The Government has decided to relax the
cross-media rules in advance of the switch-off of analogue TV and the use of
this spectrum for new digital players and channels. On the surface this will
increase concentration and reduce diversity, however the final outcome for
democracy will now very much depend on the position the ACCC takes going
forward. “Diversity” in the context of
the Broadcasting Services Act relates to sources of news and information and
expert opinion. To me this suggests sources that have trust and credibility and
involve professional journalists and commentators. It is too early, in my view, to say such
diversity no longer matters because of the emergence of new media platforms,
the proliferation of phenomena like blogs and tools of mobile communication,
which are often cited as examples of how the media landscape is changing.

If the ACCC confines its focus to
advertising markets, and also who owns what content, then democracy may well
suffer through an erosion in the “market for ideas.” The ACCC should
therefore adopt a strong multi-faceted approach when examining issues of media
diversity and market concentration. To
provide the necessary focus, the Productivity Commission Report into
Broadcasting recommended that the ACCC administer a media specific public
interest test in the market for ideas.

The Productivity Commission
recommended cross-media be relaxed only after significant new players entered
the market utilising the digital broadcast spectrum. The new commercial digital
services proposed by the Government are not major and digital multi-channelling
probably won’t be aggressively pushed by some free-to-air players because
of concern it will fragment advertiser markets. The Government’s recent discussion paper
canvassed the option of relaxing cross-media after the analogue switch off at
which point a large amount of spectrum becomes available for new players,
channels, and services. In my view this would have been the preferred course.

I’m not concerned at the relationship
between the major media proprietors and the politicians who regulate their
industry, such relationships are to be
expected in a working democracy. The real issue in the case of a valuable
public resource, such as the digital broadcast spectrum, is ensuring it is
utilized in the best interests of the Australian community. The Productivity
Commission argued that more needs to be done with this spectrum, and so
encourage consumers to convert to digital. The concern is that come 2010-2012 a significant
number of Australian households will still not have made the conversion to
digital and so the analogue/digital simulcast will be further pro-longed, along
with the introduction of new players.

I think there is an
opportunity for major media players to increase the volume of
“original” content on their new media platforms in the market for
ideas. Indeed I am hopeful that, over time, “pay-for” revenue models will
expand on new media platforms – but mainstream media should be aggressively
experimenting in these areas.

Stuart Simson served
as Associate Commissioner on the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the
Broadcasting Services Act and these are his personal views.