Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) is the peak industry body representing the subscription media industry in Australia. ASTRA’s main activities are to represent the industry with government, regulators and the media, advocate policy reforms that promote industry growth, highlight and reward industry achievement, report television ratings and assist the industry to develop.[1][2][3] ASTRA was formed in September 1997.[4]

Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association
AbbreviationASTRA
FormationSeptember 1997
TypePeak organisation
Purposerepresenting the subscription media industry in Australia
Headquarters4 Broadcast Way, Artarmon, New South Wales
Chairman
Tony Shepherd
Websitewww.astra.org.au

Board of directors

ASTRA is managed by a representative board of directors.[5] The board is chaired by Tony Shepherd AO, a former president of the Business Council of Australia. Also on the ASTRA Board are Ian Davis, Patrick Delany, Jacqui Feeney, Anthony Fitzgerald, Angelos Frangoupoulos, Richard Freudenstein, Lynette Ireland, Bruce Meagher, Mandy Pattinson, Jon Penn, Ben Richardson and Robi Stanton. ASTRA’s chief executive officer, Andrew Maiden, is an ex-officio member of the board.

Members

ASTRA members are subscription-based television viewing platforms, independent content providers, technology and communications companies, and organisations from the industries that support subscription media in Australia.[1][6]

Members include platforms Foxtel and more than 20 independent content providers including the major international channel groups Fox Sports, BBC Worldwide Channels, ESPN, The Walt Disney Company, Fox International Channels, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, NBC Universal, as well a number of technology companies and service providers.

Membership is open to all organisations and individuals wishing to support the development of the Australian subscription media industry.

Policy

ASTRA was formed soon after the arrival of subscription television in Australia to politically organise the industry and give it a voice in public debates about the regulation of media.

ASTRA’s stated policy priorities are to: support the development of the subscription media industry; encourage the production of local content for Australian audiences; advocate an open, competitive market that encourages investment and innovation; ensure market intervention is minimal and fair to all participants; and lobby for all media organisations to access public resources on the same terms.[2]

The organisation’s most high profile campaign is for the reform of anti-siphoning rules, a provision of the Broadcasting Services Act which regulates the manner in which certain sports broadcast rights may be purchased.[7][8][9] The anti-siphoning list provides free-to-air television broadcasters with the exclusive opportunity to purchase the right to broadcast more than 1000 sporting events.[10][11]

ASTRA also manages codes of practice that regulate program content and classification, advertising, privacy, subscriber service obligations and complaints procedures.[12] The ASTRA Codes do not cover issues already the subject of licence conditions for subscription television licensees, including in relation to the broadcast of political material and election advertisements, advertisements relating to medicines and tobacco products, the broadcast of events on the anti-siphoning list, captioning levels and captioning quality, and restrictions on the broadcast of content classified above MA 15+.[12]

Investment & Jobs

ASTRA conducts an annual survey of the subscription media industry’s investment in local screen production, employment and contribution to Gross Domestic Product.[1] In 2014–15 the survey revealed that the industry invested more than $796 million in local content production, created 8370 jobs, and added $2.083 billion to GDP.[1]

Events

Between 2002 and 2015, ASTRA managed the annual ASTRA Awards for excellence in subscription television.[13] The awards, which were judged by members of the creative industries,[14] were issued for ten content genres, six individuals, and two channel groups.[14] Past hosts and presenters included Australian television personalities Guiliana Rancic,[15] Jennifer Hawkins,[16] Molly Meldrum,[17] Rove McManus, Deborah Hutton, David Speers, Anthony Callea, Charlotte Dawson, Claudia Karvan, Osher Gunsberg, Alex Perry, Sarah Murdoch, Ruby Rose and Lisa Wilkinson, as well as international personalities Joe Mangoniello (from True Blood) and Kristian Alfonso (from Days Of Our Lives). In November 2015, ASTRA announced it would no longer hold the ASTRAs, folding the awards into the annual AACTA Awards.[18]

ASTRA manages an annual conference,[19][20] an annual breakfast for women in television,[21] along with networking events for women in the industry,[22] awards for industry excellence,[23] a graduate program in partnership with AFTRS,[24] and a leadership program.[25]

See also Subscription television in Australia Television in Australia Anti-siphoning laws in Australia Sports broadcasting contracts in Australia

See also

References
  1. About ASTRA, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 December 2015
  2. Advocacy, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 December 2015
  3. Ratings, ASTRA, archived from the original on 8 January 2016
  4. ASTRA, ASTRA submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority paper ‘Spectrum Outlook: 2011-2015’ (PDF), Australian Government, archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2015
  5. Board, ASTRA, archived from the original on 10 March 2015
  6. Members, ASTRA, archived from the original on 19 March 2015
  7. Australian Law Reform Commission, 2. The Current Classification Scheme, Australian Government, archived from the original on 23 February 2014
  8. Anti-siphoning, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 April 2015
  9. Heffernan, Madeleine (31 March 2014). "Pay TV pushes for anti-siphoning changes for sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
  10. McCrann, Terry (17 September 2014). "Sporting codes join the great media poker game". Herald Sun. News Corp.
  11. Anti-siphoning (PDF), ASTRA, September 2014, archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2015
  12. Codes of Practice, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 April 2015
  13. ASTRA Awards 2015, ASTRA
  14. "New judges and categories for 2015 ASTRA Awards" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 13 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2015.
  15. E!'s Giuliana Rancic to host 2015 ASTRA Awards, 16 February 2015, archived from the original on 8 January 2016
  16. Moran, Jonathon; Domjen, Briana (21 March 2014). "ASTRA awards: Jennifer Hawkins sizzles on the red carpet, Shaynna Blaze and Andrew Winter take top honours at ceremony". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp.
  17. "Meldrum makes a grand entrance". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. AAP. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012.
  18. Christensen, Nic (24 November 2015). "Dedicated pay-TV awards scrapped, as ASTRA joins rest of industry in the AACTA Awards scheme". mUmBRELLA.
  19. ASTRA 2015 Conference, ASTRA, archived from the original on 10 September 2015
  20. Events, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 December 2015
  21. Women in TV Breakfast, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 December 2015
  22. Women in Television, ASTRA, archived from the original on 8 January 2016
  23. ASTRA Industry Excellence Awards, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 April 2015
  24. ASTRA Graduate Program, ASTRA, archived from the original on 28 April 2015
  25. Leadership Forum Gallery, ASTRA, archived from the original on 8 January 2016

Further reading
  1. "Job creation and deregulation must be high priorities" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 20 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  2. "Lynette Ireland receives ASTRA Pioneer Award" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  3. "Local screen investment reaches $796 million" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  4. "New spectrum rules welcome, but must apply to all users" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  5. "TV leaders talk disruption: final ASTRA speakers announced" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 17 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  6. "Piracy reforms to protect Australian jobs" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  7. "Spectrum review boosts transparency, efficiency" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2016.
  8. "Television Awards Shine on the Stars Behind the Scenes" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2015.
  9. "Independent ASTRA judges meet as industry gears up for 20th anniversary" (PDF) (Press release). ASTRA. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2015.
  10. Manning, James (5 October 2015). "ASTRA Chair Tony Shepherd on media law reformation". Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
  11. Carroll, Lucy; Chambers, Pippa; Micallef, Rachael (2 October 2015). "Media reform would grant Australian media growth". AdNews. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015.
  12. White, Dominic (28 September 2015). "TV networks divided over sports rights reform". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
  13. "ASTRA: Job Creation and Deregulation Must be High Priorities". 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
  14. Rawsthorne, Sally; Manning, James (23 September 2015). "A bright future for subscription TV say international TV execs at ASTRA 2015 Conference". Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
  15. Micallef, Rachael (21 September 2015). "Industry backs Turnbull's choice of Fifield as Comms Minister". Archived from the original on 17 October 2015.
  16. Mason, Max (13 September 2015). "Media reform must include anti-siphoning, Foxtel boss Richard Freudenstein says". WA Today. Fairfax Media.
  17. "Hernan Lopez: 'Brand power' to rule new TV era". The Australian. News Corp.
  18. "Aussie pay TV content spend nears A$800m". 9 September 2015.
  19. Lallo, Michael (12 March 2015). "ASTRA Awards 2015 winners: Wentworth scoops best Australian drama for second year in a row". Archived from the original on 14 December 2015.
  20. "There's lots of drama in animal shows". The Australian. News Corp.
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