Australia - Broadcasting and Pay TV - Overview and Analysis - 2005

Synopsis

Free-to-Air (FTA) Broadcasters have failed to embrace the new trends that would require them to come up with innovative new programs and programming for their viewers. By concentrating on these rearguard skirmishes rather than looking at new opportunities, they are slowly losing out. Broadband TV is a clear threat to them. In order to grow, the pay TV industry will either have to lower its prices, which it can only start to look at when it has arrived in more profitable territory, or bundle access to other services at an incremental charge. By early 2005, pay TV penetration had reached 26% and 500,000 subscribers had upgraded to digital packages. Although its advertising base is growing, the radio market is losing share to other media sectors such as TV. Over the longer term, the eventual introduction of digital radio could further pose a threat to the financial viability of the industry. However, digital Radio is still years away from being introduced.