Australian Broadcasting Corporation

submission to

Australian Communications and Media Authority

Children’s Television Standards Review

August 2007

ABC submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority Children’s Television Standards Review The ABC makes this submission in response to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) review of the Children’s Television Standards (CTS) for commercial freeto-air television. This submission focuses on: • the general principles and importance of the public policy framework that ensures the

delivery of minimum levels of Australian content for Australian children and their families; • the Issues Paper’s discussion of “tradeable obligations”; and • the ABC and Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) proposal to establish a commercial-free, dedicated digital children’s television service. This submission argues that continued regulation, along with continuing levels of subsidy and the work of the ABC, should ensure a high level of specifically-produced, Australian children’s programming is delivered to the Australian public. However, in the new digital environment Australian children and parents are not being well served by existing regulatory arrangements. As children increasingly seek out content on new platforms, including subscription television and online, the current policy structure, based around traditional free-to-air television, looks increasingly outdated. Future generations of Australian children risk missing out on quality Australian content if it is not provided in the places and at the times they are looking for it. The key issue is to ensure that audiences and quality Australian content connect. If Australian children and parents are to have access to Australian programs in the developing digital environment, new and additional mechanisms must be considered. The ABC believes a dedicated, commercial-free Australian children’s channel is an integral part of the policy solution.

ABC Interest and Role in Children’s Media The ABC has a significant interest and role in the provision of content specifically intended for a children’s audience and in the issues under review by ACMA. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (“ABC Act”) states that the functions of the Corporation include: broadcasting programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community … [and] broadcasting programs of an educational nature.1

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, s.6.

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The ABC Act also provides that: the Corporation shall take account of … the broadcasting services provided by the commercial and community sectors of the Australian broadcasting system … [and] the standards from time to time determined by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in respect of broadcasting services.2

The ABC understands its legislative role to encompass a clear obligation to its children’s audience. Accordingly, the ABC Editorial Policies state that “the ABC presents content for children of all ages. Material for young audiences is extensive and designed to reach different target groups in accordance with their needs, age and level of maturity.”3 A considerable proportion of the ABC’s program schedule is dedicated to children’s programs. On its main television service, the Corporation broadcast over 600 hours of Australian children’s and educational programming in 2006–07 of a total of over 2,000 hours of such programming specifically delivered for children and young people. In addition, the ABC broadcast over 1,700 hours of children’s programming on its digital multichannel service, ABC2. The ABC complements this daily broadcast output with an extensive and growing online presence on its website. The ABC continues to seek innovative mechanisms to deliver content to children, including a recently-introduced interactive, digital television application, RollerCoaster Interactive TV, which is closely tied to the RollerCoaster website and television programs. This runs from 5pm to 7pm across both ABC TV and ABC2 and aims to appeal to children’s desire for interaction and a social space. It includes games, SMS, user-generated content and competitions; for example, children can play with sound and visual effects, and they can also write text on their TV screens. The focus of the ABC children’s content strategy is to provide non-commercial, innovative content of a high standard. The strategy takes into account the increasing range of media now accessible to children and young people, including online content and subscription television. The strategy also recognises the impact of the evolving digital media environment, and that the section of the population most affected by the influx of new content is children, as avid consumers of new media content.

Background The ABC notes that “the underlying policy rationale for prescribing standards for children’s television reflects the cultural objectives … identified in 1992 in the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, including, ‘to promote

2 3

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, s.6. ABC Editorial Policies, section 11.13.1.

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Australia’s identity, character and cultural diversity’.”4 The Issues Paper also notes “the objectives of the Children’s Television Standards (CTS) reflect these cultural objectives and are identified in the Explanatory Memorandum as being: 1. To provide for children to be specifically catered for in programming, including Australian programming; and 2. To provide for the protection of children from possible harmful effects of television.”5 Over more than four decades a public policy framework has evolved to deliver Australian content to both pre-school and school-age children on ABC Television and commercial freeto-air networks. This framework has involved a combination of regulation of commercial free-to-air television since 1971, federal and state government subsidy and funding to the public broadcaster. Production units within the broadcasters and independent children’s television producers have operated within this framework to deliver a diverse range of quality Australian children’s content to Australian children’s audiences. The emerging digital media environment poses significant challenges in meeting the policy aim of ensuring reasonable levels of Australian children’s content are available for Australian children to access when, where and how they want. The existing public policy framework is designed for a broadcasting environment and structure which has already undergone dramatic changes and will continue to change. Children’s audiences are moving to new platforms and dedicated services, as well as accessing content online and via a range of devices. It is no longer sufficient to look at individual broadcasters or sectors of the broadcast landscape and focus on particular responsibilities to particular audiences. What is required is a high-level commitment to the digital media environment as a whole, serving the needs of Australian children and parents. Business models for the commercial free-to-air broadcasters are being challenged by these shifts in audiences. The ABC offers the pre-eminent children’s service, yet it is increasingly finding its audience moving to subscription television children’s channels, which predominantly carry overseas programming. To fully connect with its target audience, the Corporation believes it needs to be able to compete in the dedicated children’s channel space. In the context of this review, the ABC urges ACMA: • to reconfirm a fundamental policy commitment to the availability for Australian

children and parents of minimum levels of diverse and quality Australian children’s

4 5

Children’s Television Standards Issues Paper, p.1. Children’s Television Standards Issues Paper, p.1.

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content in Australia’s fast-developing multi-channel and multi-platform digital environment; and • to develop and articulate a revised and contemporary policy framework which will ensure this outcome.

The Children’s Television Standards Review The ABC understands that the focus of the present review is how the CTS are operating in the current environment and how they can be amended to operate more efficiently in that environment. The Issues paper notes the objectives of the CTS are to: • Promote quality children’s FTA programming on commercial stations • Protect children from potentially harmful effects of television in a changing media

environment. As the Paper also notes, the media environment is changing significantly. In addition, children’s media use is also evolving. In a submission to the 1999 Productivity Commission Inquiry into Broadcasting the ABC stated, “[c]hildren, like the rest of the audience, will be confronted by an increasing number and range of channels, services and programming. This provides enormous opportunities for gaining access to the best entertainment and information from around the world. It requires, also the ability to ensure that children have access to the best of locally-made programming.”6 Eight years hence, there is clear evidence that children are taking up opportunities to gain access to a range of content that they want, when they want and in the form they want. The policy challenge remains—how to secure and deliver high levels of quality, Australian content to children and their families. Additionally, notwithstanding these media developments, the imperative to protect children from the harmful effects of television articulated in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (“BSA”) remains as appropriate in the new media environment as it was in 1992. Broadcasting policy—and media policy settings more broadly—must seek to ensure that safe and secure environments are provided for Australian children and their families. The ABC believes it is important to meet children’s education, information and entertainment needs through the provision of a range of Australian programs. Australian children should expect to see and hear places and voices that are familiar to them on television; to feel that where they live and the familiar things they see and do, are valuable and valued. In the absence of children’s content requirements, there is unlikely to be a significant level of Australian’s children’s programs broadcast.

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ABC Submission, 1999 Productivity Commission Inquiry into Broadcasting.

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The ABC experience is that there remains a considerable audience for high-quality Australian children’s programming. Locally developed, produced and broadcast programs not only provide the Australian child audience with a sense of their own place in an increasingly complex media landscape, but ensure that programs are developed with the interest, perspectives and views of Australian children in mind. However, arrangements additional and complementary to the CTS should be explored. In this context, it is important to recognise that a mix of mechanisms, including regulation such as the CTS, direct and indirect production subsidy and public broadcasting, delivers on public policy ambitions in this area.

Tradeable Quotas The CTS Review Issues Paper notes that ACMA is interested “in exploring options for achieving the key objectives of the CTS and accommodating future developments in the Australian media environment.”7 This is an important aspect of the Review and the ABC welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on such issues. In considering the future environment, the Issues Paper notes the possibility of tradeable obligation models. However, in addition to considering tradeable obligations, the ABC believes it is essential to begin considering how public policy settings will operate in a future media environment. The proposals in the paper do not address how making the CTS obligation tradeable will deliver better outcomes for the audience, apart from the potential for greater flexibility and efficiency of delivery. The ABC believes the needs of the audience are the key issue of principle for such a scheme. The second issue, if the principle question is addressed, is how to identify the market opportunity. The paper notes that a trading scheme would be based on a fee or other consideration. To be effective, the scheme would need to countenance a system where broadcasters paid (cash or in kind) not to broadcast children’s content. In discussing options regarding tradeable obligation models, the Issues Paper comments that the Allen Report “identified that such a scheme may require legislative change in a number of areas. For example, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 does not allow for the ABC to enter into commercial agreements.”8 That statement is not correct. While the ABC Act places substantial limits on the commercial activities of the Corporation, it permits a range of specified activities. These include entering into agreements or arrangements with bona fide producers of broadcasting programs, cinematograph films or sound recordings, and public concerts or other public entertainments, and agreements or arrangements with bona fide publishers of literary material, in relation to the sharing of any expense or risk associated

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CTS Issues Paper, p.42. CTS Issues Paper, p.45.

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with the production, distribution, sale or presentation of any such program, film, recording, concert, entertainment or literary material.9 As the ABC Act provides the opportunity to engage in appropriate, commercial activity within these constraints, it would provide an in-principle basis for the Corporation’s engagement in a tradeable obligations scheme. The ABC Act provides, however, that there can be no external imposition in relation to broadcasting. Having noted that, the ABC is not aware of any tradeable obligations model that would meet children’s audience needs and be effective in operation. However, the Corporation believes the idea does warrant further consideration in the future, especially as other digital services become available. The ABC would wish to participate in the consideration of any workable tradeable obligations systems that might be proposed. The tradeable obligations proposal highlights the major issue confronting the delivery of Australian children’s content on broadcast or other platforms—financing original content production. This issue has been at the core of the children’s programming debate since the first discussions of the need for local children’s content regulation. In developing the tradeable concept or other approaches, the key element of any framework will be to identify increased financing to increase the amount, range and quality of children’s content available on a range of platforms.

The Children’s Television Audience As the Australian Children’s Television Foundation has noted in submissions in relation to digital issues, “the average 5–12 child audience from 7–8pm is almost twice the size of that viewing between 4–5pm. Indeed, more children are still watching television between 9– 10pm than during the 4–5pm time slot.”10 Data presented by ACMA in “Children’s Viewing Patterns on Commercial, Free-to-air and Subscription Television,” support this observation. Figure 2.1 (p.17) demonstrates that for all age groups—0–4, 5–12 and 0–14—viewing times peak after the traditional afternoon schedule slot for children’s and young people’s programming between 3 pm and 6pm. According to data presented in the ACMA paper, during 2006 more 5–12 year olds were watching television between 9pm and 10pm than between 5pm and 6pm. More children under 4 years were watching television between 8pm and 9pm than between 3pm and 6pm.11

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, s.25(5)(b). Oztam quoted in ACTF submission to Meeting the Digital Challenge 11 ACMA, Children’s Viewing Patterns on Commercial, Free-to-air and Subscription Television, p.17. 9

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ABC Submission: Children’s Television Standards Review

While the audience for ABC children’s programming continues to remain strong in the traditional children’s timeslots, it is clear there is also significant demand by a younger audience for content in evening timeslots. 5 CITY ABC TV AVERAGE AUDIENCE BY TIMESLOT M-F 2am-12mn 2007 YTD ( 1 Jan - 25th Aug) Children 0-12 180,000 160,000 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000

02 :0 002 :5 03 9 :0 003 : 59 04 :0 004 : 59 05 :0 005 : 59 06 :0 006 : 59 07 :0 007 :5 08 9 :0 008 :5 09 9 :0 009 :5 10 9 :0 010 :5 11 9 :0 011 :5 12 9 :0 012 :5 13 9 :0 013 :5 14 9 :0 014 :5 15 9 :0 015 : 5 16 9 :0 016 : 5 17 9 :0 017 : 5 18 9 :0 018 : 5 19 9 :0 019 : 5 20 9 :0 020 : 59 21 :0 021 : 59 22 :0 022 : 59 23 :0 023 :5 9

0

Source: OzTAM Data

In 2007 to date, the average ABC weekday share of the 0-12 year old free-to-air audience from 6am to 6pm is 55 percent. ABC Television has broadcast 91 of the top 100 children’s programs in 2007 to date.12

The ABC, ACTF and Children’s Broadcasting Information on the children’s audience’s use of television and other media highlights that the system of regulation of children’s content is not working as effectively as it needs to in delivering Australian children’s programming to its target audience. A key question, while addressing the question of how the CTS is operating in the current environment, is to

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OzTAM data.

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consider the environment five and ten years hence: what mechanisms (and combinations of mechanisms) will deliver high levels of Australian content that will engage the children’s audience? The key issue that remains relevant is the question of Australian content. The ABC believes that in discussing such issues in the context of this review, it relevant to draw attention to a proposal intended to complement the operation of the CTS. The ABC and ACTF have proposed an Australian, digital, non-commercial children’s service designed to: • provide a destination for the Australian children’s audience in the digital environment • complement existing services and regulatory arrangements • be relevant to the social and cultural needs of the community • deliver to the interest of children where and when they are using media.

The channel would build on the ABC’s existing reputation as a safe viewing destination for children. Programs would cover a broad range of styles and genres, magazine, drama, comedy; animation; music and talk; information; and, importantly, this channel would incorporate viewer generated content. Content would include programs commissioned, co-produced, or acquired by the ABC, including partnerships with the independent production sector. The channel would leverage off the strength of the ABC’s and ACTF’s existing children’s expertise, including websites and interactive services, enabling original production of innovative websites, online games and interactive elements, reflecting how children engage with the media. Content would be distributed across multiple platforms. The dedicated channel would also develop platforms for children to be involved in creating and sharing their own user-generated content (UGC). An ABC digital children’s channel would maximise the value of existing public investment in industry support and content creation, complimenting regulatory frameworks such as CTS and building on current industry support mechanisms. Effectively promoted, the service could encourage digital television take-up among the 2.5 million families in Australia with children under 15 years old. A major element of the programming strategy for an ABC children’s channel would be to provide Australian content. With the increased programming capacity of a dedicated children’s channel, the service could clearly define and provide appropriate programs for various children’s audience segments. A key element would be to licence the substantial catalogue of Australian programs that have been commissioned by commercial free-to-air networks. A dedicated children’s channel would not be a replacement for existing mechanisms for delivering Australian content to a children’s audience, but would be a complementary initiative. As the ACTF has commented publicly, a dedicated channel could “increase the

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effectiveness of existing policy initiatives by increasing accessibility to older programs created as a result of the Standards”, and independent production would find a reliable secondary outlet for new content. The ABC would maintain its commitment to children’s programming on its main service. As a result of public support mechanisms, a world-class independent production sector has developed that sells content around the world. The audiovisual support arrangements announced by the Federal Government in May 2007, will provide the opportunity for enhanced support for children’s content production through the new producer’s rebate. The ABC can build on its existing partnerships with this sector, as well as helping to foster creative leadership and innovation within the independent production sector. The ABC’s relationships with the independent production sector will enable it to maximise the opportunities presented by a dedicated children’s channel. The ABC’s Charter requires, among other things, that it broadcast programs that contribute to a sense of national identify and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community. In the current media and entertainment environment, the ABC can better fulfil its Charter with a dedicated children’s service, augmented with the capacity to develop multi-platform, interactive and viewer-generated content. Building on ABC’s children’s television presence, the proposed service could develop opportunities to enrich its program content, from enhanced websites to vodcasting, incorporating user-generated content, and “red button” interactive transactions.

Conclusion Emerging technologies are transforming the children’s television sector, shaping not just the delivery, but the nature of children’s content. Having a dedicated digital channel, in conjunction with innovative content across multiple platforms, has the capacity to better meet the demands of the children’s audience by way of multi-platform delivery, interactivity, on-demand services and user-generated content. More broadly, the impact of technological change means that it will be important to develop and articulate a revised and contemporary policy framework which will ensure the availability of minimum levels of diverse and quality Australian children’s content Australian children and parents in Australia’s fast-developing multi-channel and multiplatform digital environment. It is important that this framework encompasses appropriate regulation, public subsidy and the role of the national broadcaster.