A claim in News Corp publications across the country that the public broadcaster costs taxpayers more than a Netflix subscription is an “inaccurate, unbalanced and agenda-driven attack on the ABC”, the ABC chair, Kim Williams, says.
On The Daily Telegraph’s front page, an inside page and an editorial on Friday, the Murdoch tabloid alleged the ABC “costs Australia’s 11.5m households $105 each a year, compared to $96 for an annual Netflix subscription” and “failed to reach 10.6m Australians”.
The unsubstantiated claim was repeated in Murdoch’s outlets nationally, including the NT News, Cairns Post, Advertiser, Herald Sun, Courier Mail, Geelong Advertiser, Mercury and Gold Coast Bulletin.
In a strongly worded statement, Williams said the allegations “do not stand up to scrutiny” and that key points were not put to the ABC.
“On a monthly basis the ABC reaches around 80% of Australians,” Williams said. “Annually, fewer than 3% of Australians don’t use the ABC.
“In any event, the comparison is meaningless. Netflix is a commercial entertainment video service.”
News Corp used the cheapest Netflix subscription available – $7.99 a month, with ads – to make its comparison.
The ABC offers much more than just its streaming service iView, and most of its content is local and original.
The ABC operates five TV channels, five radio networks, an emergency broadcasting service and a TV, radio and online news service from 67 locations across Australia and 10 bureaus internationally.
It employs more journalists than any other media organisation and has Australia’s most-watched kids content, specialist educational content dedicated news content for young people from Behind The News and BTN High.
Williams said the misleading claims include that the ABC “wasted” money on an improved ABC News website and app; opening an ABC Parramatta office; covering the US presidential election and the Garma festival; providing a factchecking service; and advertising to let audiences know what services are available.
“We don’t believe any of these is a ‘waste’,” he said, adding that the western Sydney office was entirely funded through the sale of property and by leasing out space in the Ultimo head office.
While the Murdoch tabloids question the ABC’s $1.1bn budget, Williams said that in the last decade the ABC’s operating revenue from government has fallen by 13.7% in real terms, an annual reduction of $150m.
The editorial in the Telegraph repeated Murdoch’s long-held view that the public broadcaster should be privatised: “Present the ABC with the gifts of relevance and independence by allowing it to participate in the open market,” it said.
Funding the ABC represents 0.13% of commonwealth outlays, down from 0.31% in 2000, according to the ABC.
A claim by the journalist Stephen Drill that “the ABC has confirmed it paid thousands to put up sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney in Paris while he was covering the Olympics on radio after he was snubbed by Nine, the official TV broadcaster” is incorrect. McAvaney called the Paris Olympics for ABC radio from Sydney.
The ABC was brought in to provide a service for regional and remote Australia as well as a number of capital city ABC stations, including Adelaide, because Nine, the official broadcaster, did not have stations in those areas.
Williams told Guardian Australia last year that News Corp’s obsession with the broadcaster is “unbalanced and, at times, fairly unhinged” and should largely be ignored.
