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http://www.heraldsun.com.au/busines...ide-what-you-see/story-fni0d8gi-1227061915188
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/busines...062004737?nk=0dcbe72be362c9ebed062053037d6898
Terry McCrann: The TV sports bunfight that may decide what you see
Terry McCrann
Herald Sun
September 17, 2014 9:00PM
ALL the major sporting codes have joined with pay TV group Foxtel to urge the Federal *Government to slash the number of sporting events that have to be shown on free-to-air TV.
Critically, they would keep major events such as the AFL and NRL finals and the Melbourne Cup on free-to-air TV.
But they want the Government to sharply reduce the so-called “anti-siphoning list” of other events both local and overseas that are reserved for FTA TV. These include events “hoarded” by FTA networks.
This is the first time all the major codes — the AFL and NRL, soccer and netball, rugby union, tennis and cricket — have agreed to a specific and reduced “anti-*siphoning” list.
The CEOs of all the bodies signed off on the list in a letter to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month, along with Richard Freudenstein the CEO of Foxtel (jointly owned by Telstra and NewsCorp, the parent company of this paper) and Tony Shepherd, the chairman of the ASTRA umbrella body.
The codes want to free up their ability to sell the broadcast rights to a wider range of buyers. As they argue in the letter, as not-for-profit bodies, the rights are critical to their funding. Any lost value is a loss to ultimate stakeholders — the players, participants and clubs from the grassroots community upwards, they argued.
The proposed anti-siphoning list would remove almost all games and events outside Australia except for major ones, like the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, or ones involving Australia like soccer World Cup finals.
But in tennis, only the finals of the Australian Open would be kept for FTA TV. However they would keep the current split between FTA TV and Foxtel for AFL and NRL.
In a concession to the FTA networks, the codes and Foxtel would agree to ending the restriction of FTA broadcasting to the network’s main channel.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/busines...062004737?nk=0dcbe72be362c9ebed062053037d6898
Sporting codes join the great media poker game
Terry McCrann
Herald Sun
September 18, 2014 12:00AM
PAY-TV group Foxtel and all the major sporting codes have forged a historic deal to reform the so-called “anti-siphoning list”.
It brings the sporting codes into this seminal — and seemingly never-ending — battle between Foxtel and the free-to-air networks for control of key content unambiguously on the side of Foxtel.
But it does so by also pointing the way towards a “grand bargain” for total reform of regulation of media in Australia which would also benefit the networks.
Critically, the deal between the codes and Foxtel — jointly owned by Telstra and NewsCorp the parent company of this paper — would keep the core of the anti-siphoning list.
Key events like the AFL and NRL finals and the Melbourne Cup would remain on free-to-air TV.
The present split between FTA-TV and Foxtel of home and away AFL and NRL matches would continue.
But the list would be dramatically reduced. Very few international events would stay. No international tennis or golf; and in the case of the Olympics only the opening and closing ceremonies.
So most other events and sporting seasons which are now ‘hoarded’ by the FTA networks would be freed to enable sporting codes to raise money by selling broadcast rights to Foxtel and, increasingly, other forms of distribution.
What makes this different is that this is the first time that all the major sporting bodies have signed up to a specific and very limited list of events which would be required to be shown on FTA-TV.
Further, they have signed up to that list with Foxtel, Fox Sports, owned by NewsCorp and ASTRA (Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association) the umbrella body.
Further, they have signed up when the all the issues of media regulation in Australia are up for grabs. At core, this is the first play in a much bigger poker game.
A letter urging reform — bluntly, reduction — of the anti-siphoning list was sent to communications minister Malcolm Turnbull last month, in response to his call for submissions.
It was signed by Richard Freudenstein, the CEO of Foxtel; Patrick Delaney, CEO of Fox Sports; and Tony Shepherd, the chairman of ASTRA. They were joined by Gillon McLachlan, the CEO of the AFL; David Smith, the CEO of the NRL; Bill Pulver, CEO of Australian Rugby Union; David Gallop, CEO of Football Federation Australia; James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia; Craig Tilley, CEO of Tennis Australia; and Kate Palmer, CEO of Netball Australia.
They all agreed to a series of principles for reforming the anti-siphoning scheme.
THAT the list should be reduced. They stated their list, but were prepared to open it for discussion.
THEY agreed a partial delisting of AFL and NRL matches, keeping four AFL and three NRL matches each week on the list. Crucially, it would be up to the codes to decide which ones.
IF an event was removed from the list, it would stay off for the duration of the next TV rights deal.
The net effect of all this would be to sharply and permanently reduce the number of events reserved for FTA-TV.
It would also mean the list would inevitably shrink over time, because as an event was delisted that would become permanent.
A key part of their proposal is to allow the FTA networks to show listed events on their secondary channels as a matter of network choice.
At the moment, the anti-siphoning regime requires them to be shown on the main channel.
However networks can get dispensation from the minister to move an event to the secondary channel, as they often do with the major overseas golf tournaments for example.
This allows them to ‘game’ the process. First, exercise their right to claim the broadcast; then onsell co-broadcast rights to Foxtel on lucrative (to the network) terms; then get it switched to a secondary FTA channel, so as not to interrupt normal viewing (and ad revenues) on the main channel.
Freudenstein and Delany almost certainly understand there is no way in the world that Turnbull is going to move on the anti-siphoning list in its own; and certainly not to aggressively prune it as they want.
From a political perspective, the last thing this Government wants is another firestorm; and that’s exactly what would erupt from the FTA networks. But there’s equally a political imperative for the government — and Turnbull personally — to craft an attractive win-win deal.
From a policy perspective, changing the anti-siphoning list would be one hand clapping.
Turnbull has to craft a much bigger policy agenda around network reach — allowing the networks to buy their regional affiliates; and the arrival of alternative content distributors as the NBN becomes pervasive across Australia.
What the sporting codes want is very clear — they want to be able to generate competitive tension when they sell their broadcast rights.
At the moment that is severely limited by not just the anti-siphoning list in itself but the way it intersects with the expansion of FTA channels and the scattering of eyeballs across them and all other forms of content consumption.
What Foxtel and Fox Sports want is obvious. More access to quality content; and more direct access rather than getting it via the FTA networks.
What the FTA networks want is more ambiguous. They clearly want to preserve their special access to content. It’s critical not just to eyeballs at particular big event points of time, but in maintaining eyeballs across their regular programming schedules.
This has become both more challenging and more opportunity-creating with the digital multichannelling.
But as we’ve seen with the AFL and NRL rights deals, there are critical win-win opportunities between a network and Foxtel/Fox Sports.
A network can only afford — both in dollar and programming terms — to show a limited number of matches on its main channel; and a secondary channel is not a viable option. There is also the issue of state preference.
Foxtel was critical to resolving all this. Both in providing close to half the dollars and in taking all nine AFL matches live, with only four — by network choice — on FTA-TV.
That was the last negotiation; the next one starts towards the end of the year.
The interesting question is whether Foxtel partners one network or is just the residual broadcaster which ever network gets the core rights.
So the anti-siphoning list is only one part of a potential “grand bargain” for media reform, but it is the critical cutting edge of that reform.
The networks would have to accept the inevitability of the list being sharply pruned — while preserving for them the key events (and the big eyeball numbers) — as the price for getting what they want from Turnbull.
The stumbling block is Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network. It’s not that interested in being freed to buy its regional network. It sees any deal — on both anti-siphoning and reach — as likely to benefit Nine.
While any “grand bargain” could throw Lachlan Murdoch’s Ten Network together with Rupert (and Lachlan) Murdoch’s NewsCorp.
The starting gun on the biggest poker game in town has just been fired.
