Australia’s experience with digital television transition

Chris Cheah

Authority Member, Australian Communications and Media Authority

Overview

Australia’s television and regulatory environment

A brief historyCurrent Tasks and ChallengesThinking about the future

Australia’s television environment – some base demographics

Population 22 million

Households 8.5 million

.. with FTA TV 8.4 million

.. % Digital 82%

.. % with Pay TV 28%

Australia’s television environment – providers

> Two publicly funded (‘national’) broadcasters : ABC, SBS> Three national commercial television networks : 7, 9 and Ten

> Mainly syndicated via regional providers, underpinned by “aggregation” policy dating from the 1980s

> 69 commercial licences in total> Currently offering 5 analog but 15 digital channels

> 2 large subscription television providers : Foxtel and AUSTAR – in merger talks

> Indigenous broadcast television provider (Imparja) in parts of remote Australia

> 81 Community (mainly very local) television licences> Some smaller subscription and “narrowcast” servicers

Australia’s television environment – regulatory players

ContentContent CarriageCarriage

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

(ACCC)

INDUSTRY BODIES WITHCO-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

TelecommunicationsIndustry Ombudsman (TIO)

CommunicationsAlliance

MINISTER FOR BROADBAND, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMYSenator the Hon Stephen Conroy

POLICY ADVICE

Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

OPERATORS

USERS

Free TV Australia(Commercial Television

Industry Body)

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA)

Internet Industry Association (IIA)

•National Broadcasters•Commercial Broadcasters•Community Broadcasters•Subscription Broadcasters•Narrowcasters

•Carriers•Telephone Service Providers•Internet Service Providers•Broadcast Transmission Providers

Industry User Groups Consumer Groups

GOVERNMENT REGULATORS

NET ALERT(Government owned Internet Community

Advisory Body)

Australian SubscriptionTV and Radio Association

(ASTRA)

INDUSTRY BODIES WITHCO-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

Community BroadcastingAssociation of Australia

(CBAA)

ACMA’s main broadcasting functions Spectrum regulator – including planning of broadcasting spectrum Allocation, renewal, suspension and cancellation of broadcasting licences and the collection of licence fees Oversight of ownership and control rules, including public registers Oversee content rules in legislation, licence conditions and industry codes of practice Establishing program standards (Australian content, children, advertising) Investigations of complaints Advice to Government

A brief history of digital television transition

Two main waves of government decisions

> Wave 1 : Late 1990s to 2002

> Wave 2 : ~2007 to now

Also some important parallel activities about the convergent and broadband future.

Government decisions wave 1 – Late 1990s-2002

> Introduction of digital television as an addition to analog – via a long introductory period (minimum 8 years)> Commencement in metro areas 1 January 2001, Regional areas by

2004> ~$250 million to assist national and regional broadcasters invest in

infrastructure and major planning exercise> clear aim of releasing spectrum at some point for a digital dividend

> 7 MHz channels> ostensibly to support HDTV options (hence an HDTV quota)> but capable of supporting more SD multi-channelling, albeit delayed

> Use of DVB-T technology> Principle of “same coverage”> Datacasting channel (defunct)

Government decisions wave 2 – From 2007 to now

> Locked in a serious switch off date (31 December 2013)

> Related decisions about how digital dividend

> Set a staged national switchover plan

> Government funded education campaign, including tools to assist viewers

> Government funded household assistance scheme (HAS) to subsidise equipment to particular vulnerable viewers

> Government funded satellite transmission scheme (VAST) to provide a safety net of national coverage

> including satellite equipment subsidy scheme

> Planning principle of “restacking” to yield digital dividend spectrum

> Government funded research to monitor digital takeup area-by-area, and the digital tracker

The switchover timetable

KEY

http://agencysearch.australia.gov.au/search/search.cgi?query=radiofrequency+allocations+chart&collection=agencies&form=simple&profile=acma

First Half 2010

Second Half 2010

First Half 2011

Second Half 2011

First Half 2013

Second Half 2013

First Half 2012

Second Half 2012

Satellite

http://www.digitalready.gov.au/Home.aspx

http://www.digitalready.gov.au

KEY Digital channelsAnalog channels

Newcastle

Sydney

Illawarra

Others

BI BII BIII BIV BV

Central Coast

Current Analog & Digital channels during simulcast Newcastle, Sydney, Illawarra

45-52 MHz

85-108 MHz

137-144 MHz

526-582 MHz 582-820 MHz56-70 MHz 174-230 MHz

6 channel blockNewcastle, Sydney, Illawarra

KEY DAB +

45-52 MHz

85-108 MHz

137-144 MHz

526-582 MHz 582-820 MHz56-70 MHz 174-230 MHz

Newcastle

Sydney

Illawarra

BIV BVBIIIBIIBI

Block A Block C Block DBlock B Block E

Central Coast

Digital Channels

Start 2010

Mid 2012 End 2014Mid 2013End 2013

Analog switch off

Broadcasters relocate to new digital TV channels

Restack legislative amendments

Digital TV restack planning

Restack completed

Spectrum Auction

Minister’s media release

Discussion Paper

Ministerial Direction

Recom’to Minister

Allocation Instruments

Ministerial Declaration

Issue Licences

Technical Framework

Digital Dividend Green Paper

KEY ACMA BroadcastersMinister DBCDE

Broadcasters start to plan infrastructure & new equipment

Yielding the Digital Dividend:The Restack and Reallocation Processes

Spectrum available for use

Some success factors?

Certainty : timetables, technology Linkages between outcomes : digital switchover and

digital dividend Well thought out incentives Real benefits : Digital clearly better than analog (more

channels, better quality picture) Good communication, about benefits and consequences Addressing sources of criticism, but with an eye to the

future

Some parallel regulatory developments

> Changing ownership and control regulation> Multichannelling policy> Classification, parental locks and EPGs> The outer boundaries of “narrowcasting”> Sports rights and the anti-siphoning list> What to do about mobile television?> “Datacasting” policy

Thinking about the future of “television” – issues

> Evolving standards : MPEG4 and all that> Evolving capabilities : 3D, increasing HD, interactivity> Other content services, and substitutes

> IPTV, VOD, and broadband> Damaged concepts : What is a “television” “program”?> Relentless spectrum demand

> Mobile data, refarming, “whitespace”> Where to with the “quid pro quo” ?> Role of traditional broadcasting objectives : quality,

choice, Australian content, localism, ownership and influence, community standards, captioning, children

Thinking about the future of television – current processes

> During 2011 three content-related reviews : a Convergence Review; a media inquiry; and a review of classification arrangements

> 2009 Government decision to fund a National Broadband Network – a paradigm shift in play

> ACMA discussion starter on the future of television following switchover

> ACMA and other research www.acma.gov.au