The Sydney Morning Herald: Brawl erupts over which apps get shown first on your smart TV
Pay and free-to-air media companies are facing off in a battle over how their apps are displayed on smart televisions as the government prepares to launch legislation that will affect how Australians view content.
The legislation, which the government calls a “prominence framework”, is one of four items of media reform being considered in Canberra.
Free-to-air networks including Nine, Seven and Ten have argued via the Free TV Australia lobby that local and culturally significant content including news, sport and entertainment should be given preferential placement on newer television sets, so it can be easily found by users.
To help make their case, Free TV and Seven West Media have conducted research that found 84 per cent of Australians want to be shown a free option before a paid option on connected and smart TVs. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents said it was important free TV services were easy to find.