Media Access Australia

A submission in response to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s preliminary decisions to grant exemptionsto Sky ChannelPty Ltd

Media Access Australia

June 2017

This submission relates to the exemption applications lodged by Sky Channel TV Pty Ltd for the following subscription television sports services:

Sky Racing 1 (app 353)

Sky Racing 2 (app 354)

Submitted by:

Manisha Amin

Chief Executive Officer

Media Access Australia

Phone: 02 9212 6242

Email:

1. About Media Access Australia

Media Access Australia is Australia’s only independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to increasing access to media for people with disabilities.

At the core of our work is the understanding that exclusion from mainstream audiovisual media has profound effects on educational outcomes, workforce participation and social inclusion.

Access to media through technology empowers people to be independent, gain knowledge, make their own choices, and be active members of our society.

We promote inclusion by providing expert knowledge and advice on existing and emerging mainstream technologies to government, industry, educators, consumer organisations and individuals.

1. The approach to exemptions should reflect policy

In the Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the legislation to amend the Broadcasting Services Act.,the intent of the Parliament is made clear in regards to the purposes of the amendments. Paragraph 93 states quite clearly: “The over-arching policy is for a subscription television licensee to meet annual captioning targets, that will increase in time, in respect of particular categories of subscription television services that are required to be captioned.Incremental improvements in the accessibility of television services are consistent with the objectives of the DDA.”

In simple terms, the purpose of the amendment is to improve access to television, not provide a simple administrative process by which licensees seek to avoid their captioning obligations. In light of this we regard the granting of an exemption as an exceptional circumstance that is provided as a last resort and for a minimum timeframe.In granting an exemption we believe that a full and public process outlining clear reasons for the temporary exemption should be provided so that both the public and Parliament are satisfied that it is truly exceptional circumstances.

The processes undertaken in other jurisdictions, such as the UK and USA, which are outlined below, reflect the seriousness of excluding access to Deaf and hearing impaired viewers.By following such a process, the ACMA is making it clear that its expectation is that a licensee is doing everything within its capabilities to meet the legislated requirements that are a condition of a right to broadcast with a degree of exclusivity.

1. The granting of captioning exemptions to Sky Channel

In 2013, the ACMA granted captioning exemptions to Sky Channel for Sky Racing 1 and Sky Racing 2 for five years from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2017. The exemptions for the two channels which Sky Racing is currently applying for cover a further five years to 30 June 2022.

Sky Channel’s exemption applications cover the provision of the two channelsas a subscription service for TAB agencies and licensed venues. The channels are also available on Foxtel, but the applications do not apply to the Foxtel service. Under the current captioning regulations in the Broadcasting Services Act, Foxtel is not required to provide captioning when it broadcasts the channels.

Live racing makes up 80% of the content of Sky Racing 1, and 95% of the content of Sky Racing 2.

In its applications, Sky Channel contends that captioning of live racing is unnecessary and unbeneficial because the captioning would both duplicate and obscure the on-screen information provided on these programs; and the speed of race calls means that the quality of live captioning would be too poor to benefit consumers. Media Access Australia accepts these contentions. While important races (including the Melbourne Cup) are occasionally captioned live, this requires a great deal of pre-preparation, and the inherent technical difficulties mean that the captions provided for live racing would never meet the ACMA’s captioning quality guidelines.

The remainder of programming on the two racing channels consists of magazine-style programming which is appropriate for and would benefit from captioning. If these were standard broadcast channels, Media Access Australia would argue that the appropriate action on the part of the ACMA would be to grant target reduction orders rather than exemption orders. However, Sky Channel has stated the magazine-style programming screens between 4am and 9am, or 4am and 10pm, when the TAB agencies and licensed venues that screen the services will be generally be closed, and we concede that this is a factor that needs to be taken into consideration.

Media Access Australia does note, however, that while Foxtel is not currently required to caption these channels, and its provision of these channels is not part of these exemption applications, if Sky Channel was granted reduction orders and had to commence captioning the magazine-style content on these services, the captions would be available for Foxtel subscribers. We note, furthermore, that the ACMA has stated that it believes providing these captions would not cause Sky Channel financial hardship.

1. Length of exemptions

If these exemption applications are granted, this will be the second time that Sky Racing 1 and Sky Racing 2 have been granted exemptions lasting 5 years. Media Access Australia understands that the ACMA does not currently have the power to vary the length of an exemption or target reduction application, it can only accept or reject what the applicant has requested. We believe this is a serious flaw in the system that should be reviewed by the Government. As we have argued in other submissions, we believe that it is inappropriate to grant any exemption or target reduction orders for longer than a 12-month period, given that captioning technology is continually evolving and improving, and the form and content of channels can change over time.