Summary

Part of a package of six bills in relation to the media sector, the bill amends the: Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to: provide that no additional commercial television broadcasting licences will be made available to enable a fourth commercial television network; impose an Australian content transmission quota on commercial television broadcasting licensees; enable Australian content sub-quotas to be satisfied by any transmission by a licensee; provide that one hour of a first release Australian drama program counts as two hours for the purposes of a transmission quota; enable the minister to direct the Australian Communications and Media Authority in relation to its program standards making powers; and remove the requirement for a review of content and captioning rules applicable to multi-channelled television broadcasting services; Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 to: include digital media services in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) charter; prohibit certain advertising on the ABC’s digital media services; and provide that the ABC or its prescribed companies are the only providers of Commonwealth-funded international broadcasting services; and Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to: require the minister to have regard to the need to ensure that at least one of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) non-executive directors is an Indigenous person; and include digital media services in SBS’s charter.