The Coalition has flagged it could further reduce broadcast licence fees for TV networks in an effort to build industry support for its planned overhaul of media ownership laws.
The Nine network has used a submission to a new Senate inquiry into the package to argue the government’s overhaul should not proceed unless Canberra is prepared to give further ground on licence fees.
Nine’s chief executive, Hugh Marks, warns in a new submission: “Changing any ownership rules before addressing onerous and unfair licence fees has the potential to distort the market and have unintended consequences.”
“Nine seeks that all media reform be deferred until the issue of licence fees is addressed.”
The government proposed a 25% reduction in licence fees in the May budget but Marks argues in the Nine submission that’s not enough, and free-to-air TV networks remain under significant pressure “from unregulated international content providers”.
“Nine continues to strongly advocate for licence fees to be brought in line with international benchmarks to allow us to fairly compete with the unregulated international content providers which are fragmenting Australian audiences,” the Nine chief says.
Nine’s hardline stance is a reversal from the network’s previous support for the government’s media reform package, which proposes scrapping regulations that prevent moguls owning a TV station, radio network and newspaper in the same market.
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, last Friday met a number of media industry lobby groups to discuss the reform package.
A spokesman for the communications minister, Mitch Fifield, told Guardian Australia on Monday the government was giving further consideration to the licence fees issue.
“The government is giving consideration to further reductions in broadcasting licence fees as part of a broader package of reforms including the pricing of broadcasting spectrum,” Fifield’s spokesman said. “This work is ongoing.”
Licence fees are like a tax that commercial media owners pay the government for use of the spectrum.
The Seven boss, Kerry Stokes, has been forceful in arguing licence fees need to be significantly reduced or abolished, and his company has not been among the media players flying the flag for the government’s package.
The government’s proposed reform of media ownership rules would dump the regulations known as the 75% reach rule and the two-out-of-three rule.
The reach rule currently prevents Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and the Ten Network from owning their regional affiliates.
The two-out-of-three rule restricts cross-media ownership, preventing a mogul such as Rupert Murdoch controlling a free-to-air TV station, newspapers and radio stations in the same market.
Murdoch’s Australian operation, News Corp Australia, has also used the Senate inquiry process to resume calls for the anti-siphoning list to be overhauled.
The list reserves premium sporting events for free to air television. Pay television interests, including Foxtel, want the list opened up to allow more content to be offered exclusively on subscription television.
The communications minister has said that if the government was to substantially overhaul the current system it would need cross-party agreement.
“The anti-siphoning list and the regime itself changes from time to time. As stated previously, for there to be substantive changes there would need to be greater parliamentary consensus,” Fifield’s spokesman said Monday.
