Australian Free TV Slams Taxpayer Cost Claims

December 2, 2013 World Screen Top Stories

SYDNEY: Free TV Australia has rejected claims from the pay-TV sector that free-to-air television has cost taxpayers more than A$6 billion ($5.5 billion) in five years.

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) has prepared a 14-page submission to the government that includes research by PwC which estimates the taxpayer cost of supporting free-to-air television between 2012-13 and 2016-17. The estimated cost is around A$6.14 billion over the next five years, including funding for public broadcasting, digital switch-over and license-fee reductions for the commercial networks.

Free TV Australia has shot down these claims of "so-called 'privileges' to the Free TV industry."

Harold Mitchell, the chairman of Free TV Australia, said: “There is something deeply ironic about a monopoly that wants to charge ordinary Australians hundreds of dollars a month to watch their favorite sports complaining about the cost to taxpayers of a free service.

“Pay TV’s business is about one thing: making people pay for content they currently get for free.

“We have only seen the media reports, but this looks like a re-hash of the absurd and misleading claims pay TV made to the Convergence Review.”

Free TV Australia is arguing that the ASTRA claims ignore the fact that Australian broadcasting license fees remain the highest among comparable countries, and also incorrectly describe the costs of the government's digital switchover policy as "support" given to the free-TV sector rather than the cost of selling the spectrum. The group also says that the claims fail to take into account the return to government from the sale of the spectrum released by the digital switchover, which has raised around A$2 billion with another A$1 billion expected.

“We are disappointed pay TV is using the Audit Commission to peddle this nonsense,” Mitchell commented.

“The National Audit Commission and the new government’s deregulation agenda present a real opportunity to have a serious policy-based discussion about the economic impact of regulation on business and ensure all sectors of the Australian media are able to compete on even terms in an increasingly competitive global media environment.

“Using this review to take pot shots at competitors in our view shows a lack of respect for a very valuable process.”