Rebates for news bulletins? TV execs push for journalism offset

In the year before the Murphy report was tabled, online gambling firms spent $239 million on advertising on free-to-air television, radio and online. More than one million gambling ads were shown between May 2022 and April 2023.

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While the government continues to deliberate on an ad ban, wagering firms have pulled back on ad spend on their own accord. Free-to-air television networks now receive about half of the $162 million they netted a year before the report was published, a media source with knowledge of the figures and not authorised to speak publicly said.

FreeTV chief Bridget Fair urged the government to implement the right policy to protect the future of free television for viewers.

“As Australians cut household budgets, there is one line item that won’t change; the zero cost of free TV,” Fair said.

Wells took over the brief from Michelle Rowland following Labor’s landslide victory in May, while retaining her existing Sports portfolio.

Last week, Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja met with Albanese to discuss gambling’s influence in sport, reviving the topic publicly for the first time since the election.

Labor shelved its proposed cuts to online gambling ads, and caps on ads on broadcast TV and radio ahead of the election after significant pushback from the AFL and the NRL and the array of media companies that benefit from the millions of dollars those firms spend.

Media companies warned of the potential damage inflicted on their ability to produce news and content for the public, while the sporting codes flagged the threats to grassroots sport without the ad revenue they have become so reliant on.

The government’s approach to the policy had cast doubt over any significant movement coming before the end of the year, this masthead reported last week.

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