Content Restrictions

On Australian television there are restrictions which govern the amount of time which must be allocated to local content. Between 6am and midnight 55% of content on television must be Australian. This is put into place to ensure that the industry is able to survive and continue.

Canada is in a similar situation to Australia in regard to broadcast television. Like us, they produce a high amount of children’s content (open to page i). They, like Australia also have a smaller industry and population than the United States. Without protection they would likely be overrun by the larger, and not culturally distant American television industry.

So far, Canada are not placing restrictions on streaming services because they have so far found it not to be detrimental to their local industry. An investigation by Canadia Radio Television and Telocommunications Commission (CRTC) found that people who live in homes with Netflix do not watch less local content than those without. However it is still early days for the online streaming service who only got a hold of the Canadian market in 2008. The CRTC have pledged to closely monitor the impact of these services on the Canadian broadcast environment over time, and adjust the laws if they feel that online streaming services are harmful to the industry.

So how will the local industry be affected if streaming services become increasingly popular in Australia? Will it be helped or hindered? Should new guidelines be devised to include streaming services?

More importantly, how would you go about placing restrictions on a service without time limitations like television? It seems there are a lot of dilemmas to explore here and we are only beginning to scrape the surface of what might eventually be a whole new way of looking at local broadcast industries.

Appealing to 'Generation Now'- But at What Cost? The Future of the Australian Broadcast Industry

Willy Wonka knew that the impact of bratty kids wanting it now could destroy an industry.


As Generation Y, we have a similar gratuitous desire to access the latest episodes of our favourite television shows- now. But at what cost is fulfilling this desire going to have on our Australian Broadcast industry?

Currently in Australia, accessing content online can be difficult and sometimes Generation Y must grudgingly rely on television to provide our craving fixes. Within this distinct lack of online streaming services available, what would happen if a service became available which made accessing content easily accessible? 

Netflix is one internet provider of on-demand internet streaming, which has been discussing entering Australia. They have already secured the domain name of '.au' and according to a 2011 US study by Schonfeld, Netflix significantly impacted the marketplace, with 50% of TV viewers sourcing content from the internet.  Already available in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland, Netflix's appeal and success is its fixed rate service, allowing individuals to cheaply, easily and legally have any show they desire… by a simple mouse ‘click.’


And the Australian market wants it.

To Generation Y its an exciting blessing, of all their teen drama angst questions being answered now. Finaly we can know before the TV dwellers whether Blair will stay with Chuck. 

Ultimately, a service appealing to the gratuitous desires of generation Y and Z wanting content now, could however lead to the collapse of the Australian broadcasting media industry. With a large decrease in television viewers, the advertising industry could abandon television and move to online advertising- chasing the crowd in the search of greater economic revenue. By content being readily accessible and unrestricted by the regulations of television, watching local Australian content would decrease in Australia; in favour of other shows. 

Unrestricted by the Australian television and movie industries (broadcast, cinemas, distributors, etc.) content regulations, copyright issues and fixed advertising time, how can the Australian industry adapt to remain competitive in this changing environment?


Like Willy Wonka, it is therefore important that 'down the shoot' wanting it now must go. By identify how other media-landscapes have coped with the introduction of internet streamers, our team aims to predict and develop a possible innovative strategy to protect the future of our Australian industry.

Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/08/how-people-watch-tv-online/
http://foglicious.tumblr.com/post/15846954971/fav-movie-bitch-veruca-salt-willy-wonka-and-the
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/netflixs_big_data_plans_to_take_over_the_world.php