REFORM THE ABC NOW TURNBULL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CUT THE FUNDS AND COMBINE THE ABC AND SBS, ASAP. IN OTHER WORDS DO YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ABC is throwing away taxpayer funds like drunken sailors. Then the MD Mark Scott announces that he has to cut programs because government wants to cut funds. Check out this waste. The ABC and SBS went head to head to bid for rights to broadcast the free-to-air soccer’s Asian Cup. SBS bit $700 000 and the ABC upped that to $1.4 million. This ludicracy supports a case for combining the two for starters. Both these organisations were bidding with taxpayer funds. We could have bought the rights cheaper if they had not bid against each other. Why also is the ABC bidding for google search placements on Whitlam news for over $10 000? Is it worried that if other media stories rank high then the myth that is Whitlam as told by the lying ABC will be exposed. Oh and this is our money. Dont believe Mark Scott about cutting programs. All he has to do is spend wisely what we give him and he could actually run the ABC at a saving to us. Malcolm Turnbull has issued a please explain. Oh Malcolm put away that lettuce leaf. Its looking a bit limp. FULL ARTICLE: COMMUNICATIONS Minister Malcolm Turnbull has demanded that ABC managing director Mark Scott and SBS chief executive Michael Ebeid explain why the two public broadcasters went head-to-head for the free-to-air broadcast rights to soccer’s Asian Cup. By competing against each other, the broadcasters increased the cost to taxpayers by about $700,000. SBS submitted a bid of about 700,00 to broadcast the games, which begin in Australia in January, but the public broadcaster has been told its bid was unsuccessful. The ABC, while still in final negotiations, is understood to be the successful candidate, with a proposed payment for the free-to-air broadcast rights of up to $1.4 million. Mr Turnbull told The Weekend Australian he has asked the ABC and SBS to explain why they engaged in a bidding war, especially given the need for them to become more efficient. “The efficiency study of the ABC and SBS identified five key areas that may lead to significant operational efficiencies or savings, the first of which was that the two broadcasters look for opportunities for greater co-operation, while retaining their separate and unique programming identities,’’ Mr Turnbull said. “In this instance, it appears taxpayers have been the losers by this advice being ignored. I have asked the two CEOs for an explanation.” The ABC dominated headlines for a week when it implied its program Lateline could face the axe due to budget cuts but, as The Australian revealed on Friday, it is paying Google thousands of dollars for lead position on search terms such as “politics news”. On Tuesday, it outbid its commercial rivals to buy a Google search ad for Gough Whitlam’s death. Commercial media organisations were infuriated by Mr Scott’s use of taxpayer funds to drive traffic away from their news sites, which, unlike the government-funded broadcaster, rely on subscription and advertising revenue for survival. Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare called for an investigation into the practice but the ABC’s director of audience and marketing, Leisa Bacon, said the broadcaster had an obligation to have its content seen by as many people possible. She denied the ABC was spending $10,000 a month on search engine marketing, saying the figure was closer to a 10th of that. Mr Scott, who has refused a longstanding interview request with The Weekend Australian, is likely to be grilled on the Asian Cup and the buy-up of Google search ads when Senate estimate hearings are rescheduled. The Weekend Australian understands that SBS, long considered the home of soccer, was disappointed to miss out on the cup rights. Fox Sports, owned by News Corp Australia, publisher of The Weekend Australian, holds the overall rights to the Asian Cup, the region’s biggest soccer tournament. Football Federation Australia and Fox Sports are likely to grant the free-to-air rights to the ABC because of its national audience. “Soccer has got a lot of momentum at the moment, so allowing a new audience at the ABC to see this with international teams playing is a good thing for football and for our country,” a source close to the negotiations said. “It would help the momentum football already has.” The SBS bid of $700,000 was a break-even assessment of the revenue and advertising the event could return to the public broadcaster. SBS and Fox Sports declined to comment yesterday. An ABC spokesman said it would be proud to show key games. The Asian Cup was an international event that will reach a large, diverse audience. “No deal has yet been signed for the Asian Cup, however, we can say discussions with the FFA and Fox Sports have been conducted in good faith and there has been no bidding process for the event,’’ he said. The Asian Cup Australia is already receiving funds, from the federal, Queensland, NSW, ACT and Victorian governments. theaustralian.au/national-affairs/abcsbs-asian-soccer-war-costs-public-extra-700000/story-fn59niix-1227101689576
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 03:38:00 +0000
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