No TV broadcast for Mardi Gras in 2012
Mardi Gras misses out on a TV broadcast this year after asking broadcasters to compete for the rights.
- Published by David Knox
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Foxtel will not be broadcasting the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade this weekend after a broadcasting deal could not be reached with organisers.
New Mardi Gras asked Foxtel to bid for a tender with Free to Air broadcasters, despite Arena airing the parade live to air for the last 3 years.
A Foxtel spokesperson told TV Tonight, “As is their prerogative, the New Mardi Gras decided to call for tenders for the 2012 parade. While still presenting Foxtel with an opportunity to pitch, New Mardi Gras advised of a community preference for the coverage to be undertaken by a free-to-air broadcaster.
“This is naturally disappointing to us, given the support and exposure we have given the event.”
Last week after no television broadcaster had been reached, New Mardi Gras announced an official Optus-sponsored one hour broadcast would be made available on its official website 24 hours after the Parade.
While the Parade grabbed the nation’s attention when it first aired on the ABC back in 1994, it’s been a long time since it was a Free to Air ratings hit.
In 1997 TEN gave the event its first commercial broadcast. It has been on Foxtel across many years, occasionally as a pay per view event. In 2008 it was also absent from screens, while one year it was only available as a webcast.
This year Kylie will lead the Parade, but only rage will mark the occasion that night, with a “Mardi Gras Special” of music videos.
Foxtel’s spokesperson added, “Foxtel did not tender for the parade but will remain supportive of the Gay & Lesbian community and to that end, we will continue to make airtime available to organisations such as the AIDS Trust Of Australia and ACON, for community service announcements and the promotion of various community events.”
Comment has been sought from New Mardi Gras.
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30 Responses
Aurora Community Channel (FOXTEL & AUSTAR) is screening a season of GLBT content in March to mark Mardi Gras, including documentaries, short films and the last ever episode of Queer TV.
@ Dodge, sorry I don’t agree with you there. IMO one of the very best shows on TV at the mo is Graham Norton, it is compelling entertaining TV, good humour, he is great with his guests and I have yet to see a bad show. It just highlights that quality is everything regardless of your background
”New Mardi Gras asked Foxtel to bid for a tender with Free to Air broadcasters, despite Arena airing the parade live to air for the last 3 years”…Last year it was Not on Arena at all but on Pay Per View….Main Event….so not only did we have to pay for Foxtel….we had to pay $25 to watch the parade..shame on them for trying to get even More money out of us.
Actually we were both wrong.
2011: Arena
2010: Arena
2009: Main Event. Pay Per View.
Some people on here won’t be happy until Australian TV is just full of straight, white people. Which it pretty much is now.
Vive la difference people. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
I went to a Mardi Gras back in 1992 and had such a great time. I watched it on TV last year and thought it was a complete mess. Sadly, many people don’t realise that just because an event is fun to be at, doesn’t make it good TV. Even Louie Spence couldn’t save it but that was because he wasn’t utilised properly…I wouldn’t watch it again anyway, not because I am not interested in the gay community…just because it wasn’t entertaining.
Funny how some of the G and L community are happy to dish out criticism and vilify people who do not necessarily agree with their point of view. Teenage suicide for any reason is desperately sad and occurs for many different reasons, no one reason is more ‘special’ than another, help needs to be tailored for each individual. As for MG….c’mon it really is a cliche of a subculture and seems to reinforce stereotypical viewpoints. It is unlikely to be televised cos of the arrogance of the organisersI
Cliche? Only in what makes the headlines or the TV news.
There is always so much more to MG than a few drag queens and buff boys. Parents of gays and lesbians, police liaison, disabled gays, rural gays, religious groups, advocates for legal change, adoption, transgender and bisexual representation, multicultural groups, businesses, political support, gay media, seniors, gay youth -look outside the triangle for the reasons MG is still necessary.
All of these are essential for visibility, diminishing suicide rates, making change for equality.
@Walt, in Australia, apart from marriage, what “basic human rights” do gays and lesbians lack? I ask this question in all seriousness, as I have a family member who has been an out and proud lesbian for over 25 years, openly living in a lesbian relationship and her life is peachy. She doesn’t lack for anything that I can see, certainly nothing related to “human rights”. She has a very nice life, thanks very much.
I understand as that I am not gay I will not know or have a good understanding of what those of gay and lesbian bent go through in their lives. That is a fair enough criticism of me. However, that does not mean that I can’t have an opinion about the Mardi Gras, even if it differs to yours.
As a previous Sydney resident I loved attending the Mardi Gras, now being out of town it was always good to know that I could still watch it and help celebrate in some way.
How can they play some of that awful British or other reality crap and not something home grown that is huge for the whole community?????
Understand the tendering process etc, but to have no broadcaster, is that really the way to end up
I think the big problem with the event is that it has lost the message it used to send. Whereas it once was a defiant unification sending a clear message that there is nothing wrong with a gay lifestyle, it has degenerated into a commercial event that is strictly adults only. I would love for it to send a message to stop the situation where young men and women are happier to die than be who they are, but the mardi gras doesn’t send that message at all. This used to be about something, it used to achieve something. Sadly, it is self-indulgence, and doesn’t help the plight of teenage homosexuals one little bit.
Yep. Also just want to very quickly say that. Well after all i as a gay men.. wondered why do we really need a mardi grass if only each year its quite (flashy) like some say… It sometimes makes me think that been gay is all flashy and erotic in a way.. Putting me alittle off side about it. Course really the parade mainly allways shows a (act of half naked women and men) I mean why show such thing. Its like saying would you like to see a straight parade of men and women half naked and let your children see it? no way thanks.
But yeah i would not pay no subscription online just because to watch the stream parade live you must. Plus They have to understand Not everyone owns internet at home nor have enough banthwith to watch the while stream live event on the internet.
I have a few gay friends.. im suprise how most of my mates tells me (gay and lesbian mardi gras? Meh… ill move on thanks) And thats exactly how i am at times about the event.. i mean im gay im proud but i wouldn’t want to turn a gay and lesbian mardi gras into a so what glossy and flashy as time goes by. I dont do the flashy and flamours. I rather see a real men to be a men and full stop. thanks david.
Until those that describe the event as a yawn or irrelevant are in the shoes of those that have struggled with prejudice and vilification, i suggest you refrain from such flippant and glib statements. Gay ‘subculture’ is not passe or irrelevant. I don’t partake in the event, but recognise that it is a liberating and joyous occasion for more than just the ‘homosexual’ community – it involves gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersex people, as well as heterosexual participants in community floats and bystanders. These posts always bring out the narrow minded and the myopic sentiments that use their anonymity to show the very opinions that ironically still necessitate the need for a Mardi Gras to be in existence. Thankfully there are other voices here to balance out the argument. The only protesters here are those that wish to deny its freedom to be.
I as a proud gay men.. oh though been gay can have its own issues with all sorts of things about in life yet.. Well i havn’t been to the parade before. Allways wanted but never get the chance to it.
I remember 1994 when ABC broadcasted the parade. then channel ten in 1997 and i believe i was at a hotel with a mate drinking.
Recent years from about i believe 2003/3006 foxtel stop broadcasting the parade if not mistaken at that year.. then it came back.. then it didnt came back for another year.. So its an on and off sort of to speak..
Im not happy with Foxtel. if they are supportive.. they should broadcast it live on foxtel. Thats why foxtel is there for.. to put heaps of content and not just the same old repeating content that foxtel has to offer..
This means im angry because i cant view the parade on my plasma screen. And this means i have to suffer from been carefull of my banthwith cost by watching stream cams online of the parade…
Finaly if there are cameras filming the 3 hour parade…. then i wonder where all this 3 hour continuesly filming is going to go to or it is actually broadcasting to.. (full stop question mark ?)
As detailed, Optus-sponsored footage will appear on MG website. Frankly I read this outcome as MG seeking to increase funding via broadcasters, but was it smart to snub a broadcaster that had done the job well when FTA probably wasn’t interested?
I enjoy the Mardi Gras parade. It’s just a bit of fun with a social and political edge. I am disappointed it will not be on television.
I must say I am a little disconcerted by the many comments (not just here, and especially during the recent gay AFL players discussion) along the lines of ‘being gay isn’t a big deal any more, no one cares.’
As long as children continue to kill themselves because they believe it is better to be dead than to be gay it will be an issue that matters. We’ve come a long way, but things are far from perfect.
Agreed. I have always looked forward to the day we don’t need a Mardi Gras. I don’t believe we are there yet.
@Walt…..sorry mate I disagree with your view, when a title of an event excludes 90-95 per cent of the population it will gradually become irrelevant. It has had its day and is so last century that it has become a cliche of itself. Being G or L is no big deal these days and there is very little left to campaign for. There are far more important issues in the world and Australia to be concerned about than this quaint little side show
Another point: Mardi Gras is not representative of the LGBTI community as a whole. I find the parade to be an embarrassing, cringe-worthy display.
As a gay man, I do not consider a group of near-naked people in body glitter simulating sex acts in the street as being either relevant or representative of me or my community.
I certainly don’t like the idea of this self-indulgent narcissism being justified as a “gay rights” vehicle. No wonder the bigots think we’re a joke.
It’s definitely worthy of being televised. It’s traditional, like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I know a couple of people who are involved and they put a lot of effort into the performance and parade.
It sounds like Mardi Gras have lost out promoting both this event and the increased visibility and recognition of the GLTB community due to greed – and that’s a great shame.
I’d like to address the detractors in the comments, and those that do not see the value of this telecast – or that gay subculture is a “yawn” as one of the comments here graciously said – @Allie, are the lack of basic human rights enough to protest about? The gay community does not have full social equality in Australia – and the situation is far worse in other countries. Please also see the “It Gets Better” campaign to help you to understand more about other issues being addressed by the GLBT community igba.org.au/
A major gay and lesbian event being televised remains of significant cultural and social value – it most importantly it also means that the messages promoted can reach outside inner Sydney to every part of the country. It might not seem that important to everyone, but not everyone has lived through discrimination, or in fear for simply being who they are. Absolutely there have been improvements in social attitudes, Mardi Gras is part of the reason for that, but for all its pageantry and fun, Mardi Gras still carries an powerful message of acceptance and equality that clearly still needs to be heard.
It is a shame that the parade will not aired on TV this year. It is still a gay event but I know so many people of all sexualities that have a tie to Mardi Gras. Not everyone can make it to the parade or even to Sydney. As far as it airing at all, or relevant, if it’s not your cup of tea, don’t watch it.
Once again, Mardi Gras proves just how irrelevant and commercial it has become. The parade once had social relevance, but since the shift in social values – and the prevalence of the internet, being gay is no longer something to hide or considered a major part of most people’s lives.
So in 2012, a giant street parade about sexual identity is less about self expression, and more about self indulgence.
The whole gay subculture thing has become something of a big yawn and this event has never been must see TV, so asking for a tender bid was always going to blow up in their face. Like others, I am not exactly sure what the homosexual community are still protesting about. Also, it changes very little from year to year, so you could replay the 2006 parade an probably most of those watching wouldn’t realise it.
thank god for that
I think the Mardi Gras is having some sort of identity crisis. What exactly is the event all about anyway if its about Gay rights then why is it so flashy every year. The organizers need to understand that the event is not a must watch on the tv calender so they cant just be arrogant and ask for a tender bidding process. They have just ended up pissing off Foxtel and become the laughing stock from a commercial FTA point of view.
And being gay is so passe now that people don’t care, How long will the parade last when gay people don’t have anything to protest? It’s got to be a money spinner.
I don’t think anyone will miss it. Foxtel could replay last year’s event and you wouldn’t know the difference. It’s the same every year.
I asked Arena a couple of weeks ago about whether they were airing it this year and they said no. It is such a pity as it highlights support for the gay and lesbian community – which is definitely needed while there are fights for gay rights. Hopefully next year there is a better outcome.