Free TV has welcomed the federal government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that all Australians can access their local free television services on connected TVs through the introduction of legislation to implement a prominence framework in coming days.
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair (lead image) said: “Right now, Australian viewers are being steered in the direction of services that favour the commercial interests of big tech and TV manufacturers rather than being given access to the full set of free local television services that they want to watch. This legislation is an important step towards ensuring that people are not being served up incomplete viewing choices based on who has paid the most money to be in the line-up.
“While we are still awaiting full details of the legislation it is clear that there are still a few issues to be resolved with the Government’s proposed model. We look forward to participating in the next stage of discussions around this important issue.”
“Being able to share in the sporting moments that bring Australians together as a nation is also fundamental to our community. It’s important that the Government has reaffirmed that live and free access to key sporting events remains a central part of the Australian way of life. With cost-of-living pressures top of mind for Australians, we cannot allow access to key sporting events to be limited by the subscriptions Australians can afford, their internet access or their data plan.
“The expansion of the current anti-siphoning rules to apply to subscription streaming services is an important new measure. However there is still an element of analog rules in a digital world with the failure to include free streaming rights in the proposed model. Australians should be able to watch key sporting events whether they choose to access our services through terrestrial broadcast or online streaming.”
