Declaration of Primary Commercial Television Broadcasting Services for section 38B licences: Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area TV1 licence area
The ACMA is seeking public comment on its proposal to make a declaration under subclause 41G(1) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) specifying a Primary Commercial Television Broadcasting Service (primary service) for a commercial television broadcasting licence in the Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) TV1 licence area.
Background
WIN Television Griffith Pty Ltd holds one digital-only commercial television broadcasting licence, allocated under section 38B of the BSA (section 38B licence) , in the Griffith and MIA TV1 licence area. WIN Television Griffith commenced broadcasting under this licence on 13 January 2012.
The ACMA must ensure that a primary service is declared for a section 38B licence as soon as practicable after the licensee commences providing a SDTV multi-channelled commercial television broadcasting service. The declaration must be in force at all times during the simulcast period for the licence area.
Under the licence, three commercial television broadcasting services are being provided— a service known as ‘TEN’ that corresponds with the core commercial television broadcasting service provided by commercial television broadcasting licensees affiliated with Network Ten in metropolitan licence areas, and two multi-channels.
The ACMA proposes to declare the service known as ‘TEN’as the primary service.
The effect of this declaration is to ensure that the regulation of content is consistent with that of other commercial television broadcasting licences. This will notably affect restrictions on televising an event on the anti-siphoning list, captioning requirements, program standards for Australian content and children’s programs, and provisions in the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
Purpose of discussion paper
The ACMA is seeking comment on its proposal to declare the service known as ‘TEN’ as the primary service for the licence held by WIN Television Griffith in the Griffith and MIA TV1 licence area
The discussion paper is available in PDF (196 kb) or Word (.docx 153 kb) formats.
Enquiries about matters raised in this paper should be directed to Jeanette Knowler on +61 (0)2 9334 7895 or Alex Malik on +61 (0)2 9334 7735, or by email DPS@acma.gov.au.
Written submissions
Written submissions to this discussion paper may be made to the ACMA as follows:
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By email: |
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By mail: |
Manager, Digital Television Regulatory Analysis |
The closing date for submissions is close of business 24 February 2012.
Electronic submissions in Microsoft Word or rich text format are preferred.
Publication of submissions
In general, the ACMA publishes all submissions that it receives. However, the ACMA will not publish submissions that it considers contain defamatory or irrelevant material.
The ACMA prefers to receive submissions over which confidentiality is not claimed. However, the ACMA accepts that a submitter may sometimes wish to provide information in confidence. In these circumstances, submitters are asked to identify the material over which confidentiality is claimed and provide a written explanation for the confidentiality claim.
The ACMA will consider each claim for confidentiality on a case-by-case basis. If the ACMA accepts a confidentiality claim, it will not publish the confidential information unless required or authorised by law.
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Sharing of information
Under the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, the ACMA may disclose certain information to the Minister, the Department (including authorised officials), Royal Commissions, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, certain Commonwealth authorities such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the authority of a foreign country responsible for regulating matters relating to communications or media.
Effective consultation
The ACMA is working to enhance the effectiveness of its stakeholder consultation processes, which are an important source of evidence for its regulatory development activities. To assist stakeholders in formulating submissions to its formal, written consultation processes, it has developed Effective consultation: A guide to making a submission. This guide provides information about the ACMA's formal written public consultation processes and practical guidance on how to make a submission.
