Australians are paying more to watch their favorite cartoon feather dog, as tech giants push fans towards paid streaming services over free alternatives.
Bluey has taken the world by storm, becoming one of the most streamed shows in the United States, beating TV classics like Gilmore Girls and Seinfeld.
As a children’s programme, developed in Queensland and commissioned by ABC and BBC, it is funded by the Australian taxpayer.
But these same benefactors are being charged double for the show because of smart TVs.
Speaking at a parliamentary inquiry into laws governing free-to-air TV, ABC chief executive David Anderson said search features on smart TVs were pushing Australians to pay for streaming subscriptions when they wanted to watch Bluey.
Australian fans of the TV series Bluey (pictured) have to pay to watch the free broadcast due to smart televisions
“On some TVs, searching for Bluey won’t take you to ABC iView, where Australian families can enjoy it for free,” he said on Friday.
‘Instead, you end up with a paid service.
‘If we want Australians to find Australian content, including local news and children’s programming, ensuring search recommendations… is essential.’
Stephen Clear, a technical expert at Free TV Australia, says the problem may come down to each streaming network’s willingness to share its catalogs with a TV’s search engine.
Broadcasters blame TV manufacturers making deals with tech giants like YouTube or Netflix.
SBS chief executive James Taylor said the manufacturer of Australia’s “best-selling connected TV has threatened to remove the broadcaster’s app from the TV homepage unless it agrees to a 15 per cent revenue share and placement fee.”
“When SBS refused to pay, the manufacturer carried out its threat, making it much more difficult for the public to find the SBS on Demand app,” he said.
“It is absolutely outrageous that these massive global technology companies can unilaterally position themselves as gatekeepers between Australians and their free Australian content – trusted news and information services deliberately developed and supported by decades of public policy.”
ABC CEO David Anderson said the search features on the devices mean viewers can pay more to watch the program
The laws discussed during the study would require free-to-air TV channels to be prominently featured on smart TVs, meaning catch-up services would be prioritized in search functions.
Patrick Delany, boss of pay-TV service Foxtel, warned the changes would lead to a “dangerous outcome” in the future.
“I just want to find the content that I love or want to search for,” he said.
“If you start legislating to move certain apps higher in the queue or in search results, you’re not going to get that; you get a distorted result.’
Netflix policy advisor Carolyn Hough agreed, adding that it would be “quite unfair” to creators involved in making Australian films with the streamer if search results only showed content from free-to-air TV to see.
“We really need to make sure we maintain that flexibility,” she said.
The proposed legislation would also guarantee first rights to major sporting events offered to free-to-air broadcasters before they go behind a paywall.
The parliamentary committee also heard from Seven, Ten and Nine bosses and Free TV Australia executives, including Gregory Hywood, who argued that paid services presented an “existential” issue for Australian culture.
As advertising spend is funneled to online services like Google and social media, free-to-air TV’s share of revenues has declined.
“This is about news, sport – all the things that make Australia Australia,” he said.
‘There is really only one solution to this problem and that is government legislation, because there is a market failure.’
Free-to-air networks have called for the timeline for the enactment of celebrity laws to be shortened from 18 months to six months.