SBS will have to find another way to recoup government funding cuts after the Senate rejected legislation that would have allowed it to broadcast more prime-time ads.
Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers voted down legislation in the Senate on Wednesday that gave the public broadcaster more programming flexibility by increasing a peak-viewing cap from five to 10 minutes per hour.
The change would have gone some way to making up the $53 million in cuts announced in the 2014 budget.
In a statement, SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said the failed legislation was a "setback" for the broadcaster.
"The failed passage of this legislation is a setback and leaves SBS with a $28.5 million hole in its budget over the next four years. Given this legislation did not pass and SBS has largely exhausted back-office efficiencies, this funding cut is unable to be absorbed without impacting programs and services.
"SBS will now need to consider its contingency plans internally, provide an impact report to the Federal Government and review our overall funding. Once this process is complete, SBS will be in a position to outline further details about the impact the failed legislation will have on the organisation."
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