By Laura Banks and Antoinette Lattouf
Millions of Australians who switch on Samsung or LG smart TVs are susceptible to being fed populist right-wing news without choosing to watch it, in what experts believe is an opaque commercial deal between the Korean technology giants and Murdoch's media empire that pushes News24 content.
Ette Media has heard from hundreds of viewers who say their televisions launch into News24 (formerly Sky News Australia) when switched on, regardless of the channel, app, or input they were using when they turned the television off. This follows revelations about the unwanted programming by Ette Media’s Antoinette Lattouf on the podcast We Used To Be Journos.
This arrangement gives Murdoch-owned outlets prominent placement on Samsung and LG televisions, while the ABC and SBS are left fighting for visibility because a gap in Australia's media rules protects the prominence of public broadcasters on traditional television, but leaves smart TV platforms largely outside those requirements.
The reports raise questions about how smart TV manufacturers decide what viewers see first and whether commercial relationships are influencing those decisions.
In 2023, Samsung TV Plus partnered with then-Sky News Australia to launch Sky News Now, a free 24/7 news service available on Samsung televisions. Sky News struck a similar arrangement with LG Electronics, exposing more Australians to News24’s highly partisan, right-wing news and commentary - including from figures such as convicted racist Andrew Bolt and Rita Panahi, who hosts the show Lefties Losing It.
Professor Ramon Lobato, a Swinburne University of Technology academic who has written a book titled Smart TV: Devices, Platforms, Markets, told Ette Media that manufacturers were “powerful gatekeepers in the attention economy”, and commercial partners competed for the most valuable positions within it.
Lobato said he had observed News24 appearing as the default on some Samsung models, but stressed that behaviour varied between models and could change when manufacturers enter new commercial partnerships.
We Used To Be Journos listeners also sent evidence that their LG smart TVs displayed the unwanted content from the Murdoch-owned news channel. Lobato said he has not observed the same News24 default on LG televisions, but the underlying commercial model could apply to LG, or any other manufacturer.
“In theory, any provider could strike such a deal with a manufacturer if the price is right,” Lobato said.
“Manufacturers sell off the most prominent spots on their interfaces to advertising partners,” Lobato said. “ In other words, it’s a pay-for-play environment.”
