In a move that has implications for the progress of digital tv and the proposed new media legislation, the ABC has decided to close its multichannel television services, Fly TV and ABC kids.
ABC Managing Director Russell Balding made the announcement today in response to the government’s recent Federal Budget allocation, which did not contain the extra funding requested by the ABC.
Balding said in a statement: “This difficult decision has been made as a result of the inability of the
ABC to secure funds for content for these services in this year’s Federal
budget.”
“The Government has never funded these digital services. Given the paucity of
incentives for the public to take up digital television, the ABC initially
considered that a dedicated children’s and youth television service could
attract funding support from the Government. Unfortunately this has not been the case.”
The ‘ABC Kids’ strip of programs on free-to-air Channel 2 will continue as usual.
Balding said: “This is the first of several hard decisions the ABC will make over the coming months concerning its output. Maintaining the comprehensiveness of
ABC broadcasting is becoming increasingly difficult. ABC funding from
Government today, on a true comparative basis, is some 30 per cent less in
real terms than what it was in 1985/86.”
“It is now important for the ABC to concentrate on its core broadcasting
output, and thus minimise impact on its main audiences.”
The dramatic move ups the stakes in the brinkmanship game over funding for the ABC.
The government, which wants further progress on digital TV, is now put in a difficult position, because Fly TV and ABC Kids are proving to be two of the main drivers encouraging consumers to take up set-top boxes. Without the extra services offered by the ABC the government will be under increased pressure to allow commercial broadcasters to multi-channel or, alternatively, to fund other multi-channel services which drive audiences to purchase set-top boxes.
ABC funding has also been a sticking point in negotiations with The Democrats and some Independent Senators about the progress of the government’s new media Bill. This move could either cause those negotiations to completely break down, or, on the other hand, give the Democrats and Independents a chance to win special supplementary funding for the ABC’s digital services in exchange for agreeing to pass the new media bill.
The ABC’s Dig Radio service is also on the digital tv feed – there is no word on the status of that service in Balding’s statement.