The ABC is more than a TV channel.
Yes, I understand that but IIRC, this was back around 1997/98 when Stan made that rant about the ABC, when the ABC was pretty much nothing other than one of the five tv channels most households had (Ch7, 9, 10, ABC, SBS), PayTV services Foxtel and Optus were relatively new in Australia, ABC was miles behind the 3 commercial networks Chs 7/9/10 in the ratings, and ABC didn't have all the other services they have now, such as services on the internet like streaming and archives of their tv shows from recent weeks which didn't exist back then as the internet wasn't as advanced, let alone most households didn't have the internet during the dial-up modem years, digital channels ABC2/ABC3/ABC Kids/ABC News 24 which are now on tv etc. Even The Late Show could see the funny side of their crap ratings (parody of Ch9's renown slogan "Still the One") back in 1993:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n42lNEoP5zE
I'm not just saying this solely because of the ABC's hate for RL since they lost the rights to televise Saturday arvo RL during the Super League war, it gets back to Stan's point in general: why should Australians be made to contribute taxpayer dollars to go towards a network that, although it has now superseded Ch10 and is #3 in the ratings due to Ch10 being an absolute mess over the past 5-10yrs, still have low ratings overall compared to Ch7/9, hence indicating that most people either don't watch nor want to watch the ABC? That tv service should become a subscription service for the small % who want to watch it. It only adds insult to injury when ABC try to go under the guise of 'fair, independent, balanced reporting' and then spruik hidden agendas such as broadcasting a 'sports show' (e.g. Offsiders) which is a pro-AFL show in disguise and comprises of Gerard Whateley and Caroline Wilson who both are involved in the AFL media in Melbourne, barely any mention of other sports and when it comes to RL, most of the time its either smirked at or treating negatively or no mention of positive things such as the tv rights....fair, independent, balanced reporting alright.......If anything, its deception and if ppl's tax dollars are going towards funding programs like that, they deserve far better. Offsiders will only have someone like Roy Masters or John Stanley on the panel to give the ILLUSION that it is 'balanced' in its opinions on RL, but in reality its far from it.
