Australian Broadcasting Company

The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a company founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £100,000 by a consortium of entertainment interests, notably Farmer & Company, J. C. Williamson Limited and J. & N. Tait to found and operate commercial radio broadcasting stations.[1] Other major shareholders, perhaps later entrants, were Union Theatres Limited, B & J. Fuller and J. Albert & Son. Directors were Stuart Doyle, Frank Albert and Sir Benjamin Fuller.[2]

In 1929 the company won the contract to supply radio programmes for broadcast on the "A-class" transmitters contracted to the Federal Government's National Broadcasting Service.[2] The Royal Commission of 1927 had recommended full nationalisation in the style of the BBC, but the conservative government of the time chose this out-sourced approach instead. As each of the "A-class" licences expired during 1929 and 1930, the Commonwealth acquired and then maintained the station's transmitters and studios through the Postmaster-General's Department, while the programming was supplied by the Australian Broadcasting Company.[3]

Funding was supplied through licences rather than through advertising. However, licence fee income was low, jeopardising its viability.

The contract with the Australian Broadcasting Company expired on 30 June 1932 and thereafter programming for the National Broadcasting Service was provided by the newly established Australian Broadcasting Commission, which purchased the assets of the earlier ABC.