Category: Australian

It’s a big year for the 2024 Community Broadcasting Awards, taking place at the CBAA Conference on the Gold Coast on October 19. We’ve had over 300 entries in over 20 categories, in a new format designed to better recognise the structures and people in the sector. We’ll be announcing the finalists on our Facebook page over the coming week, be sure to follow if you haven’t already!

Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) has welcomed figures that show podcast and streaming audio advertising expenditure increased 23.6% year on year in FY24, to $290 million.

Total online audio advertising is the fastest growing display category, according to the Australian Internet Advertising Revenue Report (IARR), compiled by PwC and released today by IAB Australia.

The report also shows strong quarterly growth, with the total of $78.9 million for the June Quarter 2024 surpassing the December Quarter 2023 peak of $77.8 million.

Lizzie Young, CRA Chief Executive Officer, said the results were particularly pleasing off the back of GfK Survey 5 data which showed commercial radio share had reached its highest level since 2014.

“Commercial radio continues to grow its audiences, and one of the reasons is audio is everywhere – whether listeners are tuning into broadcast radio, DAB, or a podcast, audio is in their cars, at home, and with them via their phone,” said Ms Young.

“The FY24 results from IAB are incredibly strong, with total online audio ad spending up 23.6% on FY23, making it the fastest growing display category.

“Advertisers are increasingly investing in online audio because it delivers both audience trust and accessibility.”

The total Australian online audio advertising market in FY24 was $290 million ($185 million streaming and $105 million podcast), representing 4.7% of total general display ad spending for the year.

“The IARR report also shows expenditure on podcast advertising increased by a massive 32% in the June Quarter compared to the March Quarter,” said Ms Young.

“We expect to see more advertisers investing in podcasts, as their popularity continues to increase, as we saw in our first Australian Podcast Bi-Annual Report, released last week.”

The report showed average monthly podcast listeners up increased almost 9% in the first half of 2024 compared to last year.

SBS Non-Executive Director Mr Aaron Fa’Aoso has advised the SBS Chairperson and Board of his intention to seek preselection as the Labor Party candidate for the seat of Mulgrave for the upcoming Queensland State election.

Noting SBS’s important role in providing independent and impartial coverage across its services and platforms and to avoid any perceived or actual conflict of interest, Mr Fa’Aoso has requested the Chair grant him a leave of absence from the Board for the relevant period, which has been agreed to.  The leave will come into effect immediately.

ABC Local Radio grew metro audiences for the third survey in a row in GfK survey 5. We are now reaching 1,746,000 Australians across the 5 cap cities every week, the highest reach this year.

Survey 5 also saw ABC Radio Adelaide join ABC Radio Brisbane as the number one reaching talk stations in their respective markets.

Breakfast on ABC Radio Brisbane grew +0.4pts for a 11% share making it the 1 AM Breakfast program in Brisbane.

In Adelaide, Sonya and Jules have gone from strength to strength since they started as co presenters of Breakfast at the beginning of the year.

Theirs is now the number 2 Breakfast program in the market with a12.8% share audiences tuning in to hear the pair bring all the highlights from the Paris Olympics.

The ABC continues to be Australia’s undisputed No.1 digital live streaming network across the five capital cities with a 25.9% share. The ABC has held the number 1 position since it became a measure in GfK.

ABC Head of Audio Ben Latimer said: “I am delighted to see the ABC increasing our audience this survey for our best result since Survey 8 2023.”

“The ABC reaches 7,498,000** Australians across our linear and digital live streaming each week, more than any other broadcaster and it is testament to the quality of the programming our teams are delivering.”

*All audience figures are based on GfK 5 Cap Cities, 24hrs. Sun to Sat unless otherwise stated.

** Based on GfK 5 City Metro and 3 regional markets. 24hrs; Mon-Sun; P10+; Inc DAB+; Latest survey results available (GfK Metro = S5 2024; GfK Regional = S2 for all markets). And Xtra Insights: 24hrs, Mon-Sun; Reach; Reach; Latest ratings results for all markets surveyed from 27/08/21 – 27/08/24; ABC Total Network including DAB+ when applicable.

Remedial Direction issued under subsection 141(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 TO: Radio 2GB Sydney Pty Ltd (the Licensee) ACN 010 853 317 OF: GPO Box 4290, Sydney, NSW, 2001 The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) being satisfied that the Licensee has breached subsection 10(2), section 13 and section 15 of the Broadcasting Services (Commercial Radio Current Affairs Disclosure) Standard 2012 (the Disclosure Standard), and, as a result, breached the licence condition at paragraph 8(1)(b) of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA); HEREBY directs the Licensee under subsection 141(1) of the BSA to take the actions specified below, directed towards ensuring that it does not contravene the licence condition, or is unlikely to contravene the licence condition, in the future. The Licensee must: 1. Conduct formal training with all relevant staff on the requirements of the Disclosure Standard within a period of 6 months from the date of this direction. For the purpose of this direction, relevant staff means staff of the Licensee (including presenters, producers and commercial and sales staff) who are: a. involved in the negotiation and/or implementation of commercial agreements1; or b. responsible for maintaining the online register required to be kept under Part 3 of the Disclosure Standard. 2. Within 6 months from the date of this direction, provide a report to the ACMA which sets out in relation to item 1: a. the names and roles of all relevant staff; b. the dates on which each of the relevant staff attended the formal training; c. the duration and content of the training (including providing a copy of any written materials used in the training, or a summary of the training provided if no written materials were used); and d. the name and relevant credentials of the person who provided the training. 3. Establish systems, processes and practices (SPPs) to ensure ongoing compliance with the Disclosure Standard and introduce methods to monitor the effectiveness of those SPPs within 1 month of the date of this direction. 4. For the purposes of item 3, maintain records of: 1Broadcasting Services (Commercial Radio Current Affairs Disclosure) Standard 2012, section 6 1 a. any action answering this part taken by the Licensee between 27 May 2024 preliminary breach finding) and the date of this direction, as required by item 3 above; b. the new SPPs introduced in response to this remedial direction and the date they were introduced; c. identification of those SPPs which are in place to ensure the online register is current; and d. what methods are being used to monitor the effectiveness of the SPPs referred to in item 3. Independent audit 5. Within 30 days from the date of this direction, the Licensee must, for the purposes of item 8, provide the following to the ACMA for approval: a. The names and qualifications of an independent auditor which the Licensee proposes be engaged to conduct the audit and prepare the written audit report required by this direction; b. A related bodies corporate) has had a prior or existing relationship with the proposed auditor and advise any potential conflicts of interest of the proposed auditor (or their employer); c. A e assessment of systems and processes to ensure compliance by commercial radio licensees with the Disclosure Standard and the legal requirements of the Disclosure Standard; and d. The draft terms of reference for the independent auditor which must comply with item 7. 6. Should the ACMA not approve the independent auditor proposed by the Licensee in accordance with item 5, the Licensee must, within 30 days from when the ACMA gives written notice to that effect, propose an alternative auditor under item 5. 7. The terms of reference for the internal auditor must include: a. a requirement to assess the extent to which the Licensee outlined in Item 4) are effective in ensuring the Licensee SPPs (as the Disclosure Standard- this will include (but is not limited to) the auditor s conducting random audits of the systems; b. confirmation that the auditor has reviewed all commercial agreements (as defined in section 6 of the Disclosure Standard) and has cross checked the commercial agreements to ensure the online register is compliant with the requirements under Part 4 of the Disclosure Standard; c. an assessment of all unwritten commercial agreements to confirm they are in compliance with the requirements of section 15 of the Disclosure Standard; and d. any other terms of reference which are considered to be appropriate by the Licensee or the independent auditor to a capability to comply with the Disclosure Standard, so long as these do not in any way limit the scope of the terms of reference in paragraphs a to c. 2 Reports and Timeframes 8. The Licensee must require that an independent audit be completed in accordance provided to the Licensee, no later than 4 months from the date the ACMA provided approval under item 5 (the independent audit report). 9. If the independent audit report identifies non compliance with the Disclosure Standard the Licensee must ensure compliance with the Disclosure Standard within 7 days from the date that it receives the independent audit report. 10. Within 30 days of receiving the independent audit report, the Licensee must report to the ACMA: a. providing a copy of the independent audit report; b. identifying any recommendations in the independent audit report that the Licensee believes it cannot reasonably implement within a 6 month period, providing its reasons and specifying the time period within which it proposes to implement these recommendation(s); and c. identifying if there are any recommendations that the Licensee does not consider are reasonable to implement, providing its reasons why it considers the recommendations are not reasonable. 11. The ACMA must approve each identified: a. revised time period pursuant to item 10b; and b. recommendation which the Licensee does not consider is reasonable to implement pursuant to item 10c. 12 The Licensee must, within 6 months of receiving the independent audit report, have implemented the audit recommendations (except those recommendations identified in response to items 10b and 10c) and provided a report to the ACMA confirming the action taken in implementing the audit recommendations. 13 For each (if any) recommendations that the Licensee identified in response to item 10b, the Licensee must provide a written report to the ACMA confirming the action taken in implementing the audit recommendation. For each recommendation, this report must be provided within 30 days of the time period specified by the Licensee in response to item 10b. TAKE NOTE: 1. Paragraph 8(1)(b) of Schedule 2 to the BSA provides that each commercial radio broadcasting licensee will comply with program standards applicable to the licence under Part 9 of the BSA. 2. The Disclosure Standard is made under subsection 125(1) of the BSA. As this is a program standard under Part 9 of the BSA, where applicable, a commercial radio broadcasting licensee must comply with this standard in accordance with paragraph 8(1)(b) of Schedule 2 to the BSA. 3. Under paragraph 141(1)(b) of the BSA, if the ACMA is satisfied that a person who is a commercial radio broadcasting licensee has breached, or is breaching, a condition of the licence, the ACMA may, by written notice given to the person, direct the person to take action directed towards ensuring that the person does not breach that condition, or is unlikely to breach that condition in the future. 4. Section 142 of the BSA provides that a person commits an offence if the person has been given a notice under section 141, and the person is a commercial radio broadcasting licensee, and the person engages in conduct that contravenes a 3 requirement in the notice. The penalty for this offence is up to 500 penalty units and the maximum penalty for a corporation is $782,500. 5. Subsection 142A(1) provides that a person must comply with a notice under section 141. Subsection 142A(2) provides that subsection 142A(1) is a civil penalty provision. Subsection 142A(3) provides that a person who contravenes subsection 142A(1) commits a separate contravention of that subsection in respect of each day (including a day of the making of a relevant civil penalty order or any subsequent day) during which the contravention continues. The pecuniary penalty for a contravention of this civil penalty provision for a corporation must not exceed $782,500.

Radio 2GB Sydney Pty Ltd and Radio 3AW Melbourne Pty Ltd have breached broadcasting rules by failing to disclose commercial agreements between their presenters and companies featured in their current affairs programs.

An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) into 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live program looked into comments made in a broadcast on 3 August 2023 that were favourable to ride-share company Uber. The investigation found a commercial agreement in place between Uber and the program host at the time of the broadcast was not disclosed on-air.

A separate ACMA investigation into 3AW Afternoons broadcasts that also aired in August 2023 found that comments favourable to automotive manufacturer BMW were made by the program host without disclosing that there was a commercial agreement in place between BMW and the host.

Both 2GB and 3AW also failed to publish details on their websites of commercial agreements made by their current affairs presenters, as is required by the commercial disclosure rules.

Authority Member Creina Chapman said adequately disclosing commercial agreements is crucial for transparency in current affairs programs.

“These kind of commercial disclosure breaches have the potential to erode the public’s trust in current affairs programming,” Ms Chapman said.

“Listeners deserve to know what commercial agreements are in place and how those deals might relate to what they are hearing on-air.”

Following the investigations and breach findings, the ACMA has issued 2GB and 3AW with remedial directions requiring relevant current affairs presenters, producers and sales staff to undertake formal training on the commercial disclosure requirements.

2GB is also required to commission an external audit of the processes it has in place to comply with the rules. This additional measure has been put in place because 2GB previously breached disclosure rules in 2021.

The ACMA may seek civil penalties if a licensee does not comply with a remedial direction.