The government is in talks around spectrum fee relief and relaxing broadcaster content quotas as Australian media companies are forced to halt production of shows and advertising spend drops.
As with many industries, the coronavirus is forcing the media industry to cut costs and consolidate in what was already a challenging advertising market.
As reported in the SMH, to relieve Australia’s major media players, the government is considering temporary relief from broadcasting spectrum licence fees and local content quota.
Spectrum fees were introduced in 2018 after broadcast licence fees were abolished. Now, media owners like Seven and 10 pay around $10 million a year in spectrum costs, reports the SMH. Actual feeds depend on how much spectrum the network has, and its strength in the market.
Sources told SMH and The Age the government is also set to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign across traditional media.
Meanwhile, the government is in talks with ACMA about potentially relieving regulations such as content quotas as networks are forced to change programming plans due to coronavirus shutdowns and social distancing measures.
