COMMENT: Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is planning to legislate in an effort to get TV manufacturers and owners of operating systems found on TVs such as Samsung’s Smart Tizen OS, LG’s Web OS and Google TVs to firstly include free-to-air TV apps, and then priortise their position in the content streaming queue so they are the first ones available, with the real possibility emerging that the next move will be to get local ABC radio stations onto voice activated speakers.
Labor minister Rowlands wants failing free-to-air TV networks apps such as 9Now, 7Plus and ABC iView to be front and centre of streaming because the political landscape is changing and the younger labor voters they need are deserting free to air TVs for apps, and thein lies the problem for Rowlands.
Politicians are concerned they are losing their voice pieces, free to air TV stations, who in the past they have been able to control in an effort to get their political spin, messaging in front of large audiences.
for app-savvy consumers free to air TV News today is not about sitting down in front of a TV at 6’o’clock in the evening, or 7.00pm for the ABC, it’s about opening a streaming app when they want to watch the news, and this is where Rowlands and the Labor party are desperate to get their voice on air back.
The ABC has gone left wing, bias and employing journalists who only spin one side of a story. Impartiality is a dirty word at the ABC and this has led to consumers deserting the ABC in droves.
Earlier this week Google warned the federal government against plans to force it and other manufacturers to make free-to-air television available on its devices, arguing it would come at a huge cost and make it harder to find popular shows a user actually wants to watch.
As one observer said, “The Labor party want to be able to control the media and they can’t do this with current content streaming,”
Television networks are lobbying for a must-carry and must-promote framework because they are losing share in droves to a multitude of other news and entertainment sources, which they are quite happy to pay for across multiple services and platforms.
Now Rowlands wants to force manufacturers to ensure live television broadcasts and online streaming websites appear first on smart TVs.
The Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association, which represents Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, said the legislation would compromise television quality.
“It would generate significant costs … this would also likely result in a much smaller range of TVs available to Australian consumers,” a submission said. “It is also perverse that local commercial stations charge TV manufacturers to advertise with them and yet see no reason to reciprocate with payment for app placement or advertising on device menu/home page.”
ChannelNews understands that Rowlands and the Communication department under her control are now looking at a possible framework to try to get a bigger voice that would help the left-wing ABC.
The solution could be in the framework being implemented in the UK, where the left wing BBC has been losing market share especially in their radio operation.
In the UK manufacturers of smart speakers, including Amazon and Google, will have to offer all licensed UK radio stations access to their platforms as part of the biggest government overhaul of broadcasting rules in 20 years.
The requirement will be included in a new media bill, which will be introduced in parliament tonight and will regulate online streaming platforms for the first time, while updating the rules for traditional broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
The draft legislation will give regulator Ofcom oversight of content available from services such as Netflix and Disney, a move the government said would “level the playing field” for UK-based broadcasters.
The inclusion of a guarantee that all UK licensed radio stations must be made available on smart speakers which if implemented in Australia would be a way for the Federal Government to assist the ABC.
The two biggest makers of smart speakers are Amazon, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Google, which declined to comment.
The UK bill will give state-owned Channel 4 the right to produce some of its own content, instead of licensing it from other studios after the government scrapped plans to privatise the broadcaster.
The bill also gives the broadcaster a new legal duty to ensure its commercial sustainability
