The Future of TV - Linear vs. Streaming and beyond

Television General Television Topics
442

Very important report from ACCC on digital platform services.

List of recommendations

Consumer recommendations

Recommendation 1: Economy-wide consumer measures

The ACCC continues to recommend the introduction of new and expanded economy-wide consumer measures, including an economy-wide prohibition against unfair trading practices and strengthening of the unfair contract terms laws.

These reforms, alongside targeted digital platform specific obligations, would assist in addressing some of the consumer protection concerns identified for digital platform services.

Recommendation 2: Digital platform specific consumer measures

The ACCC recommends additional targeted measures to protect users of digital platforms, which should apply to all relevant digital platform services, including:
• Mandatory processes to prevent and remove scams, harmful apps and fake reviews including:
o a notice-and-action mechanism
o verification of certain business users
o additional verification of advertisers of financial services and products
o improved review verification disclosures
o public reporting on mitigation efforts.
• Mandatory internal dispute resolution standards that ensure accessibility, timeliness, accountability, the ability to escalate to a human representative and transparency.
• Ensuring consumers and small business have access to an independent external ombuds scheme.

Competition recommendations

Recommendation 3: Additional competition measures for digital platforms

The ACCC recommends the introduction of additional competition measures to protect and promote competition in markets for digital platform services. These should be implemented through a new power to make mandatory codes of conduct for ‘designated’ digital platforms based on principles set out in legislation.

Each code would be for a single type of digital platform service (i.e. service-specific codes) and contain targeted obligations based on the legislated principles. This would allow flexibility to tailor the obligations to the specific competition issues relevant to that service as these change over time.

These codes would only apply to ‘designated’ digital platforms that meet clear criteria relevant to their incentive and ability to harm competition.

Recommendation 4: Targeted competition obligations

The framework for mandatory service-specific codes for Designated Digital Platforms (proposed under Recommendation 3) should support targeted obligations based on legislated principles to address, as required:
• anti-competitive self-preferencing
• anti-competitive tying
• exclusive pre-installation and default agreements that hinder competition
• impediments to consumer switching
• impediments to interoperability
• data-related barriers to entry and expansion, where privacy impacts can be managed
• a lack of transparency
• unfair dealings with business users
• exclusivity and price parity clauses in contracts with business users.
The codes should be drafted so that compliance with their obligations can be assessed clearly and objectively. Obligations should be developed in consultation with industry and other stakeholders and targeted at the specific competition issues relevant to the type of service to which the code will apply. The drafting of obligations should consider any justifiable reasons for the conduct (such as necessary and proportionate privacy or security justifications).

443

Free TV welcomes ACCC’s recommended approach to regulating big tech

Free TV Australia today welcomed the release of the ACCC’s Digital Platform Service Inquiry Regulatory Reform Report that recommends new codes of conduct to address the competition issues that arise from the conduct of the big tech platforms, together with enhanced consumer protections.

Free TV Australia chief executive Bridget Fair said: “We have consistently argued that the right approach to addressing the anti-competitive conduct of the digital platforms is through targeted mandatory codes of conduct.

“We are pleased that the ACCC has accepted this position and has now formally recommended to Government that binding codes be established to prohibit anti-competitive conduct.

In particular, Free TV welcomes the recommendations for codes of conduct that would address:

  • Self-preferencing – the favourable treatment given to the platform’s own products and services, such as promoting YouTube content in Google search results, or app store operators favouring their own apps.
  • Bundling and tying – consumers and businesses being forced to use the platform’s own apps and services instead of those offered by competitors.
  • Data-related barriers to entry and expansion – the use of data by the platforms, collected through the provision of unrelated services, to gain an advantage in other markets such as targeted advertising and ad tech.
  • Interoperability restrictions – preventing artificial competition barriers being created by tech giants by refusing to make their products and services interoperable with the products and services of their competitors.
  • Imposition of unfair contract terms – the unfair contract terms imposed by platforms on businesses.

“This report puts Australia in step with international developments, such as in the EU, where legislation has already been introduced to modernise competition and consumer law in the face of the power and dominance of big tech platforms like Google, Meta and Apple.

“The fact is that the longer we take to get the necessary legislation in place to enact the ACCC’s recommendations, the harder reform will become as the tentacles of the dominant platforms continue to expand across the economy.

“We strongly support the findings of the ACCC that we cannot rely on our existing laws to promote competition and protect consumers in the face of digital platforms of the size, scale and complexity that we face today.

“We urge the Albanese Government to quickly move to implement the ACCC’s recommendations, through the development of the necessary legislation, to be followed quickly by the implementation of the required codes,” Ms Fair said.

444

Seven welcomes ACCC report on digital platform services

Seven West Media (ASX: SWM) has welcomed the range of new measures the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recommended to address harms from digital platforms to Australian consumers, small businesses and competition.

The fifth report of the ACCC’s five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry has proposed mandatory codes of conduct for certain platforms and services to protect and promote competition.

The obligations it proposes will help to prevent anti-competitive self-preferencing, tying and exclusive pre-installation arrangements; data advantages; ensure fair treatment of business users; and improve switching, interoperability and transparency.

Seven West Media Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said: “The ACCC’s ongoing research and analysis of market conduct by digital platforms is among the most advanced in the world.

“The recommendations in this report are considered and appropriate and Seven West Media urges the Government to act swiftly on the ACCC’s recommendation, particularly the codes that address the competition harms caused by these very powerful gatekeepers and intermediaries.”

445

Deadline sat down virtually with CBC/Radio-Canada CEO and President and Global Task Force Chair Catherine Tait, ABC Managing Director David Anderson and Paul Thompson, CEO of New Zealand’s RNZ, to get their views on the global and domestic future of public broadcasting, before Tait’s speech at The Public Broadcasters International conference in Tokyo last week.

2 Likes
447

Hi all,

Not sure of the correct place to put this, but this seemed most appropriate.

I am currently in the process of building a new house. Still a few months away from it being ready, but starting to plan ahead.
We have had a TV connection points put in to the lounge room to connect to an antenna, but the builder isn’t involved in the installation of an FTA Antenna, this is something we have to organise ourselves.

I’m starting to wonder whether I even bother.
We current have (and will continue to have in the new house) NBN FTTP and currently stream pretty much everything.
The only local content that I watch via FTA is ABC News Canberra, all of the other channels are just full relays of Sydney.

Is there any point in getting a TV Antenna installed when I can access all of the FTA channels, plus ABC News Canberra via streaming?

  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

2 Likes
448

I couldn’t mount a convincing argument to have it. Maybe as a back-up/emergency?

3 Likes
449

I’d lean towards yes as a backup in case of an NBN outage or similar.

Even then, might be worth trying a cheap set of rabbit ears first to see if you can get an OK signal on that for at least one of the networks- that would also be an alternative if you want to have a backup without forking out for an external antenna setup.

1 Like
450

In a perfect world, we would have had FTA over NBN FTTP years ago.
Me personally, I would still have an external antenna installed

You could run the cable (or at least string) into the ceiling space from these point/s, at least if you decide in the future to install an external antenna, it would be a lot less screwing around.

I can only assume you are likely to be installing other points such as Ethernet and maybe HDMI, may as well get the cable work for an antenna installed now too

3 Likes
451

We tried and survived for 2 years without an aerial …but then it became painful as I wanted to watch I’m a Celeb, Survivor and The Amazing Race…on slight delay same day, and the only way we could do this was via an aerial and Fetch box. Fingers crossed 10 add the 9Now Start Over function which will make it possible. As it turns out, we are on the wrong side of a hill and aerial signal isnt great into Melbourne stations, we have to point to Gippsland TV instead of Melbourne…country ad’s, not a big deal though. It did cost us about $1200 ($400 weak aerial to start with, and then a booster and new antenna from Mr Antenna)

1 Like
452

One reason you might want an TV antenna is
picture quality. 720p25 on iView vs 1080i50 on ABC HD linear.
But I don’t know if ABC News Canberra is produced in HD.

More and more new home builds with TV antennas nowhere to be seen.

2 Likes
453
1 Like
454

I’d suggest you leave conduit (hollow plastic piping) in the wall in case you need it, and if you don’t, it hey, you’ve spent about $10 on a bit of pipe.

If you do, measure how far it is from the corner of the wall and how high it is off the floor (It helps to cut a hole in the right place if you do need it - remember to take in account of the width of the wallboard and flooring).

3 Likes
455

The way live tv streaming is now it’s definitely a lot easier to have it.

456

A post was merged into an existing topic: Digital TV Technical Discussion

459

A post was merged into an existing topic: Audience Reach, Ownership Control and Local Content

460
1 Like
461

i found this on the bottom of the tvblackbox podcast page

In three years, which major streaming services will definitely exist?

Ex-CNN boss Zucker: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple and the Disney suite [Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+]. The fifth could be a combo of the remainders: HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock.

Jeff Bewkes, former Time Warner CEO: Netflix, Amazon, Disney, HBO Max. Maybe one more that doesn’t make much money or is about break even and hovers near death.

North Road’s Chernin: All of them with the caveat that there may be some combination of Paramount, Peacock and HBO Max. The big guys don’t want to buy any of them with exception with HBO.

IAC’s Diller: There’s only one streaming service that’s dominant, now and forever, and that’s Netflix. But many others will exist. Jeffrey Hirsch, Starz President and CEO: Disney, Netfilix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon … and of course, Starz.

Candle Media’s Mayer: Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Max, probably. Paramount+ will be folded in, Peacock will folded in. Maybe they’ll be combined with a smaller service like Starz.

The Ringer’s Simmons: You have Hulu, Peacock and Paramount out there as candidates to get swallowed up by a bigger streamer, but who’s doing it? Apple never does anything. Amazon doesn’t need to do anything. HBO/Discovery just went through two mergers in six years. Netflix never does anything. Disney/ESPN seems more likely to shed stuff than buy stuff. So unless Comcast goes on a crazy spending spree, I don’t see anything changing — I think everyone will still be around, just with less employees and way less original content.

Netflix’s Bajaria: Netflix, of course. Disney+ has such a strong library. Many of the others will be interesting. You’re already seeing Showtime and Paramount+ come together. Does Hulu stay in Disney, or does Comcast buy their share out? Does Warner Bros. Discovery stay with Discovery+ and HBO Max, or does it merge with another company? There will be a lot of movement and changes in the streaming landscape.

3 Likes
462

This is the interesting one.
I think WBD could be viable on their own. But Paramount & Peacock won’t survive on their own. If SkyShowtime in Europe works out maybe years down the track these two will merge services.

463

Considering the mess WB and Discovery have made of merging with each other not sure adding any further companies to their portfolio would be beneficial for the industry. Indeed I suspect they’ll demerge not too far down the track - clearly a marriage everyone could see would end in divorce on day one.

I do think many of the big US studios who have traditionally made their money in selling content on are now seeing that selling content direct to consumers isn’t just cutting out the middle man. The change in model has already destroyed the traditional model Paramount and WB had with the CW and they’re just not making the money back selling direct that they did selling on content to streamers and international broadcasters.

Ultimately the consumer may be far more willing to pay for content now than even a decade ago, but they’re not willing to pay for multiple subscriptions - and certainly not at full price. What they need to do is convince people to buy them instead of Netflix, not alongside Netflix, and Disney+ is probably the only one that comes close to doing that - whilst without it being thrown in with the Prime Delivery service I’m not sure how much Amazon stands up on it’s own too.

464

Check out some of tonight’s viewing post 8.30pm on FTA on the first Thursday of the ratings period

Nine, the current number one network has a repeat of Paramedics at 8.30 followed by a repeat of Australia Behind Bars.

The second ranked network Seven has yet another Hey Hey repeat in The Very Best Of The Best And Worst at 8.30 followed by a repeat of Mrs. Brown’s Boys.

Third ranked, ABC has Grand Designs: House of the Year at 8.30 that has already be shown on Foxtel followed by a repeat Joanna Lumley’s Great Cities of the World.

10 has a new program at 8.30 The Montreal Comedy Festival; that’s followed by an “encore” presentation of Would I Lie To You? Australia.

SBS has something about Secret Pyramid soccer playing Nazis an History channel doco on American Presidency With Bill Clinton.

Is it any wonder the FTA viewing is down.

6 Likes