The ABA has received 16 applications for community television licences in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Three applications were received for the Brisbane licence, two for the Melbourne licence, five for the Perth licence, and six for the Sydney licence.
The applicants are:
Brisbane
Australian College of Entertainment Ltd,
Briz 31 Ltd,
C31 Ltd.
Melbourne
Australian College of Entertainment Ltd and
Melbourne Community Television Consortium Limited.
Perth
Australian College of Entertainment Ltd,
Channel 31 Community Educational Television Ltd,
Community News Television Ltd,
WA Media Group Ltd,
West TV Ltd.
Sydney
Australian College of Entertainment Ltd,
Christian City Church Sydney Ltd (trading as Affinity TV),
Community Television Sydney Ltd,
Multilingual Community Radio Association Ltd,
Television Sydney (TVS) Ltd,
Youth Television (W?TV) Ltd.
Copies of applications received will also be made available to the public from next week. The ABA welcomes written submissions from members of the public in relation to the applications received. Submissions are due by Monday 9 June.
The licencing of Community TV has been on and off the agenda since 1992, when a series of temporary trial licences began. The CBAA has been lobbying since then for a more permanent arrangement, which was announced recently. This licence application process begins the formal stages of that progress towards permanent licences.
Perth’s Community TV station has proven to be the most stable and most successful over the years. Stations in other states have not been so successful and have often run into controversy over business and funding arrangements and because of internal station disputes, in the same way as community radio did in its early years.
Community licences can be allocated after the ABA makes new community broadcasting services available in an area following the release of a licence area plan.
The ABA has also recently received 5 expressions of interest to begin Community TV trials in Adelaide, which could eventually lead to a permanent licence in that city as well.
The ABA will decide if a licence is to be allocated and in the case of competing applicants, to which applicant. The ABA will allocate these licences on the basis of the merits of applicants and their proposed services and, where necessary, on their comparative merits.
In assessing applications the ABA will have regard to matters set out in the Act, including:
whether the proposed service meets the definition of a community broadcasting service;
whether the applicant is a ‘company’ and represents a community interest;
whether the allocation is subject to any Ministerial ‘priority direction’;
the needs and interests of the community and the extent to which the applicant’s proposed service would meet those needs and interests;
the applicants capacity to provide the proposed service; and matters related to the control of the licence.