In light of digital disruption due to COVID-19, the Australian Government has made a push to reform and modernise television regulation in Australia.

The newly developed Media Reform Green Paper  is aimed at enforcing a ‘platform-neutral regulatory framework’ over Australian media to continue its vital operation in the Australian economy. Accordingly, the staged reform process laid out in the Paper is designed to:

• support the free-to-air television sector to move to a sustainable operating model, in both metropolitan and regional Australia

• reduce the regulatory imbalance between free-to-air television and internet-based competitors

• secure a new funding source to support Australian news and Australian content; and

• sustain the continued delivery of news and other Australian content across different platforms that Australians view.

Additionally, with the insights provided for by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms Inquiry , the Australian Government has noted that Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) and Ad-supported Video On Demand (AVOD) will also fall within their purview in the near future.

To achieve these goals, the plan proposes to:

• offer commercial broadcasters a one time, irrevocable choice to operate under a new commercial television broadcasting licence, with a reduced regulatory burden, provided they agree to move at a future point to using substantially less radiofrequency spectrum

• promote the public interest derived from the spectrum by encouraging multiplex sharing by broadcasters

• introduce an investment obligation for subscription and advertising video-on-demand services, with details to be further developed over the next 12 months

• invest in the future, by using the proceeds raised through the reform process to fund public policy initiatives that deliver value for the Australian public and support the media sector, and

• formalise the role of national broadcasters as key providers of Australian content.

As this reform will heavily impact Australian consumers, the Australian Government has encouraged public submissions to be made to voice concerns on this strategy. The consultation deadline is 7 March 2021.

For a detailed reading see here.