Anti-Siphoning List: New live sport rules
Free to Air broadcasters will be compelled to show key sporting events live around the country under new Anti-Siphoning rules.
- Published by David Knox
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Senator Stephen Conroy has announced key changes to the Anti-Siphoning List.
“We’ve always understood how important it is for Australians to watch sport on Free to Air Television.” he said.
“Our most popular and iconic sports will remain free to all Australians.”
No Australian events have been removed from the list.
Two tiers of events will be in place.
Tier A
Tier A will comprise nationally iconic events such as the Melbourne Cup, Bathurst 1000 and finals of major Australian tournaments like the NRL and AFL Premiership. Free-to-air broadcasters will be required to broadcast these events live and in-full, with limited exceptions.
Melbourne Cup
AFL Grand Final
NRL Grand Final
Rugby Union World Cup Final
Cricket:
Each Test match involving Australia, played in Australia
Each Test match involving Australia and England played in the United Kingdom
Each one-day international match involving Australia, played in Australia
Each Twenty20 match involving Australia, played in Australia
ICC Cricket World Cup: semi-finals, final and each match involving Australia
ICC Twenty20 World Cup: final and each match involving Australia
FIFA World Cup: quarter-finals, semi-finals, final and each match involving Australia
Tennis:
Australian Open men’s singles final
Australian Open women’s singles final
A ‘World group’ Davis Cup final tie involving Australia
Motor Sports:
Each race of the F1 Grand Prix held in Australia
Each race of the Moto GP held in Australia
V8 Supercars – Bathurst 1000
Tier B
Tier B will comprise events such as the regular games of the AFL and NRL premierships seasons, and non-finals games of the Australian Open tennis. Free-to-air broadcasters will have the flexibility to televise these events on digital multi-channels (ie AFL in Sydney, NRL in Melbourne). Networks have the flexibility to show sport on a multichannel if they seek to switch to other programming on a primary channel, such as News during a live event. There is no requirement for networks to shift the sport back to the primary channel.
The Summer Olympics event and the Winter Olympics event
The Commonwealth Games event
AFL:
4 matches per round of the AFL premiership season
Each match of the AFL finals series (except the grand final)
NRL:
3 matches per round of the NRL premiership season*
Each match of the NRL finals series (except the grand final)
Rugby League:
Each match of the State of Origin series
Each Test match involving the Australian team, played in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom (including the Rugby League World Cup)
Rugby Union:
Rugby Union World Cup: quarter-finals, semi-finals and each match involving Australia
Each Test match involving Australia, played in Australia, NZ, SA or as part of the ‘spring tour’
Tennis:
Each match of the Australian Open (except for the men’s singles final and women’s singles final)
Wimbledon: Each men’s and women’s singles quarter-final, semi-final and final
US Open: Each men’s and women’s singles quarter-final, semi-final and final
Each ‘World group’ tie involving Australia played as part of the Davis Cup (excluding a final involving Australia)
Golf:
Each round of the Australian Open
Each round of the Australian Masters
Each round of the United States Masters
Netball:
Each Test match involving the senior Australian team, played in Australia or New Zealand
Netball World Championships: Semi-finals and Finals matches involving the senior Australian team
Football:
All matches of the FIFA World Cup (excluding those on Tier A)
FIFA World Cup qualifiers: each match involving Australia (the Socceroos)
Football:
English Football Association Cup Final
Motorsports
V8 Supercars Championship Series: each race not specified on Tier A
“Allowing broadcasters to use digital multi-channels will see a dramatic increase in the total coverage of sport and give flexibility for broadcasters to show more events live,” Senator Conroy said.
“Broadcasters will have the capacity to televise AFL games in Sydney or NRL games in Melbourne, live on a digital multi-channel, rather than providing it on long delay on their main channel. This will save many hours of sleep for avid fans who happen to live in the wrong city.”
In addition, the reforms will introduce ‘must-offer’ obligations on the free-to-air broadcasters, requiring them to televise anti-siphoning listed events they acquire or offer those rights on to another broadcaster. This will prevent rights to important sporting events going unused.
“No longer can a free-to-air broadcaster purchase an iconic national event, and then not show it at all. In these circumstances, they must now offer it on to another free-to-air broadcaster to show it,” Senator Conroy said.
WA and SA AFL games will be shown live on Free To Air TV. One Friday and Saturday night AFL match, and public holiday games remain on Free to Air.
Pay TV can bid directly for select AFL and NRL competition matches: 4 AFL matches, 5 NRL matches. But the detail on which games is not clear. Changes to the listing of NRL and AFL games will only be made once a regulation is in place or an alternative mechanism to protect the quality of free to air games is agreed by stakeholders.
Events Added:
Twenty20 matches involving Australia, played in Australia
Twenty20 World Cup: matches involving Australia and Final
FIFA World Cup qualifiers involving the senior Australian team (the Socceroos)
Removed:
AFL: 4 of 8 matches per premiership round (these 4 matches are currently shown exclusively on Pay TV)
NRL: 5 of 8 matches per premiership round (these 5 matches are currently shown exclusively on Pay TV)
Golf: British Open
Cricket: One day international matches involving Australia, played in the UK
Cricket: ICC 50 Over World Cup: All matches not involving Australia before the semi-finals
Rugby League: Test match involving the Australian team, played in countries other than Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom
Rugby Union: Rugby Union World Cup: All matches not involving Australia played before the quarter-finals
Rugby Union: Test matches involving Australia outside Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and those tests designated in a ‘spring tour’
Tennis—Wimbledon: All matches other than the men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals matches.
Tennis—French Open: Men’s and women’s quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals matches
Tennis Davis Cup: Non ‘world group’ Davis Cup ties involving Australia
Netball: All matches played by the Australian team outside Australia, NZ & the Netball World Championships (other than a semi final or final involving the Australian team)
Motor sports: Each IndyCar race held in Australia
Olympics will have a minimum of “must show live” hours.
The changes follow heavy lobbying by Free to Air broadcasters, Subscription Television and key sporting bodies and community interests.
Penalties will apply for networks that do not comply with the new rules, but Senator Conroy said there is a “range of options” as to what they might include.
The Greens are supportive of the broad thrust of the changes.
The current list expires on December 31st.
Changes to the anti-siphoning list will be implemented shortly. Senator Conroy said a regulation for the new List will be tabled in Parliament soon.
This post updates.
70 Responses
Do the B listed events have to be shown live on any channel David or can the broadcasters choose to delay some sports?
So in other words there are still absolutely no HD or live requirements for the NRL, State of Origin and AFL, other than the two grand finals having to be live. Presumably the NRL (or the upcoming independent commission) and the AFL will demand multichannel coverage in non-core states as part of their contract negotiations, but it still makes no sense that the RU world cup final is in Tier A, and yet Origin, one of the jewels in the crown of Australian sport, is not. Very puzzling.
Senator Conroy: How about getting up Channel 9 for leaving some states with and some states without Cricket Coverage at 6pm AEDST!
I live on the East Coast and those on the east coast do infact get the worst feed of Test Cricket Coverage out of everyone because we get sent to the News at 6pm and NT, SA, QLD and WA viewers who’ve been seeing the Cricket Live at the same time as us all day are still getting Cricket Coverage right through until the end. Regardless of News Coverage, this should be the same Nationwide.
What makes it worse it, people on the East Coast can’t turn over to Pay TV or a digital Channel to see the rest of the days play and that is also a problem!
Back in 2006-07 (The last time the Ashes was contested on Aussie Soil), Nine stayed with play from the Brisbane Test on all 4 nights, right up to 6:30pm, they stayed with 4 of the 5 days in Adelaide and went past their 8:30pm cut off for the Perth Test Match on all 4 nights as they always do and, when we had a late start on Boxing day, they went right through til the 7pm finish!
What has changed in the last 4 years???
The biggest contest in Cricket and we’re missing out because of our timezone!
Fix it Conroy!
Ah… Looks to me like nothings changed
If I understand this correctly then Friday night AFL on 7 is not required to be shown live, which means 7 can continue showing it on their main channel only and states such as WA will continue to have to put up with 3 to 4 hour delays. I can’t believe in these times, we still have 1950’s thinking!
Senator Conroy you have failed to deliver the people what they’ve clearly asked for. I shouldn’t be surprised, after all you don’t care what the people think when it comes to the internet either…
Looks like states such as WA will get AFL games with WA teams live. But that’s just one code, and not every game.
@Kuttsywood except the olympics is on tier B, so they can have three full channels of Olympics coverage if they want.
@Bogues yeah, I just read that the tier B sports just have to be shown withn 4 hours. Disapointing.
So they don’t have to show the B list live David?
The issue of live vs non live and late night should be an issue for the broadcaster and the league, not the governement. The NRL should be not accepting anything less than live coverage in all states as part of their next deal – it might be something like live on the main channel in NSW and QLD and live on a secondary channel in other states.
Are there any other non comunist countries that have such pathetic rules that dictate what can and can’t be shown rather than just leaving it to the sport and the broadcaster to sort out?
So it’s taken how many years to come up with the bleeding obvious ???
Move Better Homes and Gardens to 7two is what i would do.
full list tier a and b
dbcde.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/131457/The_future_anti-siphoning_list_-_25-11-2010.pdf
State of Origin is not a Tier A event dbcde.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/131457/The_future_anti-siphoning_list_-_25-11-2010.pdf (page 3)
Non NRL states will still be shafted.
These “reforms” look pretty pathetic to me – this will not change Channel 7 Perth’s attitude to Friday Night Football. It will remain on a 3 hour delay. Just wait and see. From what I have read, FNF is categorised as Tier B and therefore what Ch 7 Perth are currently doing complies with “must show”.
What a joke!
When do these new rules take effect…eg Does this mean we will see live AFL Friday night football nation wide in 2011?
why don’t channel 7,9,10 and purchase all rights to afl and nrl – split them equally over five years and tell foxtel gtfo
@ajf Non final AFL / NRL games are in Tier B. Networks will be under no obligation to show these games live on any channel. And IMO that means games will still be shoved in some late night slot on Seven and Nine in the non-dominant states (One will show AFL games live in Brisbane and Sydney for sure)
Poor Seven. What will they do with Better Homes And Gardens now….
Hilarious!
And of course no mention of HD. That would bring us into the 21st century, and nobody wants us to leave the backwater.
Thanks for the updates, is it just me but it’s ironic the picture used is from SkyNews.
This sounds almost perfect, the sports that are on FTA now will stay on FTA and they will have to be shown live. This is much better for fans not in the main market (AFL fans in Brisbane, NRL fans in Melbourne, regional fans, SA and WA). Sports shown on multichannels while the news is on. The only mixed point is the socceroos being added which could hert the sport.
I hope that Conroy’s happy.
A basic description of Nine’s London 2012 Olympic coverage: Cram as much coverage into one channel, as possible, due to government regulations, not allowing multi-channel coverage.
The winner in 2012: Foxtel.
This looks very much like govt getting it’s fingers all over sports broadcasting. Next they’ll be telling the AFL when it can play it’s games and who can play each other.
What does “in full” mean? I assume we aren’t going to get eight hours of ad free Bathurst.
It will be interesting to see what happens with State of Origin. Nine haven’t shown it live in AFL states, and it cuts through news / ACA / 2½ Men in Perth.
Even though (non final) AFL and NRL games can now be shown on secondary channels, I can’t see Seven or Nine doing that in NRL and AFL states respectively. One of course will show it live nationwide.
So this debate has been going on for ages and not much has changed? What a waste of time.