New Licence for Digital TV into Black Spots

New legislation addressing satellite delivery of digital television into “black spot” areas has been passed.

The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Bill 2010,which amends both the Broadcasting Services Act and the Copyright Act, was introduced primarily so that regional and remote areas that currently don’t receive an adequate signal will be able to receive the full suite of digital television channels to be delivered by satellite. The Bill provides for a new statutory licence (Part VD) to come into play if agreements can’t be reached between the new satellite licensees and commercial broadcasters to cover the underlying rights.