'Cheaper to buy everyone new TVs' as regions lose terrestrial channels
An expert says it would be cheaper to buy everyone smart TVs than pay to keep broadcast alive, as networks warn about regional television's future.
WIN Network announced it would cease broadcasting Network 10 channels, including 10, 10 Drama and 10 Comedy in the Mount Gambier, Riverland, Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area markets, after the two networks failed to reach terms on a new broadcast deal.
WIN said that providing the service in these markets was "no longer viable" and it "reflects the realities of regional broadcasting".
Network 10 says people can still stream its channels online. (ABC News: Jak Rowland)
University of Sydney professor of digital communication and culture Terry Flew said TV licences used to be considered "licences to print money", but streaming had up-ended the model.
"Traditional broadcasters around Australia and around the world are feeling the pinch," he said.
"The cost of delivering the terrestrial service is now greater than the returns that are coming from the advertising share, and that is impacting on regional areas."
Network 10 said audiences can continue to access its content online and via its app.
WIN Network says the infrastructure costs of maintaining regional terrestrial TV are high. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
An unprofitable medium
Professor Flew said commercial broadcasters had already seen about 20 to 30 per cent of their audience move to streaming platforms.
He said audiences would need to adapt to the changing landscape.
"It would probably be cheaper [for Network 10] to buy everyone a new television than to continue to provide a terrestrial service,"
he said.
Terry Flew says the economics of broadcast TV have changed significantly. (ABC News: Abbey Haberecht)
"You would then need to connect up all those homes with a modem, and people would need to become familiar with how to use the television in a different way.
"There may be an opportunity for local or state government to get involved in providing services in that way."
Range of impacts for regions
For some, the decision will not have much of an impact on how they consume media.
Limestone Coast resident Talie Teakle, 54, said she had not had an aerial connected to her TV for about 17 years.
Mount Gambier's Talie Teakle streams her shows, but worries about what losing terrestrial channels will mean for others. (ABC South East SA: Aiden McNamara)
She said for many people, the flexibility of on-demand streaming was preferable to scheduled broadcasts.
"Life is so busy, if I've got free time I want to be able to watch what I want, when I want to watch it," she said.
"I don't want to be at the whim of a schedule where you're waiting for a weekly show to come on."
Rosy Smith says she and other seniors will not move to streaming their shows. (ABC South East SA: Aiden McNamara)
However, Mount Gambier's Rosy Smith said she was a regular free-to-air TV watcher, and it was an "absolute shame" to lose channels.
She said the majority of people she had spoken to at the city's senior citizens' club would be impacted by the "unfair" decision.
"There's a lot of people that don't want to go down that track," she said.
"It's just another blow to the regional community, having had things and then it's taken away from you.
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