Speaking at a joint media conference in Melbourne, the AFL, NRL and FFA chief executives said they supported the Government’s proposal for a “Use it or Lose it” approach to sports broadcasting regulation. But they said the change would only put more live sport on television if the resulting system is given “real teeth”.
The sports codes said an effective Use it or Lose it scheme that enabled more live sport on TV would also increase funding opportunities and promote the interests of sports codes, fans and participants right through to families and kids at the
grassroots level. Sports broadcasting on television in Australia is governed by laws known as “anti- siphoning” rules that give free-to-air TV networks exclusive first rights over a large list of sporting events. The networks do not show all the sport that is set aside for them. The anti-siphoning laws dictate that listed sports codes can only sell their television rights if they deal exclusively first with the free-to-air TV networks. This stops sports codes from directly managing their own television broadcasting rights which are core to the future of the sports.
A “Use it or Lose it” approach to sports broadcasting laws would see any sport not shown by the free-to-air TV networks fall off the anti-siphoning list allowing the sports codes to open those rights to competition from all broadcasters including free TV and pay TV. The result will be more live sport on television, and greater opportunity for sports codes to develop by being able to better manage their TV rights.
