Interesting interview with the ACCC's new chairman. Full...

Interesting interview with the ACCC's new chairman. Full transcript is available at http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/ACCC-Metcash-Franklins-Foxtel-Austar-pd20110923-LXQ58?OpenDocument&src=sph&src=rot#Is

Here's the part which specifically relates to Foxtel/Austar:

RG: Can I take you into a different sphere? I believe that in the next two or three years were going to see a complete change in the nature of competition and well see the internet as a driver of new forces. A lot of the legacy businesses that have got strong positions now would have challenges and we will see mergers among those legacy businesses that you wouldnt even have dreamed of. And I wonder if the ACCC is flexible enough to handle these sorts of very dramatic changes?

RS: I think we will be, Robert, and I agree with you that the whole impact of the internet is only very slowly unwinding. People made predictions years ago about what would happen and then people said oh, it didnt come to pass, so it was all a bit of a fairytale. But these things do take time to come through and I think theyre coming through now big time. The ACCC needs to be looking at this issue very closely both in terms of future mergers, and also of course it has implications for our enforcement activity when the people who are selling the goods dont actually have an establishment in Australia. But on your point, I think it is going to have an enormous effect on markets, including groceries. I read the other day about the entry of a new internet grocer who wasnt linked to Coles and Woolies. So, I think these things will have an impact and its something we have to be acutely aware of, and we have to look closely at what are the new barriers to entry in these sorts of worlds. Once upon a time it might have been the cost of setting up a chain of stores, to keep with the current example, but in future it may well be other things.

RG: Is the Foxtel-Austar exercise an illustration of where you havent caught up with that? Theres not much chance of Foxtel and Austar competing with each other, but they will both have to compete in the new online environment. Well all have choices of buying our films via Foxtel or well just simply go straight into the global market and download our films that way, so that that whole range of new competitive forces is going to emerge there, but that are quite different from what were seeing now. And really make the opposition to that bid rather a bit academic.
RS: Well, Robert, those are important points and youll understand Ive been in the job six weeks.The statement of issues was put out before I arrived, so thats an issue Ive got to get on top of. But I think the thing we have to keep an eye on is of course theres been a lot said about Foxtel and Austar not directly competing, but of course thats through their choice, so one has to keep that in mind and think through the implications of that ? and I dont say that I have yet but I just make that observation.
RG: So, youre going to review that matter though? Thats part of one of the things youre going to do in the next few weeks?

RS: Yes, but Im not sending out any great signals here. Im just simply stating that the ACCC worked through the issues paper and that was released before I arrived, so visibly I now need to get my mind around that. Ive been looking at it a little bit, but its in a particular phase. Itll be bubbling up to the surface very soon, so Im making no other observation than the obvious one. But the point I would make about Foxtel and Austar is, taking your point about ready access to alternative ways of watching a screen and you can certainly well do that through the many mechanisms you just described, one has to think through well whats the importance of content, how does all that work. So look, I accept your premise that we need to look at these things in a wider context. It doesnt mean that there arent still issues.