COAG: Community television ‘will die’ without funding
Jul 02
The future of community television stations is to be discussed at today’s meeting of the Council of Australian Governments. Although the not-for-profit stations attract an audience of up to 4 million, they will struggle to survive in the next two years without federal government funding to move to digital.
Community stations have reiterated their call for support in moving to digital.
The Australian Community Television Alliance’s Laurie Patton – also the CEO of Sydney’s TVS – said it was ironic that the federal government is promoting the switch to digital, while at the same time leaving community television viewers behind. He told ABC News that without funding, some stations may have to close.
“We are hoping that the premiers and the Prime Minister will all agree that now is the time to do something to really make community TV a viable prospect in a multi-channel world,” he said.
“All the other television stations are available in both digital and analogue and we are just asking for a level playing field so that people who buy a digital set-top box, or a new digital TV, can watch community TV as well as the other channels.
“We are getting calls on a daily basis from people who have bought new digital sets and can’t find us and what we face is a diminishing audience. We rely on sponsorship for our revenue and if our audience declines, our revenue will decline,” he said.
Brian Dutton, of Adelaide’s Channel 31, said that community stations offered an invaluable range of local programming.
“The support for community has been great because we offer a genuine alternative,” he said.
“We offer current programs about where we are and who we are and about the communities, and that is just not covered by any other broadcasters.”
Community stations protest the lack of funding provided to them, despite assurances from the government.
“But the point is that everybody else is getting support, the ABC and SBS and even regional commercial television stations are being funded by the Government during the simulcast period, so we are only asking the Government to do for us what they have already done for the ABC and SBS.
“We are hopeful that the Government is looking into this very seriously at the moment and really we are just saying to them ‘can you please hurry up?’”
TGIF July 2nd 2009