Restricting the ABC’s digital output in response to calls from commercial media would kill public broadcasting, the chairman of the ABC, Justin Milne, has said.



“If the ABC were barred from serving audiences on digital platforms, it would wither away and cease to exist,” Milne said in response to calls from News Corp and Fairfax Media for it to abandon online news and become a “market failure” broadcaster – which means focusing on unprofitable services such as regional news and arts.

The Turnbull government is considering submissions to its competitive neutrality inquiry, which is examining the remit of the ABC and the SBS in light of complaints from Foxtel, News Corp Australia and Fairfax Media about taxpayer-funded media crowding them out.

In a strong defence of public broadcasting, Milne said commercial media, supported by the “political fringe”, was trying to shrink the ABC for its own “simplistic, facile and entirely self-serving” ends.



“Throughout the western world, governments have recognised the public benefit in hybrid public-private models for infrastructure and service delivery, whether you think about education, health, airports, roads, public transport or many more examples,” he told the American Chamber of Commerce.

In a follow-up to Michelle Guthrie’s speech last month, the former telco executive said the migration to digital platforms would only accelerate and, as existing broadcast platforms were switched off, the ABC must be there to provide reliable access to high-quality content. With digital services, catch-up services and streaming services expanding, eventually linear TV channels such as the ABC and Channel Nine, which show programmed content, are expected to be turned off and everything delivered by the internet and on-demand.

Fairfax Media has accused the ABC of “cannibalising” its audience and stealing a potential $30m in advertising revenue by “aggressively” expanding its online news service, which is now the second most popular site behind news.com.au.

The newspaper company said the ABC was undermining commercial media by using government funds to develop “clickbait” and paying to promote stories via Google and Facebook.

Publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age called for the ABC to vacate online news and restrict itself to niche areas that are no longer profitable for commercial media.

“These are the regional areas with small populations and specialist content areas that preserve and support Australian culture – including arts, science, religion, ethics, and niche sports,” Fairfax said in a submission to the competitive neutrality inquiry.

“In channelling ABC resources towards areas that are of wide appeal but already amply covered by commercial players, this shrinks the pool of available funding for these areas of need.”

Milne also argued the ABC was vital as an antidote to the impact of digital giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, which have disrupted the global advertising market and triggered a consolidation of local media.

“Our three pay television operators have become one, owned by the Australian arm of News Corporation in New York,” he said. “Channel Ten is now in US hands too. And since 2003, the number of owners of Australian newspapers has halved. In television and radio, some 70% of the market is now owned by just four organisations. And in print, 90% is owned by three organisations.

“Whatever your view on the business or political logic of this, the effect has been to hand control over many Australian media voices to businesses in the US, while substantially diluting the diversity of voices that remain.

“Those who would cripple or even abolish the ABC would clearly exacerbate that consolidation, leading to further homogeneity of voices. That may mean that pretty soon our kids only see American stories and perspectives to mould their morals, culture and behaviour as adults. And those same kids would need to give up any aspiration to work in a healthy domestic production sector.”



In its submission to the inquiry the ABC said it did not crowd out commercial media and public broadcasting sparked innovation and nurtured the creative community.

