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NEWS AND SPEECHES

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The Potential of Partnerships

Nigel Milan

As we move into the future, partnering for Public Broadcasting will become increasingly important.

Globally, taxpayer funds are becoming increasingly more difficult to capture. In the developing world, many governments simply cannot afford to fund public broadcasting. In the developed world, the shift from citizen-based democracy to a more consumer-focussed model has led to what some see as an increasingly more selfish society where philosophically founded institutions such as ours are pushed aside in favour of seemingly more practical things like defence, health and education, though, of course, one could argue that the public broadcasters are an integral part of the latter. So the need for all public broadcasters to explore alternate ways of resourcing their needs is clear.

That said, I think there are three distinctly different forms of partnering. The first is what I consider to be the more conventional model, that is those partnerships that revolve in some way around the principle of co-production - or, if you like, creative partnerships.

In this group, SBS has created SBS Independent, the program commissioning arm of SBS Television. Here we have developed creative alliances with Federal and State film agencies that have been highly successful. Together we have made SBSi one of the most vital and entrepreneurial commissioning bodies in Australia.

Through its Special Production Fund, provided by the Federal Government, SBSi commissions a variety of dramas, documentaries, comedies and animation from independent Australian film producers. Many of these film makers are from non-English speaking or Indigenous backgrounds and the unique stories they tell reflect the rich cultural diversity of the nation. Were it not for SBSi, many of these bold and imaginative programs may not have been made.

The heart of SBSi's success is its commissioning model and its collaborative co-operation with Australia's film agencies. Generally these are flexible arrangements under which SBSi and the various agencies commit to a production quota. On occasion, SBSi and several funding agencies unite for collaborative projects, such as a recent production of 8 x 50 minute dramas that were shown at prime time on SBS Television.

SBSi has also been a co-venture partner with cable broadcaster, Showtime, on the production of several feature films.

Filmmakers with a program proposal often come first to SBSi with their story ideas. The reason is simple. If SBSi agrees to buy the broadcast rights and this can amount to a third of the program's budget, then this initial injection of funds can kick-start the production. The producers can assure potential financiers, both public and private, that there is an audience for the program and this can be a major inducement to attracting funding. The same model has been used in some cases to help filmmakers seek out international finance, often from fellow broadcasters.

The second form of partnering is where it is used to develop your business into an area you otherwise could not afford. We have used this particularly in the New Media area where little or no direct funding has been available to us.

SBS New Media simply doesn’t have the funds to commission or purchase original digital content or technologies.

Business partnerships provide a logical, efficient and effective use of resources and talent, with both sides benefiting from product and systems development.

It’s a simply strategy.

SBS will not try to replicate the costly digital products or processes of other broadcasters (which it couldn’t hope to fund anyway) but, instead, will focus on developing completely new ideas.

It also means that SBS will regularly offer itself as a test bed to industry innovators who are seeking to develop the products and services they expect to sell to other broadcasters in Australia and around the world.

To these businesses, a partnership with SBS is an attractive proposition for several reasons, including:


The lure of working with an innovative, open-minded public broadcaster like SBS has attracted some very good business partners.

And for their efforts they’ve been able to quickly, and relatively cheaply, develop some leading products with significant commercial potential.

It’s our view that SBS is well placed to identify, trial and promote new products and service ideas that could benefit Australia’s free-to-air television networks.

The reward for SBS is to gain hands-on knowledge and access to valuable applications and products, with virtually no cash contribution. For SBS, the major investment is time and staff.

I’ll give you a couple of examples.

With the technology company, MediaWare, SBS offered itself as a test-bed to develop and trial a MPEG rendering system that allowed the design and production of broadcast quality video graphics on a personal computer.

SBS liked the idea because it would move content production out of expensive broadcast studios and onto low-cost personal computers.

And MediaWare was a keen partner because it needed to test its system in an actual broadcast environment.

As a result of the trial, SBS gained access to a fully automated EPG, what we call SBS Essential, for an estimated $40,000 compared to about $600,000 for some other broadcasters.

And the PC-based weather presentation system saved us about $400,000.

For its part, MediaWare is now marketing the system worldwide.

My second example – SBS’s partnership with Sun Microsystems – required a marriage of broadcasting and information technology expertise.

The aim was to create a function that would allow viewers of our current affairs program, Dateline, to submit comments or retrieve information while the program was going to air.

The partnership suited both parties.


The result was the development of the first interactive television application for Australian conditions.

For its outlay of time, energy and resources, SBS received hardware, a prototype ITV solution, and the transfer of technical knowledge and training.

Sun Microsystems is now working jointly with all free-to-air broadcasters in Australia to develop a common digital electronic program guide.

My third example of partnering is where you take a fresh look at relationships that you have no choice but to be in and to improve and make more effective the day to day working relationship.

The best example of this in our company is the way we have developed our relationship with our transmission provider, Broadcast Australia. By way of background, like some other broadcasters around the globe, SBS does not own and operate its own transmission infrastructure.

For many year this infrastructure was provided to both ourselves and our sister broadcaster, the ABC, by a government-owned and controlled monopoly, called the National Transmission Agency. To cut a very long story short, as part of its on going process of economic reform this organisation was privatised some five years ago.. However, given that it was privatised as a whole the state monopoly was in effect replaced by a private one.

To protect the interests SBS long term contracts were put in place that financially penalised BA for any downtime across the network that fell above certain tolerances. Quite reasonable you might think. The only problem of course it formed the basis of what rapidly became an adversarial relationship. SBS employing legions of people trying to catch BA out and BA in return employing another legion to try and convince us it didn't happen. Whilst I am sure you will appreciate the above is somewhat of an over-simplification, it does set up a picture of the basis our relationship was formed on.

The net result being niggling conflict between the executives of our respective organisations.

With the benefit of some inspired leadership from both BA's Chief Executive, Graham Barclay, and our own Head of New Media and Distribution, Will Berryman, a new direction was embarked upon. The respective staff groups were taken on a retreat and together they came up with this nine point plan.


This change in attitude has altered the dynamic of our relationship with BA. Though to be fair, we still have some distance to go. Already significant savings have been made by both organisations.

In summary, the partnerships of SBS – creative and business – are an effective, cost-efficient use of resources and an important source of distinctive Australian content.

With its business partnerships, SBS can maximise its limited funds and reap the benefits of technical innovation.

And with its creative alliances, SBS can generate innovative programs of greater quality and diversity.

It’s a winning formula.

One final thought, as oft' been said 'the future is inevitable, only survival in it is optional'.

Thank you for your time.