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Consultation begins on changes to Anti-siphoning scheme

Two month period begins to canvas views around reforming the sports Anti-Siphoning list.

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The Federal Government has commenced consultation on the Anti-Siphoning scheme, which aims to give Free to Air broadcasters an initial opportunity to buy television rights to major events.

Subscription television broadcasters are unable to acquire the right to televise an event until a Free to Air broadcaster has a right, or the event is removed from the list 26 weeks prior to the event.

The list includes key sporting events including the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, AFL, NRL, rugby union, soccer, tennis, netball, motorsports, horse racing and cricket. The current list is due to expire in April 2023. The consultation process will develop a new list.

The review will also assess the operation of the scheme in the contemporary media environment. Since the scheme commenced in 1994, technology has evolved, the viewing habits of Australians have changed, and newer platforms, including streaming services, are not subject to the rules.

The consultation paper outlines a number of issues for consideration, including:

· the objective of the scheme and the mechanism for achieving this objective;
· the acquisition of media rights by streaming services and other online services;
· the regulatory rule that sits at the heart of the scheme;
· the use and disposal of the rights to televise events on the list;
· information disclosure and gathering arrangements; and
· the composition of the list.

The review will examine these and other trends, and consider the case for amendments to ensure that the anti-siphoning scheme remains fit-for-purpose and continues to support coverage of iconic events available free to the general public.

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said, “Every Australian deserves the chance to enjoy live and free coverage of events of national significance, regardless of where they live or what they earn.

“The televising of key sports competitions helps to create shared experiences, foster a collective Australian identity, and contributes to grassroots community-based sports participation.

“Subscription-based services make a valuable contribution to Australia’s media market and consumer choice, but not everyone can afford to pay for sport.

“This consultation is an opportunity for Australians, industry, sports clubs, and other interested groups to have their say about the future of sport on TV in Australia.”

A consultation period ends on Tuesday, 6 December 2022.

Update:

“Live and free sport on television is a fundamental part of the Australian way of life. It remains the great social connector of our times, allowing Australians from all walks of life equal access to the events that bring us together,” Free TV CEO Bridget Fair said.

“Being able to watch your favourite sporting team live and free on TV without having to pay subscription fees or worry about your data usage or your internet reliability is vital to the Australian standard of living.

“This review is crucial as there is a real risk that unless our anti-siphoning framework is updated we could see iconic sports events being exclusively acquired by subscription streaming platforms. The current rules are over 30 years old and only cover free-to-air and pay TV.

“These are analog rules in a digital world, and we look forward to working with the Government to renew the anti-siphoning list and expand it to cover all subscription platforms so that Australians can continue to enjoy live sport on their TVs, free and for everyone.”

7 Responses

  1. No other country has anything like our anti-siphoning laws, which were created by Keating specifically to target Murdoch, after his failure to regulate Pay TV, and favour Packer and Stokes. India, supporting a public broadcaster, and the US used to have such laws, but they were struck down the courts as unconstitutional. UK has ofcom laws which require only major A events like the World Cup and @l^mp!cs be shown live on broadcast TV. For B events delayed coverage or highlights are required. Thailand has a list that covers only the @l^mp!cs, Asian Games, SE Asian Games and World Cup. No other country requires that commercial sports sell their content below market price to FTA media moguls. Everyone else on the planet figures that sporting bodies, TV and fans can workout what it best. No other country listes every AFL and NRL match on protected list, when FTA only wants a few games a week which suits everybody anyway.

  2. Many other FTA networks have the chance to buy broadcasting rights to various sports like the Olympics, Comm Games, AFL, NRL, etc. In 2007, 9/Fox have acquired the rights to the 2010/2012 Olympics, replacing Channel 7. During 2010 Olympics, 9 could only show a few hours of live action of the Games (due to other commitments), while Foxtel get lots of hours of live coverage.

  3. This whole thing should be dumped. If a streaming service wants to buy the football then let them it doesn’t need to be on TV. If Stan can have Better call Saul, Netflix can have Rick and Morty and Foxtel can have The Walking Dead then they can do the same with sport. If I have to pay for Netflix to watch Rick and Morty which I am at the moment then people should have to do the same for any sport that a streaming service or Foxtel buys.

  4. It’s simple: Seperate free to air rights from streaming service rights!
    Events on list have to be on free to air channel but not exclusively!!!!
    If 9, 7 or 10 don’t bid for event then free to air rights go automatically to abc or sbs.
    Streaming services should be allowed to also show major events live if they want.
    Many people cant always watch free to air , often due to reception issues
    Give viewers the choice of how and where they watch!

      1. In many regional areas free to air reception is poor or non existent. Same with internet. Have to use satellite providers such as Foxtel. For instance This occurrs in large areas south of Ballarat in Victoria due to Mountains blocking signal.
        Just give people the option to watch live on streaming services if they want

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