The Federal Government has today announced that it will provide licence fee rebates to protect Australian content on commercial TV.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said that the Government would cut licence fees paid by the networks—calculated at 9 per cent of gross advertising revenues—to the government by 33 per cent for the 2010 financial year and 50 per cent for the 2011 financial year.
Julie Flynn, Free TV CEO, said, "The licence fee rebates are a timely recognition of the key role played by commercial broadcasters in delivering Australian content on television. The recent success of programs such as Packed to the Rafters, Underbelly and Masterchef highlight the broadcasters' continuing commitment to providing Australian viewers with quality local content."
She added, "It demonstrates the continued affection of Australian viewers for these programs. Free TV broadcasters are the major underwriters of Australian content despite the challenge of competing media platforms and fragmenting audiences. It is clear that as we moved to a converged media environment the basis for the old system of licence fees needs to be reviewed. The existing system has been in place since 1964 and has not been reviewed since 1987."
Independent analysis by Venture Consulting shows Australian broadcasting licence fees are out of step with international best practice when compared with other countries whether measured as a percentage of industry revenue, a percentage of GDP or on a per capita basis.
