ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Special Broadcasting Service


CHAIR—We are waiting for Senator Conroy. In the meantime, perhaps I might ask you about how successful your cricket coverage this year was and what kind of audiences you received.

Mr Brown—It was very successful. It was one of those test series where the action went right to the final day.

CHAIR—It was, yes.

Mr Brown—On the final day we achieved a 21 per cent share, which is an all-time record for SBS, between six and midnight. That is a measure of that success. More than that, it introduced a lot of new viewers to SBS, which was part of our reason for securing that property.

CHAIR—Have you found that it has flowed on? Are you having a bigger audience share now post the series than you did before?

Mr Brown—Yes, we are experiencing what is called a halo effect. Our average audience up till the end of October stands at 6.3 per cent across the year. That is compared to 5.1 per cent last year. So it has had a marked effect. The underlying schedule has been performing more strongly as well.

CHAIR—What about your second channel? Can you tell us how that has been proceeding and how successful it has been?

Mr Brown—Our second channel is exclusively in languages other than English. In essence, it is a rotation of World Watch content with some updates as well. We do not track the ratings on it.

CHAIR—You do not?

Mr Brown—No. I would be surprised if it were pulling big numbers. I am sure it is not in fact. It is more of a service to a smaller group of viewers who cannot see World Watch in a timely fashion and therefore can access it at another time of the day.

CHAIR—Are you getting positive feedback on that?

Mr Brown—Yes. I think it is well received. Obviously, we wish more people had taken advantage of digital technology. But if we continue to get lift-off of that technology then I think it will be a significant service.

CHAIR—The uptake of digital is interesting. In many other parts of the world there is multichannelling and interactivity. Do you think that would assist here? You do have multichannelling yourself, of course.

Mr Brown—I think multichannelling is the key. It provides tangible additional services that create demand. I think unless one has that demand then digital is in danger of being a sort of fringe activity rather than a central one.

CHAIR—It is not so much the picture but the other things, I think, that will attract people to digital.

Mr Brown—I think it is all about content.

CHAIR—The interactivity and the multichannelling, I think.

Mr Brown—The international experience is that interactivity is yet to prove a significant driver, but it is an important part of the mix.

Senator JOYCE—Going to your interpretation of the Office of Film and Literature Classification, how do you operate within that code?

Ms Eisenberg—Under the SBS Act, the SBS board is required to develop programming policies. Those programming policies appear in our codes of practice, and the current SBS codes of practice include a reference to the OFLC principles as a guideline. But obviously in the television context and in the SBS context they are interpreted in a way that is appropriate to that context.

Senator JOYCE—Would there be anything that is specifically to be interpreted by someone watching SBS that would be interpreted differently to someone watching Channel 9 or Channel 7?

Mr Brown—Inasmuch as the content that is produced at all?

Senator JOYCE—Inasmuch as the content.

Mr Brown—Our content does operate under a different set of codes than the commercial free to airs.

Senator JOYCE—Why would that be? Are people intrinsically different who watch your television station? Is there something that personifies them as being peculiar or different?

Mr Brown—No, to the contrary, there is nothing peculiar about the SBS audience. No, I think it is the way it has been set up in legislative terms—that we are responsible for setting codes and ACMA is responsible for finally overseeing them. I believe with the commercial broadcasters it is a different approach.

Senator JOYCE—It seems, though, that there is obviously a disparity between how you see the Office of Film and Literature Classification and how Channel 9, Channel 7 and Channel 10 would?

Ms Eisenberg—It is probably easier to respond to a specific example. That would be helpful.

Senator JOYCE—In May you had Lolita on. Lolita is rated R, if you got it from a video store. How did you manage to get that on?

Mr Brown—It was not rated R for—

Ms Eisenberg—Was that the Stanley Kubrick version?

Mr Brown—The Stanley Kubrick 1960s film.

Ms Eisenberg—I think we would need to take that on notice. There was another version of it which was made a number of years later which had a different rating. R rated content is not permitted on SBS under our codes of practice.

Senator JOYCE—Do you think there is somehow more latitude in SBS? It just seems peculiar. There seems to be a range of examples of things that make it onto SBS—and, being a father of four kids, yes, I know we should put them into bed early at night—that would not make it onto other television stations.

Mr Brown—All of our codes are subject to a formal complaints procedure. From time to time we do get a complaint about classification. In the event of the outcome of that complaint not satisfying the complainant, it can be appealed to the independent authority, which was the ABA and now ACMA. I think I am right in saying that in recent years we have not had any upholds in that area.

Ms Eisenberg—The only one that I am aware of a number of years ago was an issue relating to whether a program—it was a repeat of the Movie Show—should have been rated G or PG. That was one finding where it was found that if should have been classified PG, but it was a borderline breach.

Senator JOYCE—Do you change for different states or does it all come out as a block? Do you have a different timeslot now for Queensland or is it on the same timeslot?

Mr Brown—We have a national signal, but it is shifted so that it is on the same time in each state.

Senator JOYCE—So 10 pm in New South Wales is—

Mr Brown—Would be 10 pm in Queensland.

Senator JOYCE—Without making any assertions about it—I will just read this anyway—on Queer as Folk, which is on at 10 pm: