What if the businesses at Griffith complains about the ads from central Australia like they did when they saw ads from other parts of regional NSW?
But then no matter what rules are there not everybody will be pleased.
They’ll still have WIN9 and WIN10 to advertise on. Griffith and Mount Gambier/Riverland/Loxton businesses probably won’t be able to book advertising space on 7/10 Central just because a Seven Network station shut down, and that’s because at the moment the Central Australian stations cannot be viewed in these TV1 license areas yet (generally) because the Seven Network service is still broadcasting in these regions. That will change though come 1st July, when (hopefully) the Government makes its VAST satellite service available to everyone in these TV1 license areas. Pay $800 for a satellite dish, then get the equipment needed and get it installed, and bang. Central Australian TV for free, forever.
If it came to a situation where Network 10 also packed up and left (aka WIN decides to stop broadcasting Network 10 into these regions next), then maybe SWM (O&O of the 7 Central services - ex-SCA station) could start accepting some advertising from these regions for broadcast on the 7 Central - South service. After all, even if Network 10 shut down in these regions next, you’d still have Nine to fall back on in regards to advertising and programs terrestrially, though Central Australian TV would be an option if you wanted to advertise on there, particularly to the many disgruntled Channel 7 viewers in Griffith still wishing to seek their footy fix (that’s if the AFL is on 7mate, the Central South service might have it on 7mate instead of the main channel, can anyone watching on VAST in 7 Central - South’s viewing area please confirm?).
You cant please everyone
Mildura is actually closer to Adelaide than Melbourne & Mildura does get the Melbourne feed but I doubt It would be combined Into Victoria TV1 a third commercial network will make little to no advertising dollars from an extra 68k viewers.
7 Central runs AFL on main channel in line with Seven Melbourne. They also run some additional games (usually SA teams but occasionally a NSW or QLD team) on 7mate, although notably no extras this weekend for a change. At the moment SCA still maintains guides for these services at TV Guides | Southern Cross Austereo but I don’t know how long that will last.
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Hopefully not that would be in competition to the local FTA station, VAST should only be in place for areas without FTA coverage, not competing with existing stations or they will be left with the public broadcasters only. If people want more choice than what is economically viable in such remote and isolated communities, Foxtel and streaming services exist.
Foxtel at a price most cant afford
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For many Foxtel is expensive & some don’t even have decent Internet to be able to stream.
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If the incumbent FTA provider in a particular market can’t deliver an adequate product (with a full set of services), then they do not deserve protection from the competition that VAST provides.
If anything I’d argue that everyone (viewers in these areas and broadcasters alike) would be better off aggregating these smaller, seemingly unprofitable sole-operator markets (Mt Gambier, Riverland, Mildura, Griffith, Spencer Gulf, Broken Hill, possibly even Darwin) into the Remote Central and Eastern licence area.
Everyone should be able to access all 3 commercial networks via either terrestrial or satellite as a matter of equity, why should someone in Griffith or Mt Gambier miss out on access to Channel 7 (even if they have to put up a dish) when someone on a remote homestead 100kms out of Birdsville can get the full suite of services?
VAST exists too, and was designed with the very intent of ensuring everyone got all 3 commercial networks. Why shouldn’t someone be allowed to access it when a monopoly licence holder in their area decides they no longer want to provide that level of service?
I don’t see how it’s any different to someone in one of these markets using 7Plus (as an example), that too competes with the existing stations does it not?
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That would be in competition with the local broadcaster, do you want no commercial free to air broadcasts in these areas. It’s not economically viable to broadcast three stations in these markets, VAST is different it primarily broadcasts to markets too small to have a television station of their own, but due to the scope of the broadcast area it is currently viable for three services. If the business is not profitable you can’t provide the service and there goes employment. I can see more of this happening, Seven surely won’t want to continue broadcasting its competitors signals when they could keep the small pie to itself. Limited choice is a part of life in smaller communities.
I don’t see why we need to protect these so-called “local broadcasters” that literally just relay capital city signals these days. It’s not like WIN has produced local news for places like Mildura or Mt Gambier in recent times.
By the same logic would you geo-block say, 7Plus or 10Play from areas where they aren’t being aired terrestrially? What makes someone getting a VAST dish and setup in these areas any different?
Then why not expand VAST to these areas where running three services is seemingly no longer viable?
It would be good for viewers in these areas all round as they would get the full suite of services back and good for the existing viewers in these markets as a bigger population base is better for long-term financial viability.
I can understand it not being viable to broadcast all 3 commercial signals in some of these small areas- but what you are suggesting to me (if I am interpreting you correctly, apologies if I’m wrong) seems to be actively blocking people in these areas from an alternative mode of access to the full suite of commercial networks (via VAST satellite).
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Yes because they still have a commercial broadcaster and VAST would be in competition with it and potentially make it unviable. Win employees people still in these communities and provides an option for local businesses to advertise their services and under a potential buyout by Nine or Ten, would be legally obligated to provide local news coverage as well. These likely won’t be the only monopoly markets to lose service either, TV is dying best to protect what you have.
There is also the possibility of VAST stations folding due to the low population reach and complicated ownership structure. Best to have a local Nine station than Seven Central by satellite.
TDT, CDT/IDQ and DDT are all on borrowed time at the moment.
Agreed, they’re only local in terms of the advertising, and advertising only. Everything else about WIN in these markets either screams Wollongong, or is just Nine (insert capital city here).
If any industry or product is on the decline under a current system, wouldn’t a more productive path be to try and rearrange the system to make it more viable?
As opposed to pretending everything is fine and watching everything slowly collapse?
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I have never thought their bulletins “screams Wollongong” to a normal non-media interested viewer.
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Taking the AFL away from a reasonable chunk of regional SA does scream NSW to me though.
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If this means also shutting down the local Network 10 station in Griffith and Mount Gambier/Riverland/Loxton in the not-too-distant future then so be it. Give it another year at the very least and we’ll probably see this happen. Either that or WIN cuts off local advertising on Network 10 through WIN next year, then shuts it down in 2027.
It’s clear WIN only cares about Nine, and Nine only. That’s all there is to it.
Time to send viewers in these regions back to the future. One commercial station and 2 public broadcasters. It’s been made clear that no jobs will be lost as a result of 7 shutting down in these regions, so I’d expect no jobs would be lost if 10 shut down in these regions as well either.
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And what about 7Plus and 10Play? They are in competition as well after all. Logically speaking they are no different to VAST.
I do agree that TV is dying, I don’t think the answer is trying to prop up a failing business model though (you will just leak more viewers to streaming and hasten that death).
If solus markets are struggling and VAST stations are also struggling, wouldn’t it make more sense to give merging these areas into one licence area a go? Clearly the status quo is failing broadcasters and viewers alike, and to continue on this trajectory will only result in more and more services being withdrawn from more and more areas.