The ABC is considering outsourcing its television outside broadcasting capabilities and get rid of its vans, citing cuts to its budget and the ageing technology in its fleet.
In an email sent to news staff earlier this week, head of state coverage Genevieve Hussey said the public broadcaster was inviting tenders from companies who can take over delivering outside broadcasts. Its 12 outside broadcasting vans are reaching the end of their life, she wrote, and improvements in remote production technology have made them redundant in some situations. Replacing them would be a significant cost.
“Because of this, and also to continue to find efficiencies, the ABC is considering outsourcing the delivery of our television [outside broadcasts] across three content divisions,” she said. “This would mean disposing of our own ageing … vans and instead using one or more external suppliers.”
Hussey said outsourcing television broadcasting would not change any content or coverage.
The ABC’s television outside broadcasting includes events such as Anzac Day, Australia Day, News Year’s Eve, election days and sports events.
Although the email ruled out news staff layoffs, it did not preclude the loss of staff from operations or support crews involved with outside broadcasts.
The ABC confirmed the plan to Crikey and reiterated it would not affect programming: “The ABC is considering outsourcing the delivery of outside broadcasts (OBs) for television, to find efficiencies and modernise our production capabilities.”
The ABC will invite submissions in the coming weeks before deciding about the future of its fleet.
“We’ll keep you updated,” Hussey’s email concluded.
re Budget spending:
Looking at the bigger picture, there remains continued cuts to public services, while spending remains too high for defense and in the ground sources of energy.
It should be noted that California with a population of 39 million, is spending “at least $5 billion in erasing many tenants’ unpaid back rent, devoting another $12 billion to constructing affordable housing largely intended for the homeless, pour an even more generous share of the bounty into the coffers of public schools, and provide $600 tax rebates to Californians with incomes of less than $75,000, including those Californians too poor to have paid taxes at all last year.”
This compared to the latest federal budget here which is spending only $1.6 billion on public housing here, adding to the NSW spending of $400 million with an extra $124.7 million from the current budget.
We can do better, we should be doing better for those in need and that includes Australians caught overseas during the COVID epidemic.
yes California has seen an exodus of productive people for the first time in its history
Thats patently false. California is still in population growth (by a much reduced 0.5%), but also people leaving are the poor being pushed out by astronomically high cost of living. Not sure where you got this ‘productive’ rubbish from.
I will only ever vote for a party intending to increase the ABC’s budget.
Death by a thousand cuts. Is still death. Under the reigning Prime Minister there will be no remission . . . other than privatization.
Memo to ALP: soon after being elected, give a hefty one-off grant to the ABC for “capital goods”. Repopulation may take a little longer.
This is pure vindictiveness on the part of the government. If they werent such crooks they would get a better run in independant media. We have to get rid of them before the ABC is wiped out completely. Dont vote LNP.