New research conducted by Free TV and Seven West Media reveals a significant 80% of Australians are demanding easy access to free TV services on their connected TV sets.

The study also found these viewers do not believe local free TV service providers should have to pay a TV manufacturer for a prominent position on the home screen.

The research comes at a crucial time as the Albanese government is planning to legislate a 'prominence' law. This law aims to ensure local free-to-air TV services can easily be found on television devices. The move is seen as a direct response to the commercial interests of big tech and TV manufacturers, which have been criticised by Free TV CEO, Bridget Fair.

"Australians know they are not being given a fair go when it comes to the services they are offered on their connected TVs," Fair said. "They are worried that instead of being offered the local TV services they want to watch, they are being steered in the direction of services that favour the commercial interests of big tech and TV manufacturers."

The survey, which involved 2,075 participants, found 78% of people with connected TV sets believe it is important they can easily find free TV services. Only a mere 8% said it was not important. Other key findings include: 84% of people want a free service option before the paid option when looking for something to watch, 81% of people did not agree with the idea that local free TV services should have to pay a TV manufacturer for visibility on the home screen, and 81% also said commercial interests should not dictate where TV services appear on a connected TV.

"It’s a matter of choice and the choice should be made by the viewer. It’s not choice if your TV is set up to deliberately make it hard to find your local TV channels. Viewers should be able to easily find all the services they want and then decide," Fair added.

Fair warns local free TV services are becoming increasingly hard to find on connected TVs, with foreign giants buying the best real estate. She also revealed that TV manufacturers want to charge local TV providers up to 30% of revenue just to be present on the TV screen.

"Our local free TV services are delivered to all Australians for free. Free TV networks invest billions in fresh and unique content each year and they need to reach millions of Australians each day to generate the advertising revenue that keeps those services free. But TV manufacturers want to charge local TV providers up to 30% of revenue just to be present on the TV screen. That money would come directly out of Australian content," she said.

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