The Sydney Morning Herald (8 December 2007) reports that the ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott, has emphatically rejected advertising on the ABC. Despite funding shortfalls which severely limit the ABC's capacity to produce TV drama Mr Scott  confirmed he would not compromise the public broadcaster with advertising.

"One of the things that the public loves about the ABC is that it operates an advertising-free, non-commercial environment," Mr Scott said. "The ABC has no plans to change that."

He added that taking advertising or sponsorship "changes the television operation because you are choosing programs to maximise your audience to maximise your income," he said. "Sooner or later, your programming blends or merges into a lot of what is on offer on the commercial networks."