The abrupt withdrawal of Seven Network programs from regional screens has triggered a fierce political debate about the future of free-to-air television in Australia’s heartland.
Regional viewers in South Australia and New South Wales woke up yesterday to blank screens where Seven Network programs once aired, after the WIN Network ceased transmission of Seven’s free-to-air signal in the Riverland, South East SA and Griffith.
The sudden move, following failed commercial negotiations, sparked debate on the importance of free television access for regional Australians, with politicians weighing in on the issue during a live interview on Seven’s Sunrise.
Labor minister Clare O’Neil and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie both voiced concern over the loss of access to live sport, news and Australian programming for regional communities, emphasising the central role these broadcasts play outside metropolitan centres.
Key Points
- Labor and National party representatives expressed alarm over regional Australians losing free access to Seven’s live sport and news due to the WIN and Seven broadcast dispute.
- Politicians highlighted that streaming services do not provide a full substitute for free-to-air television in areas with unreliable internet coverage.
- Federal intervention is being discussed, with pressure building for a solution to protect regional viewers’ access to culturally significant broadcasts.
Appearing on Sunrise, host Nat Barr questioned whether broadcasters should retain their licences if they do not deliver local news and Australian stories to regional communities. Clare O’Neil described the situation as “concerning”, noting the significance of live sport to Australians and confirming the government’s awareness and involvement.
“It is concerning Nat, and you’ve brought football into it… and, you know, I don’t think we’ve had a bigger footy fan in the Lodge than Anthony Albanese so I know this is really going to worry him.
We’re aware of this issue, I know our fantastic communications Minister Annika Wells has asked the parties to work together and also is talking to her regulator about whether there’s any regulatory action that can be taken here. So, the Government is concerned about that. We want footy to flow freely across the country…
the government is working with Networks to try to resolve this,” said Clare O’Neil.
When asked what she would say to regional voters who had lost access to sport and local bulletins, Bridget McKenzie underlined the cultural and social importance of these broadcasts.
“Nat this is our cultural practice, particularly in the regions – it’s our bread-and-butter.
Access on free-to-air TV for football, cricket and I would also argue netball, needs to be able to be seen by everyday Australians through free-to-air TV.
Now, government regulation has meant that it’s increasingly difficult for free-to-air TV to operate and be sustainable. The Government needs to get involved, not ‘Annika, sit ‘em down for a little chat’.
These are commercial entities having to make commercial decisions because the environment they’re operating in isn’t financially sustainable – so that’s what needs to be fixed because we want to watch our sport in the regions,” said Bridget McKenzie.
Pressed on whether government action would go beyond mediation, Clare O’Neil said Communications Minister Annika Wells was “completely on top of this” and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restoring regional broadcast access.
“I don’t think Annika needs any advice from me or respectfully from Bridget about how to handle this matter, she’s completely on top of this.
I agree with a lot of what Bridget has said there – we do want sport flowing free into our suburbs but also into our regions and the government is working with the networks to try to get this corrected,” said Clare O’Neil.
The standoff arose after WIN and Seven West Media failed to agree on new terms for regional rebroadcast, resulting in a signal cut affecting thousands of households from July 1. Seven’s programming—including live sport, nightly news and Australian dramas—remains available only via the 7plus streaming platform, a solution politicians argue is inadequate in areas with patchy internet.
Federal Barker MP Tony Pasin has also entered the debate, pointing to anti-siphoning laws that require certain major sporting events to be available on free-to-air television and warning that licence breaches may occur if those events are only accessible online.
“Specifically, that legislation said streaming services, even free streaming services, don’t amount to free-to-air because the Commonwealth government understands, of course, that we don’t have universal internet coverage across the country,” said Tony Pasin.
Seven West Media Managing Director and CEO Jeff Howard stated that Seven continues to supply its content to WIN for broadcast and has not turned off its own signal, placing responsibility for the switch-off on the regional broadcaster. WIN, for its part, claims it does not hold the rights to the listed sporting events and is under no obligation to broadcast them.
The outcome for regional viewers remains uncertain, with federal authorities and industry bodies under increasing pressure to ensure that essential news and major events remain freely accessible to all Australians, regardless of where they live.
And don’t forget Mildura lost all 10 Programming last year. Totally unacceptable that regional areas cannot receive the same services as capital cities.
Despite the posturing by politicians, I doubt that anything much will change. Unless the government choose to subsidise the broadcasters or viewers or both (and adding to the national debt levels), then the decline of FTA will continue in regional areas.
WIN have already flagged walking away from “non core” assets – in WA and Tasmania. And we’ve already seen Mildura lose access to Ch10 services in the last 12 months.
It all comes down to the mighty dollar and at the end of the day it’s an economic decision. If it costs more to run than the money they’re making from it, eventually push will come to shove.
I have heard that Seven is back on in these regions.