Probably because 10 can only afford dial up internet!
McGarvey has no idea. How she rose to the top of the network is beyond me. Sheâs overseen endless decline at that network with her flawed programming strategy.
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10 used this same grab from McGarvey across Midday, Afternoon and 5pm yesterday and the more I saw it the stupider it sounded.
45 minutes, a new TV? She had to get an engineer in!? As if she was the one setting up the TV in her office anyway. Câmon, she canât be that technically challenged.
Like I get the whole prominence thing to just make it easily available for everyday people, and I agree that it should just be installed from factory, but this example is ridiculous IMO.
She was questioned something like âdonât you just go to the app store, type in 10 play and it comes up?â and she did it didnât, which I find really hard to believe.
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Yea if your networkâs app is not easily discoverable by consumers thatâs a job for your digital team to fix - not the fed govt
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Android TV has this capability already for streaming apps - but our FTA networks have elected not to implement it
What the Devil â donât make Australians pay twice for new AFL team
Amid all the excitement about the launch of Tasmaniaâs new AFL and AFLW Club, the âDevilsâ, Free TV issued a timely reminder about the importance of keeping iconic sports available for all Australians to watch for free.
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair said âAustralian taxpayers are already forking out about $300 million towards new football stadiums in Hobart and Launceston. And thatâs on top of the $375 million being paid just by Tasmanian taxpayers.
âWith the Devils set to join the national stage in the stateâs iconic new kit itâs more important than ever that Australians are not forced to pay subscription streamers on top just to watch their favourite sporting teams play in the very stadiums they have already paid for.
âThe Australian Government has new laws before Parliament that aim to keep iconic sports free, and yesterdayâs announcement of the AFLâs 19th club is an important reminder of the importance of sport in the lives of all Australians. Sport is a social connector and encourages kids to be active. But while Australians have always had free access to sports like the AFL, NRL, cricket and Olympics, global streamers are now buying them up and putting them behind a paywall. Weâre already seeing this with Amazon buying exclusive rights to ICC cricket tournaments including the next Cricket World Cup.
âThe Government must make sure the laws safeguard free access for viewers, whether they get their free TV over the air using an aerial, or the increasing number who watch over the internet using a free streaming app like 7plus, 9Now or 10 Play.â
âThe bill before parliament stops subscription services like Amazon, Apple and Disney from buying exclusive terrestrial broadcast rights, but it doesnât guarantee the availability of free coverage for the increasing number of Australians who rely on the internet for free TV. As it stands, people who watch free sport through the internet have no guarantees paid streaming services wonât buy up the rights and lock broadcasts behind paywalls.
âThe Bill should require that both the free broadcast and free digital streaming rights must be acquired by a free broadcaster before the event can be acquired by a subscription provider.
Free TV is calling for Parliament to keep TV Free for Everyone and calls for the following changes to the Bill:
- Require that both the free broadcast and free digital streaming rights be acquired by a free broadcaster before the event can be acquired by a pay TV or subscription streaming provider.
- Do not extend the automatic de-listing period from six to 12 months as many sporting events are acquired within this timeframe.
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Senate Committee recommendations miss the mark
Free TV today called for a serious rethink of the findings of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committeeâs inquiry into new laws to keep sport free on TV and make sure local Australian TV services are easy to find.
Responding to the Committeeâs report, Bridget Fair, Free TV CEO, said âOverall the Committee recommendations represent a major missed opportunity to ensure that all Australians can benefit from free local TV services into the future.
While we welcome the Committeeâs recommendation to reduce the implementation period for the new prominence framework from 18 to 12 months, the report misses the mark by not applying the new requirements to existing sets in the market. Every person with a connected TV sees the look and feel of their existing set updated on a regular basis. The changes required to implement the new prominence rules are no different.
Unless we incorporate existing sets in the prominence framework, only those who buy a new TV will see any change, and people who canât afford to upgrade their sets will miss out, even though their connected TV sets can be, and regularly are, updated over the internet.
If we donât make this important change, the legislation will not make any meaningful difference until late this decade.
The Committee misses the mark on ensuring iconic sport remains free for all Australians too.
âThe increasing number of Australians who watch their free sport on TV using the internet, because they have no aerial, will miss out unless the new laws are amended to stop paid streaming services buying up exclusive digital rights and putting sports behind a paywall.
âWeâre running a real risk that in the not too distant future, if you want to watch your favourite sports, you will need to pay multiple streaming services to do so. Knowing that every Australian can freely access the big footy finals or gather around the TV for the Boxing Day cricket will be a thing of the past.
As the proportion of households watching TV online grows to half by 2027, the anti-siphoning list will be fundamentally undermined if it does not apply to digital rights,â said Ms Fair.
âBidding for sport will become commercially unviable if free-to-air broadcasters can only acquire a narrow range of terrestrial rights, leaving paid services to acquire exclusive digital coverage. This is exactly the nightmare scenario the government is trying to avoid with this bill â so it must be amended to reflect modern viewing habits.
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill 2023 is an important piece of legislation that should ensure that all Australians can continue to access their free local TV services and free sport. But unless these critical changes are made, weâre going to continue to have analog rules in a digital world.
âOur industry is ready to work constructively with the Government and other key MPs to support these important amendments,â Ms Fair said.
New polling shows millions will miss out on free sport unless laws are updated
New research has found 69 per cent of Australians access TV via the internet and millions will miss out on watching sport if proposed anti-siphoning laws are not applied to streaming services.
The national polling by Resolve Strategic found only 29 per cent of Australians watch TV exclusively through an aerial and 18 per cent of those are considering switching to digital soon.
If anti-siphoning laws are not extended to digital services, around half (49%) of people who use free streaming services such as 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play reported they would simply miss out on watching sport.
Seventeen per cent said they would reconnect their aerial and only 9 per cent would sign up to paid streaming services.
The research also found 67 per cent of Australians support anti-siphoning laws which protect access to free sport and 69 per cent support extending those laws to digital services.
âThis research shows that most Australians are watching TV through the internet and this proportion will only increase as more people either ditch their aerials and new homes are built without them,â said Free TV CEO Bridget Fair.
âNew anti-siphoning laws must be updated to reflect this reality otherwise millions will be forced to buy expensive streaming subscriptions during a cost of living crisis or miss out altogether on the great sporting events that bind our nation together.
âAll Australians deserve access to sport, regardless of their income or whether they have an antenna on their home.â
Free TV announced that it would also launch a major new âKeep Sport Freeâ advertising campaign across TV, print, outdoor and social media to highlight the imminent threat to Australians of losing free sport, potentially costing people thousands of dollars a year to watch their favourite events.
The governmentâs anti-siphoning bill prevents subscription streaming services such as Amazon, Apple and Disney from buying exclusive terrestrial broadcast rights to iconic sporting events like the Olympics, AFL, NRL and cricket.
But they can still acquire exclusive digital rights and lock out the vast majority of Australians who watch free sport on services such as 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play.
The Resolve polling, commissioned by Free TV Australia which represents free-to-air broadcasters including Seven, Nine and Ten, found that extending the rules to apply to streaming rights would be extremely popular.
Almost a third (32%) of voters would be more likely to vote for a major party acting on this issue while only three per cent would be less likely.
âThe Australian public clearly values access to free sport and supports politicians who act to protect it,â said Ms Fair.
âWhile the intent of the anti-siphoning bill is good, its current form does not guarantee the availability of free sporting coverage for those who are reliant on the internet for their free TV.
âThis major oversight must be fixed to protect the free universal access to sport for every Australian.â
Key findings:
- 67% support anti-siphoning and 69% support extending laws to digital services
- 69% access TV through a digital connection
- Only 29% of Australians watch TV exclusively through an aerial and 18% of those are considering switching to digital soon
- Around half (49%) of those using an aerial and four-in-ten of digital users have encountered issues with watching sports, mostly because the games were not available to them
- If anti-siphoning laws are not extended to digital services, around half of people (49%) who do not use an aerial reported they would simply miss out on access to sport. 17% would reconnect their aerial and 9% would pay for streaming services
- Almost a third (32%) of voters would be more likely to vote for a major party acting to extend anti-siphoning laws while only three per cent would be less likely
This poll was a nationally representative survey of 1,202 people conducted 3rd-7th June 2024
As seen on Sunrise
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So in summary, hypothetically, Nine could have the FTA rights to the NRL and Disney could come along and take the streaming rights while Foxtel/ Kayo still keep their rights? Therefore 9Now cannot show the NRL? Is this correct?
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Thatâs the argument.
Then, yeah, itâs simple. Whatever the FTAâs purchase should come as a package deal. FTA and their streamers. 7 and 7plus, 9 and 9Now and 10 and 10play. Package deals.
Say next contract that 7 get the NRL, it also gets 7Plus airings in the deal, no extra negotiations.
However, Nine are purchasing rights and using Stan while 10 could use Paramount+. Seems contradictory.
Do Stan and Paramount + count as "expensive streaming subscriptions "
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But in that case theyâd be airing on 9, 9Now and Stan. Are you not just replacing the Foxtel/ Kayo deal with Stan?
Regional TV needs more than shuffling of the deckchairs
The closure of Mildura Digital Television signals that regional television in Australia is at a critical point.
Free TV today called for a comprehensive four step plan to place regional television broadcasting on a sustainable long-term footing. Regional Australians are starting to lose access to television services and the ongoing availability of local trusted news, local advertising opportunities for regional businesses and Australian content in regional areas is at stake.
âThe Regional Broadcasting Continuity Bill introduced today contains two short-term legislative tweaks in response to the imminent closure of Midura Digital Television (MDT) on 30 June, but long-term structural measures are now urgently needed to ensure the future viability of regional commercial television services in Australia,â said Free TV CEO, Bridget Fair.
âFrom 1 July almost 70,000 people in Mildura will no longer be able to access broadcasts from Mildura Digital Television, which delivers Network 10 programming to the region. That means no broadcast access to the Matildas or Socceroos or shows like MasterChef, Australian Survivor or 10 News.
âThis legislation merely allows Mildura viewers the option of installing a satellite dish at their own expense to receive the remote area VAST service to replace their Network 10 services. While this gives Mildura residents an option to replace their lost services, it is not a fair or reasonable solution, new satellite installation can cost upwards of $800. In a cost-of-living crisis this is simply not realistic for many Australians just to access the television services that are available for free to everyone else.
âWithout urgent substantive action by Government more licence areas are likely to follow.
âRegional broadcasting has been the subject of numerous detailed Government reviews conducted by the likes of Korda Mentha and Boston Consulting Group over the past five years. Yet we still have no plan from Government to ensure the long-term sustainability of this critical media sector.
Regional commercial broadcasters spend millions on local content every year and comply with significant local news content quotas that do not apply to any other platform. In FY23, they spent $35 million on local news bulletins, $5 million more than they did the year before. The only place you will find local television news bulletins in regional Australia is on commercial television.
All commercial television broadcasters also comply with additional regulatory requirements such as 55% Australian content obligation and accessibility requirements. Yet despite the public interest benefits they deliver; Australian commercial television broadcasters pay the highest spectrum taxes in the world which is a significant impost on their ability to fund content and infrastructure costs.
âWith content spend going up, and revenue going down, the costs of providing regional TV services across the wide Australian land mass are a serious concernâparticularly when you consider the excessive spectrum tax they pay every year. The tax was introduced as a temporary measure in 2017 and should have been abandoned years ago.â
âThe solutions to keeping the lights on for regional TV are squarely in the hands and control of the Albanese Government, Ms Fair said.
Free TV is calling on the Government to:
Abolish the outdated and unjustified spectrum tax.
Amend the Prominence and Anti-Siphoning Bill to ensure that all Australians can watch their live and free sport no matter how they get their free TV, and can find their local TV services on their current TV sets without needing to buy a new one.
Review regulatory imposts on commercial TV stations that donât apply to digital competitors who sell advertising against themâsuch as licence area restrictions and rules that limit ownership arrangements.
Implement direct funding support for markets where services are not commercially viable. The Government already spends billions of dollars on telecommunications blackspots and should do the same for regional broadcasting.
âRegional broadcasters know their audiences love local news, community stories and sport, and that local businesses need regional TV to reach local customers. But without the Governmentâs long-term support more services are at risk, and these social and economic benefits for regional Australia will be lostâ.
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Media release from office of Communications Minister Michelle Rowland
New legislation to support access to broadcast television in regional Australia
The Albanese Government will enable continued access to television broadcasting services in remote and regional Australia through new legislation introduced to the Parliament today.
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024 addresses outdated provisions and anomalies in the current regulatory framework that would otherwise prevent access to television services and more efficient broadcasting transmission.
The Bill expands access to the Government-funded Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) safety-net service in communities where there has been a material reduction to the number of terrestrial commercial television broadcasting services.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority will be empowered to declare an area to be âservice-deficientâ, that will allow audiences in the area to access services via satellite, should they wish to do so.
The Bill also adjusts the broadcasting regulatory framework to allow television broadcasters to save costs by managing their transmission network more efficiently while continuing to deliver high quality services to their audiences.
The Bill comprises amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) and Radiocommunications Act 1992 (RCA) to:
- permit viewers to access the VAST safety net service when a commercial television broadcaster ceases to provide services terrestrially in a given area;
- remove impediments to commercial television broadcasters consolidating their terrestrial transmission arrangements; and
- enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to amend Television Licence Area Plans (TLAPs) to accommodate consolidated transmission arrangements.
This is in addition to the Governmentâs decision to extend the Commercial Broadcasting Tax (CBT) rebate by four years, to support eligible regional television and radio broadcasters. An additional one-off 12.5 per cent increase to the CBT rebate has also been applied.
The extended and increased CBT rebate will now provide $5.4 million in annual support, up from $4.8 million in 2023-24. This investment provides greater certainty for regional broadcasters that continue to face challenging operating environments and rising costs.
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13 posts were merged into an existing topic: Ten (Mildura Digital Television)
I wrote an email to Free TV Australia regarding Milduraâs situation. I expressed my disappointment that there wasnât a Freeview device that can help transition viewers onto IPTV streams that the BVOD apps offer, like Foxtel, Hubbl and Fetch devices can do.
To my surprise they responded with some pretty good news. They are currently working on âProject Milduraâ. Itâs a device that can allow viewers to plug in their DVB-T antenna and swap any of the local channels for IPTV versions. They told me something should be on the shelf in the next 12-18 months if it all goes to plan.
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But I bet it would let you hook up to an external HDD and PVR record IPTV streams of the networks streaming channels? That would go against the business model if viewers could skip ads like they do now with DVBT sourced PVRs.
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Probably not. But iQ and presumably Fetch can differentiate the streams and allow recordings from DVB-T but prevent recordings from IPTV.
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Am glad the Fed Govt is not going to give the likes of WIN and Seven taxpayer funds to keep the MDT Mildura 10 joint venture as a going concern.