Time was when free-to-air television licences in Australia were a licence to print money. Moreover, they were looked after by the biggest bodyguard in town — the Federal Government, which slavishly catered to their every whim — banning subscription TV for decades, refusing to countenance additional market entrants, filling their coffers with taxpayer dollars via government and party advertising. Free-to-air networks were unassailable fortresses.

Then, bit by bit, the fortresses began to turn into prisons. Video and DVD allowed audiences to control their own programming. Subscription television slowly expanded its reach.  Alternative media emerged to compete for audiences. And the internet provided an option for viewers fed up with being treated with contempt by the networks.

Did the TV industry do what normally happens when incumbents are threatened by new competitors — improve its product, sharpen its service, listen to its customers? Are you kidding? It just went back to the Federal Government for more help. Media policy over the past decade has been a constant series of demands from FTA television, readily granted by both sides of politics.  The $500 million licence fee rebate is only the latest.

As invariably happens, the radio industry, which behaves as a perfect Mini-Me of the television networks, immediately demanded the same treatment. It too is facing the transition to digital. It too is doing it tough in the battle to retain audiences. It too has local content obligations.

The radio industry has a point. In fact, every single media industry could make the same argument. Indeed, at least TV still makes decent money — something newspapers are unlikely to ever achieve again. Why not a handout to newspapers?  Why not some help for subscription TV, now facing competition from FTA multichannelling?

Except, they don’t command the last vestiges of mass media audiences every night for their news bulletins.