How does the Australian situation compare to the situation in other countries?
Other countries have operated an open system from the start of digital television. The networks’ EPG data has been freely available to everybody, and accessible on any kind of digital recording equipment. In addition, there are many companies who have taken the opportunity to use the original data as supplied, and then apply their own value added services and extras. This means that in those countries, consumers have a wide range of choice over their guide supplier and the equipment they can purchase to use the guide. How frustrating is it for Australian owners of PVRs such as media centres? It is madness that Australian FTA TV broadcasters think that the Australian public deserves so much less than the rest of the world. The fact that the biggest software company in the world, Microsoft, has been unable to negotiate any kind of program guide in Australia demonstrates how much control the television networks have been able to exert over our broadcast spectrum, and as a result, how far
