Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 15 June 2011:

In regard to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):

(1) How does the ABC propose to address the potential impact of the convergence of television, radio, phone and iPad platforms and the nationally legislated local content quota.

(2) Has the ABC reversed its decision to halve its bureau in the Middle East.

(3) What relationship does the ABC have with Associated Press Television News in terms of the sharing of technicians and producers.

(4) Why has Late Night Live been removed from Radio Australia's schedule altogether rather than being aired at another time.

(5) Has the Department of Foreign Affairs or Trade or any minister in the present government or their senior staff expressed an opinion (formally or informally) to the ABC about any aspect of Late Night Live in the past 6 months.

(6) What criteria is used to determine which guest commentators are paid, under what circumstances and the amount.

(7) Is there a financial relationship between the ABC and TuneIn.

(8) When did TuneIn begin to carry ABC content.

(9) Has the ABC supplied any content to TuneIn, or given permission for TuneIn to use ABC content.

(10) Is the ABC concerned that TuneIn carries ABC content along with advertising.

(11) Does the ABC pay for the Australia Traffic Network's reports on the ABC.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) The ABC continually assesses the media environment in which it operates and believes that it produces quality content with the funding it receives from the government. As technology has changed, the ABC has endeavoured to ensure that its content is available and accessible across a range of platforms to Australian audiences, including through its television and radio broadcasts, web content and iPhone and iPad apps.

The ABC continues to consider the issues of convergence in its daily operations and its

long-term strategic thinking. In examining the impact of convergence on the sector more broadly, the Corporation is providing input to the government's Convergence Review.

The Australian Content Standard sets minimum levels of Australian programming to be broadcast by commercial television broadcast licensees. The standard does not apply to the ABC.

(2) ABC News considered reducing the number of permanent correspondents it had in the Middle East. However, given recent events in the region and following consultation with staff, the proposal to reduce the number of permanent correspondents in the region has been deferred.

(3) The ABC has no on-going arrangements with APTN in relation to the sharing of technicians and producers.

(4) On 11 April 2011, Radio Australia (RA) moved from predominantly pre-recorded content from other networks, which was produced to reflect domestic Australian audience interests, to predominantly live content that is produced to reflect the interests of our target audiences in Asia and the Pacific. This change in programming was made to allow RA to respond to high interest issues of the day and events as they occur, including emergencies and major breaking news.

The decision to remove Late Night Live from RA's schedule was made in this light and in order to allow RA to produce additional content tailored specifically for audiences in Asian and Pacific markets, including content with a focus on Australian attitudes to world affairs.

RA uses interviews and segments from Late Night Live as inserted items in the new live flow programming. International audiences can still receive Late Night Live in full, and other ABC domestic radio content, via the internet.

(5) The ABC is not aware of the Department of Foreign Affairs or Trade, any minister in the present government or any senior government staff member expressing an opinion (formally or informally) to the ABC about any aspect of Late Night Live in the past 6 months.

(6) As a general rule, ABC Radio pays few guest commentators, the exceptions being sports commentators and some regular commentators on various stations, such as weekly or fortnightly experts on gardening, technology and other topics, and film and television reviewers.

From time to time, ABC Radio may cover associated costs for guest commentators such as parking or taxi expenses for guests visiting to our studios.

The criteria used to select commentators and whether to pay a fee include:

Sporting commentators are usually paid fees for shifts of between five and nine hours. The fee varies depending on their profile as a commentator, the market within which they are based, and their 'length of service' commentating on ABC Radio. For example, the Melbourne AFL market is extremely competitive with up to six stations broadcasting AFL at any one time. This makes finding and retaining talent difficult. In Sydney where NRL is the dominant code, there are fewer analysts to support our AFL coverage.

The ABC aims to offer sports commentators as close as possible to market rates, especially for our longer serving commentators. ABC Radio prides itself on developing talent but once they develop their profile and ability in commentary, we tend to lose commentators to commercial channels which offer fees above those which the ABC can afford to pay.

ABC News does not pay for interviews as part of its news coverage. However, on programs which rely on regular contributions from invited guests (such as Insiders and Offsiders), payments and travel costs are paid to contributors. There is no precise formula in relation to the amount of these payments, which depend on the skills and experience of the contributors and the prevailing market conditions.

(7) There is no financial association between the ABC and TuneIn.

(8) The ABC has no formal relationship with TuneIn and is unaware when TuneIn began to carry information about ABC services.

(9) ABC Radio has not supplied content to TuneIn or provided TuneIn with permission to use ABC content.

Tunein.com is an 'aggregator' site which provides its viewers with names, brief descriptors and links to thousands of radio streams around the world. Any person clicking on an ABC link on the tunein.com site is directed back to the relevant ABC site, provided through the ABC's servers.

(10) The ABC regards these aggregator sites as an unavoidable phenomenon of the internet age and, because of the proliferation of such sites, the ABC does not consider it practicable to pursue the operators of these sites and seek that they desist from including the ABC on their station directories.

The ABC is concerned that tunein.com and other like sites carry commercial content near links to ABC Radio sites. However, the Corporation considers that as interested audiences are quickly linked through to a self-selected ABC Radio site, it is unlikely that the tunein.com advertising would be associated with the ABC.

(11) No.