Consultation on proposed changes to APRA’s Broadcast Video On Demand (BVOD) distribution practices
APRA is seeking your feedback on a proposed change to the way APRA distributes royalties from free-to-air television in Australia and New Zealand.
Under the proposal, viewing data from Broadcast Video On Demand (BVOD) services will be included in free-to-air television distributions. While BVOD services are already covered by relevant television licenses, on-demand programs watched through catch-up are not currently captured as separate usage data when royalties are distributed.
Proposed change
It is proposed that an initial 7% of the existing free-to-air television distribution, excluding the allowance for advertisements, would be allocated to BVOD on-demand usage. This is not a new royalty stream or additional revenue, it is simply a proposed reallocation of existing television licence fees to better reflect how programs are now being watched.
The allocation would be determined by reference to BVOD advertising revenue, the relative share of linear and on-demand viewing hours, and the proportion of BVOD streams supported by usable data. The allocation would be reviewed by the APRA Board once every two years.
Rationale for change
- The proposal better reflects how television is watched: Audience behaviour has changed, with viewers increasingly watching free-to-air television programs through on-demand services. By including BVOD data, APRA’s distribution practices better reflect current viewing habits.
- Maximising the use of available data: APRA has secured usable BVOD reporting from OzTAM in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand. This provides an opportunity to recognise on-demand program viewing as a distinct usage source within free-to-air television distributions.
- More accurate and representative distributions: Using BVOD program and stream data alongside cue-sheet information would provide a broader view of how television programs containing members’ music are consumed.
- A practical approach that can develop over time: The proposal uses the data that is currently available and capable of being processed reliably, while allowing APRA to increase coverage as the availability and quality of BVOD reporting improve.
While we believe these changes would lead to more equitable and transparent royalty distributions for our members, we appreciate that adjustments to distribution practices do impact our members. It is, therefore, important that we gather member feedback and identify any unintended consequences that may arise from the proposal.
Next steps
No final decision has been made. APRA AMCOS is consulting with members and relevant industry stakeholders prior to the proposal being considered by the relevant APRA Committee and Board.
Members are invited to review the proposal and provide feedback through the consultation form below.
All feedback must be received by November 15th, 2026.
Once the consultation period has closed, APRA AMCOS will review the feedback, consider any operational issues or unintended consequences raised, and publish an update on the outcome of the consultation and any resulting changes.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute.
APRA AMCOS
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