The Australian government has released a support package “to help sustain Australian media businesses as they do their vital work of keeping the community informed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The four key measures are:
Tax Relief – A 12-month waiver of spectrum tax for commercial television and radio broadcasters
Investing in Regional Journalism – A $50 million Public Interest News Gathering program
Short-Term Red Tape Relief – Emergency suspension of content quotas in 2020 – Australian drama, Australian documentary and Children’s and Preschool program obligations on commercial television broadcasting licensees are suspended until the end of 2020. Also, the licence condition requiring minimum levels of expenditure by subscription television broadcasting licensees on new eligible drama programs is suspended until the end of 2020. There is no change to meeting an overall 55% Australian content obligations.
Harmonising Regulation to Support Australian Content – Release of an Options Paper as part of a consultation process on how best to support Australian stories on local screens. See further details here.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said “We need to re-emerge from COVID-19 with a regulatory framework suited to the twenty-first century that recognises today’s competitive landscape – where television broadcasters compete with streaming services and a myriad of other internet-based businesses – and which positions both the television sector and the content production sector for a sustainable future.”
The Australian government has released a support package “to help sustain Australian media businesses as they do their vital work of keeping the community informed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- Region:
- Asia Pacific
- Series:
- Regulatory Watch
