A slightly belated acknowledgement here, but last Friday in the Crikey email, I predicted that Communications Minister Stephen Conroy would signal his intentions regarding Australian content regulation on new media platforms. Well, my information was from good sources, but Conroy did not speak as expected.

Conroy’s  speech followed what I called the Battle of the Kims: speeches by Foxtel chief Kim Williams and the ABC Director of Television, Kim Dalton. To put it in a nutshell, Williams was calling for deregulation, while Dalton (who is also Chair of Freeview) was calling for the extension of Australian content regulation to the internet and services delivered on mobile devices. More detail and background here and here.

Conroy failed to deliver. Read his Friday speech here.

He acknowledged the issue the two Kims identified – the way in which new platforms are quickly changing the business, and the need for regulatory review – but did not say what he intended to do.

The Government has been committed to reviewing regulation for some time, but Williams is arguing for this to be brought forward. He is right to do so. At present crucial arguments – such as over the anti-siphoning list – are taking place without the transformation brought about by technology being properly considered.

Insiders were expecting more from Conroy on Friday. There is a view that he is a regulator, rather than a deregulator. Certainly, he will have to do or say something more definite before too long. I am getting tired of making the point, but it would of course have been nice if the Government had come to power with a media policy that gave some guidance on matters such as this, rather than giving the impression of considering such things on the run and under pressure.

Meanwhile, in the Battle of the Kims there are some areas of agreement. Both men, in slightly different ways, have suggested that the money the Government gets from auctioning off spectrum in the wake of analogue switch-off be spent on producing Australian content. This could be a significant pool of money, and the fact that there is consensus on the idea means that it is likely to happen.