‘My government has got your back and we will not give in to the platforms’: Albo tells TV networks he’s picked a side
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has assured Australia’s TV networks that the government will stand up for them in their battle with the global platforms.
Albanese told TV execs he will not cave to platform pressure
Speaking at a showcase event held at Parliament House in Canberra last night, Albanese told the room full of free-to-air TV executives: “My government has your back. We will not give in to some of the platforms when the pressure comes on, which it will, over everything from the Media Bargaining Code to other things including positioning when people turn on their TVs, anti-siphoning laws.”
By contrast, the platforms’ relationships with the Australian government are at a low point. In late 2023, Meta announced it was withdrawing from the deals it made under the shadow of the News Media Bargaining Code. And last month Google axed a YouTube lobbying event in what looked like a fit of pique on the day it was due to be held in Canberra, after learning the platform would be included in the new age gating laws.
It’s outrageous that the government gets to decide how a sporting code commercialises it’s product. Even as a consumer, I hope Netflix or Prime pony up over market price to put an end to this madness.
These anti syphoning laws allow for corruption.
It’s hard to say what I’m less impressed by these days: the absolute nothing news stories and rubbish content on commercial TV, or the churn of clickbait headlines on the mainstream press.
Obviously, we do need to protect our local media, but I’m much more intent on our public broadcasters being supported financially than the News Corps and Nines who offer so little of value.
It’s high time the government got out of the ‘business’ of “business”
It’s understandable the government wants to safeguard Australian content and journalism, but protecting the past won’t secure the future. Australians are some of the most connected audiences in the world, and ad budgets follow where audiences go increasingly to on-demand platforms. Linear TV isn’t losing relevance because of unfair competition, it’s because consumer behaviour has fundamentally shifted.
Platforms have invested billions in tech, user experience, and content ecosystems to meet those expectations. The smarter move would be supporting broadcasters to modernise their digital products and compete on equal footing, perhaps through a government backed innovation fund for digital broadcasting, rather than relying on spectrum handouts or anti-siphoning tweaks.
How exciting genuine leadership in our countries best interests within our industry congrats all