The country’s two largest television networks may not broadcast federal election debates after the government said they could not be represented on the newly formed Australian Debates Commission board in the same way as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and the national broadcaster.

Free TV Australia, the lobby group for television networks Nine Entertainment Co, Seven West Media and Network Ten, is urging special minister of state Ben Morton to change the framework ahead of the federal election to allow Nine and Seven - which make up about 75 per cent of total television viewing - to be represented on the commission.

The letter, seen by this masthead, says the current proposal that only allows one representative of metropolitan commercial television broadcasters (as well as Seven’s The West Australian and Nine’s The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review) was “unreasonable unacceptable”.

“Despite being Australia’s most watched sources of news, and the owners of significant print and digital news publications, Free TV members have been given less representation than the ABC and SBS. News Corp has been given representation in its own right, despite having less reach than the combined print and broadcast assets of Free TV, Nine and Seven,” the letter sent by Free TV CEO Bridget Fair says.

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“This is also of particular concern given that the purpose of the Commission is to agree to televised debates. The position of free TV broadcasters should be fundamental to every decision of such a body.”

News Corp, owner of Sky News and publisher of The Australian, The Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph, and one national broadcaster (either SBS or the ABC) are the media representatives on the commission’s board under the proposal. Two representatives each from the Liberal and Labor parties, an independent commissioner appointed by the government and another by the opposition, the chief executive of the National Press Club and president of the gallery are also expected to sit on the board. The representatives are in charge of making decisions on behalf of the commission.

Seven’s director of news and public affairs, Craig McPherson, said the move was unjustifiable.

“We would have around 70-75 per cent reach of the Australian viewing audience on any given day in any given night,” McPherson said. “It is not a recognition of the realities of the television audience and I find it quite baffling.”