Authority is proposing to impose are for a limited period, until April 2003. In the period the proposed standards are intended to operate, the Authority expects the commercial radio industry to develop codes of practice relating to the preparation and broadcast of current affairs that will provide the same level of community safeguards as are contained in the proposed standards. The outcome desired by the Authority is that listeners have available mainly self-regulated commercial broadcasting services that provide, at a very high standard, fair and accurate coverage of matters of public interest. That was the wish of Parliament in 1992 and, with goodwill on all sides - by the broadcasters arid the regulator - it can be achieved. If it is, it will offer a fresh start for co-regulation with a model that will be an example to others. Codes of practice deal