AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 922, 12 April 1957, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION

-An Interim Report, by

IAN K.

MACKAY

formerly

Supervisor of Programmes, Commercial Division, NZBS, and now Production Manager, Macquarie Broadcasting

Service, Sydney

| HIRTY THREE years , of wellorganised and competitive broadcasting have conditioned the Australian public to accept the fantastic potentialities of television almost without question. Perhaps this was one reason why its introduction to our living rooms was somewhat casual-but let us start at the beginning. The Federal Government decided that Australia could be best served with two television systems, one controlled by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (non-commercial), the other by competitive private interests (commercial), each operating independently and competing for patronage. The ABC obtains its finance from licence fees (£5 per annum per receiver) and grants from the Treasury, while the commercial stations earn revenue from the sale of time and programmes. Thus, the Australian system of broadcasting has been translated into the television field. When the method of operating the proposed television service was debated before a Royal Commission, many conflicting viewpoints were advanced, but once the decision was taken to implement a service controversy and general interest appeared to wane. It was as though the public considered that those in charge would be conscious of their responsibility and would operate a service in accordance with the requirements of our society. This indicated a lack of interest that was at variance with overseas experience. There has been no Australian equivalent of the Chancellor of the University of Chicago to say "Under the impact of television I can contemplate a time when people can neither read nor write and will be no better than the forms of plant life," and no

one echoed the words of the U.S. educator who thought television might prove-"as dangerous to culture as the atom bomb is to civilisation." Australian television is confined ‘to Sydney and Melbourne, despite the eagerness of commercial interests to expand to other capital cities. The Federal Government apparently believed that the. two services, noncommercial and commercial, should expand together, and as the State was not ready to underwrite a national (noncommercial) service for the other cities, the commercial interests should not be permitted to have the field to themselves. The reasoning

is probably sound, but because of the restriction to a two-city basis, years will elapse before television will become a mass medium, and there is no possibility of its growing as quickly and freely as sound broadcasting in its early stages. Thus, television did not sweep into Australia like a Murray flood-on the contrary, it almost trickled, in, and to some extent this affected the calibre of the initial programmes. Good television consumes talent and programmes at an unprecedented rate, and until production costs can be spread over a_ sufficiently large number of stations, local programme activity will be limited by economic factors. The operation of additional stations will permit the syndication of programmes by means of network or co-operative affiliations, and programme production can be centralised, Sydney is the centre for. broadcast programme production, but there is evidence that. Melbourne television interests are pursuing a more vigorous policy than was followed by their broadcasting colleagues of yester-year, and this will probably mean that syndicated programmes will originate from two cities instead of one. It will be difficult, however, to initiate a vigorous native industry until additional stations are in operation and the unit cost can be reduced accordingly. From the outset, the two systems presented an interesting contrast. The ABC simply expanded its activities to embrace television, with one station in Sydney and one in Melbourne. The four commercial stations, two in Sydney and two in Melbourne, represented an

amalgamation of interests comprising press, broadcasting, films, theatre, and electronic groups, but when licences were issued and the interests settled down, it was seen that in each case the press emerged as the dominant factor. While the four commercial licences were sorting themselves out and marshalling their resources, the ABC went straight ahead with their television organisation. ABC staff were first overseas for experience, schools were established to train Australian personnel and equipment, cameras, etc., were secured before the commercial interests even had a roof over their heads. At least this applied to Sydney, but in Melbourne, under the spur of the Olympic Games, the organisation of both ABC and commercial ‘stations proceeded at an even pace and by a superhuman effort of organisation, portions of the Olympic Games were televised. As a result, television interest in Melbourne sky-rocketed and receivers sold more readily than in Sydney. Thus, in Vic-

toria, television got off to a flying start, and at the most recent count receivers numbered 14,474, against 6003 in New South Wales. No greater spectacle could have been devised to sell television than the Olympic Games-the greatest gathering in the world’s sporting history, when the élite of many countries competed for honours. The television reaction to this spectacle was immediate and stirring, and provided an incentive to the Melbourne operators and home _ viewers. Even so, it was a Sydney station that instituted the first television service, when TCN Sydney began regular transmission on September 10, 1956. At this point, it is necessary to digress for a moment. The ABC set about its task of organising a television service undisturbed by any great desire to begin transmission quickly, and safe in the knowledge that the necessary finance would be available. Commercial stations, on the other hand, were pouring out shareholders’ money, and there was a natural eagerness to begin transmissions, and thus earn revenue as quickly as possible. The question was, "How quickly will people purchase receivers?" The answer vitally concerned the electronic industry, which would build the sets, and the advertisers who would pay for the commercial programmes. Obviously, there had to be a service available before people would buy sets, and there had to be a viewing public before many advertisers would unbutton their purses, so the ‘commercial licensees were expected to provide the initial programmes. These people wished to keep their sustaining programme costs to reasonable figures, and when the first station opened in Sydney the fare was often vintage films that had been obtained cheaply overseas. The public were not impressed, and in Sydney there was evidence of buyer resistance in the purchase of receivers, which cost between £220 and £260, from which the Federal Government secured £70 in tax. Many prospective buyers

doubted whether the initial commercial programme justified the expenditure, and decided .to wait and see, and so did many medium budget advertisers. Thus, Sydney television got off to a slow start, while in Melbourne the Olympic Games provided the highlight and incentive which is still in evidence, By the end of 1956, the two cities had a choice of three programmes each, but the ABC probably secured a greater share of the audience than it has ever obtained in sound broadcasting, for many of their initial programmes were undoubtedly of a higher standard than some of those on the commercial stations, and they included a certain number of Australian productions from the first week of transmission. The full schedule of commercial programmes is not yet on the air, and from an academic point-of view it could be said that commercial television began operations before it was really equipped to provide the full programme service that will be available within the next few months. The licensees obviously wished to be on the air and earn some money with the least possible delay. Any comment on audience reaction to the programmes is speculative at this stage, for the emphasis is changing week by week. Television’s present is already its past, and this applies particularly to the commercial services. At present the programme schedules of all stations contain a considerable proportion of filmed material, some very good and others only fair, It is anticipated that the production of Australian televised programmes will proceed when those associated with the medium appreciate its unique personality and when the economic basis justifies greater expenditure. The ABC tackled this problem more vigorously from the inception of the service than did the commercial licensees, and it is obvious that they intend to develop the television service without unnecessarily encroaching on broadcasting formats,

while commercial stations will lean heavily on broadcasting formats and personnel. To date, Australian television has introduced very little that is new, and it appears in the role of an assimilative medium which adapts existing and testing formats for its own use. Television will discover, as broadcasting found two decades previously, that programming depends on the intangible qualities of personality performers, and these will have to be developed. The one exception is the televising of outside events, and in this television will provide one of its greatest services. In the field of actuality programming there will be no high rehearsal costs for the incidents and events will be televised as they occur. Already we have witnessed the world’s professional tennis championships, professional golf, some interesting cricket and an occasional horse race. Cricket telecasts by the ABC greatly impressed viewers. The camera literally sat on the bowler’s shoulder as he delivered the ball, and the audience saw the expression on the batsman’s face. No one in the Noble Stand of the famous Sydney Cricket Ground could see a quarter of what was revealed to the home viewer, and it is in this important sphere that the ABC is likely to steal a march on its commercial competitors. Commercial programmes are regular and advertisers spend large sums of money in building listener habits"same programme-same time-same station." The ABC programme schedule is more elastic and can take advantage of special events to a greater degree than the commercial stations. This freedom of action will prove important later on, particularly if the sporting organisa- *

tions see the light and permit the camera free access to arenaly At present sporting organisations are warily watching the television camera, and no major sport has yet declared itself on any permanent policy. The sporting events that have been undertaken so far have proved winners, and in themselves have convinced many people that a television receiver is a desirable object to have around. It is obvious that some sport will be broadcast each Saturday afternoon, and both the ABC and commercial stations will devote considerable time and energy to these.

* At present, there is no visual programme pattern. With a choice of three stations in each of the two major cities, the immediacy and intimacy of home received programmes is satisfying the audience, which is increasing each week, but not as quickly as was hoped. One fact is known. When a television set is installed in a home, that household is lost to broadcasting at night. There are indications that the public want local programmes, and stations are beginning to feature those shows which do not require a formal script or lengthy rehearsal preparation. These programmes emphasise speed of production, continuity of appeal and informality of presentation. The most popular rely almost entirely on current broadcast formats. These, termed simulcasts-i.e., televised and broadcast versions are aired at the same time-require yery little adaptation and comprise audience participation, panel, forum, quiz, newscasts and talent shows. Programmes in these categories are quickly becoming established television shows because of the familiarity of the audience with the existing sound broadcasting format. The viewers had heard the programme, but the camera added a more intimate relationship between the programme = the audience. Simulcasts will bridge the gap between sound broadcasting and the new technique of programming that will develop as television improves its skills and realises its own particular characteristics. As yet these are unexplored, This will be the challenge that Australian television will have to face.