BROADCASTING
ABC regional and local programming
The ABC will receive an additional $54.4 million in funding over three years from July 2005 to continue to provide additional regional and local programming across all media — television, radio and on-line.
Commercial Radio Black Spots Programme
The Commercial Radio Blackspots Programme is a $5 million programme to deliver new or improved commercial radio services to regional and remote communities where it would not otherwise be commercially viable for licensees to provide coverage. Financial assistance is provided to commercial radio broadcasters to assist with costs related to equipment, installation, site establishment and licence fees. Funding for new or improved services for 129 communities has been approved in the three years since the programme commenced in 2002-03, with the last of these projects to be completed in 2005-06.
Television Black Spots — Alternative Technical Solutions Programme
The Australian Government’s $13.3 million Television Black Spots—Alternative Technical Solutions Programme (TVBS-ATS) builds on the Television Black Spots Programme (TVBSP) to assist communities which are already part of the TVBSP but where an analogue retransmission solution is not available. Under the TVBS-ATS programme, funding is provided for alternative technical solutions over four years from 2002‑03, such as digital retransmission facilities or direct-to-home satellite.
As at April 2005, funding of over $2.4 million has been approved for 29 new services in 11 black spot areas in 2004-05, assisting over 3,700 households across Australia.
Regional Equalisation Plan
The Australian Government has allocated $25 million in assistance in 2005-06 as part of the Regional Equalisation Plan, under which it is currently estimated up to $245 million will be provided over 13 years commencing in 2000-01. REP assists regional and remote commercial broadcasters with the introduction of digital television broadcasting services.
Regional Communications Partnership
In December 2000, the Australian Government and ntl Australia Pty Ltd (now known as Broadcast Australia Pty Ltd) signed the Regional Communications Partnership Agreement. This established a $10 million scheme to assist community-based self-help retransmission groups gain access to National Transmission Network sites in regional and remote areas of Australia by subsidising the commercial fees payable. These self-help groups retransmit commercial and national television and radio services to communities that would not otherwise have had access to such services. The Australian Government and Broadcast Australia each contributed $5 million to the scheme with the Australian Government's contribution sourced from the Television Fund. By the end of February 2005, 61 councils or community groups providing 144 self-help services had taken advantage of the subsidies available under this scheme. This includes renewal of services at the end of the contractual period.
SBS Self-Help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme
SBS has established its Self-Help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme from an ongoing annual appropriation of $500,000 which it receives from the Australian Government to assist the establishment of self-help SBS services. Under the scheme, SBS will pay communities:
- 50 per cent of the actual costs associated with a self-help group purchasing the equipment required to retransmit its television service
- 100 per cent of the actual costs associated with a self-help group purchasing the equipment required to retransmit its radio service.
The maximum level of subsidy available for the establishment of an SBS radio or television service is $25,000 per service. SBS has advised that at the completion of its last funding round in April 2005, 45 Councils or community groups had received, or had been approved to receive, subsidies to establish 53 SBS radio or television self-help services.
ABC Radio Self-Help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme
On 25 February 2005, the Australian Government launched the ABC Radio Self-Help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme which will provide $1.5 million to enable up to 50 communities in rural and regional Australia to set up their own self-help retransmission facilities to access any of the ABC’s five radio services — Local Radio, Radio National, Classic FM, Triple J and NewsRadio. The ABC will administer this Scheme which will provide local Councils or community groups with:
- Up to $30,000 to establish an ABC radio self-help service; or
- Up to $15,000 to replace obsolete equipment required to retransmit a self-help service.
Eligible groups can apply for the subsidy for more than one ABC radio service. The ABC will collate all eligible applications and consider them collectively from 30 June 2005.