But he was disappointed that a commercial deal with Facebook for use of SBS content in the “newsfeed” - which could be used to invest in local journalists - was still not struck. Other media companies including Nine Entertainment Co,owner of this masthead,have received money from Google and Facebook for their content under new laws.
Australia’s other taxpayer-funded broadcaster,the ABC has deals in place with both Google and Facebook which it is using to hire regional journalists.
“I’m pleased for the ABC that they have a deal,” Mr Taylor said. “I think it’s odd that given that the bargaining framework specifically contemplates the public broadcasters,the national broadcasters,but Facebook didn’t avail itself of an opportunity to have even an initial conversation with us about how our content might play into their platform.”
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said Facebook should have done a deal with SBS. “The Government’s view is that there are two national broadcasters:while it is pleasing that Facebook has done a deal with one,we expect that it should also be doing a deal with the other,” he said.
Mr Fletcher announced the latest triennium funding for ABC and SBS earlier this month. Mr Taylor said the latest round of triennium funding and an agreement with Google would ensure the broadcaster could invest in making more local content and hiring journalists to deliver news in different languages.
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He said there was a place for SBS in a world where platforms like Netflix were investing millions in international programs like major hitSquid Games.
“We think about ourselves as being hyper differentiated,” he said.
“If you’ve come here,and you speak Arabic as your first language,what does the SBS give you? It gives you a settlement guide ... which helps you understand the society you’ve joined,it helps you understand how to get a driver’s license,how the electoral system works,how to enrol to vote,what beach safety is and what you need to know,what to do to prepare your house before a bushfire.
“It goes beyond programs. It’s about providing a lifecycle approach to making people feel engaged.”
The new round of funding will be focused on commissioning more local content and building out digital technology to house it. Mr Taylor said the company’s online video service,SBS On Demand,was outperforming global streaming peers.
“If you to the Apple App Store and search streaming platforms - all the global behemoths,domestic players ... ones that are ad-funded,the subscription ones - SBS On Demand is the highest-rated streaming platform in the country.”
SBS On Demand rose to prominence in 2017 when it acquired the exclusive rights to the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s award-winning novelThe Handmaid’s Tale. But it also drew criticism from other commercial broadcasters who said SBS should be using government money on local production rather than international formats.
Mr Taylor said the idea the company was competing against domestic and international players was a fallacy. “We’d love to make more Australian content,but you’d probably understand the five to 10 times cost difference between a piece of content that is made and one that is acquired,” he said.
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