The call follows a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority into the use of so-called anti-siphoning rules, which give free-to-air broadcasters the first option on 1,300 major sporting and cultural events.
The country’s Communications Minister Helen Coonan said the report revealed a need to look at the meaning of ‘live’ broadcasting. She said that there should now be broader industry engagement with other stakeholders in the sports broadcasting community about matters such as ‘use’ and what constitutes a live broadcast. There were significant issues to work through in any revamp of the system, and the stakes were high for groups such as pay-TV operators, sports rights owners, advertisers, and the free to air networks.
