http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/twenty20-set-for-tv-protection/story-e6frg996-1225852468423
Twenty20 cricket set for TV protection
James Chessell From:
The Australian April 12, 2010 12:00AM
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy Source: The Australian
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy is expected to add Twenty20 cricket to the anti-siphoning list of "protected" sports and may introduce a "B List" for digital multi-channels as part of final negotiations between the federal government and media companies.
It is believed that international Twenty20 games played in Australia will be one of the few sporting events to be added to the list -- which gives free-to-air television networks a tight grip on 12 sports and more than 1300 events.
A proposal to include one game a week of A-League soccer is losing momentum.
There was speculation that the new anti-siphoning regulations would finally be revealed last Friday, but government and media sources said an announcement had been pushed back as the main football codes, as well as free-to-air and pay-television, continued to debate the final details.
Senator Conroy has made it clear that the general thrust of the regulations will be retained -- arguing that it is good public policy to have mainstream sports shown on a medium that reaches all Australians. Recent negotiations have concentrated on potential omissions and additions to the list which already includes sports such as AFL, NRL and the Australian Open tennis.
News Limited and Consolidated Media, which own 25 per cent each in pay-TV company Foxtel, have lobbied the government to relax the laws, arguing that free-to-air networks have abused the protection by holding back or interrupting sports broadcasts. However, they are resigned to securing relatively minor concessions. News Limited is also publisher of The Australian.
Potential concessions include tighter "use it or lose it" provisions and the removal of early rounds of the French, US Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments, as well as the US Masters and British Open golf events.
Tensions between the government and the pay-TV industry were raised earlier this year when Senator Conroy announced he would give commercial free-to-air networks more than $250 million in licence fee rebates this year and next year. The revenue boost comes at a good time for the metro networks Seven, Nine and Ten, which enjoyed an 11 per cent jump the advertising market for the first three months of this year, according to data by research group SMI.
Telstra, which owns the other 50 per cent of Foxtel, is privately critical of what it believes is the government's favourable treatment of free-to-air networks but the telco has been consumed by its negotiations with Senator Conroy over the national broadband network.
The rising popularity of Twenty20 cricket has all but ensured it will be added to the list. It is believed Ten Network Holdings, which owns digital sports channel One, was keen to include at least one game of A-League on the list but Foxtel has argued that any non-exclusive arrangement will reduce the amount it will be able to bid for the broadcast rights.
The government is also believed to be considering an "A list" and "B list" as part of transitional arrangements in the lead up to the final switchover to digital television in December 2013.
Free-to-air networks are not permitted to show sport on the list on digital channels but, under the proposal, would be allowed to show sport on the B list on the multi-channels. This could include, for example, rugby league games broadcast in Melbourne.
Marquee sports such as the AFL and NRL grand final or the Melbourne Cup would remain restricted to the primary channels by sitting on the A list.
Regular season AFL and NRL games have been the subject of fierce debate. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has asked that four out of eight games each round be omitted from the list to maximise the revenue he can generate from the upcoming broadcast rights negotiations.
At present, four AFL games each round are shown on Fox Sports, the Foxtel sports channel, which is 50 per cent owned by News Limited and 50 per cent owned by Consolidated Media.
Free-to-air executives, including Seven boss David Leckie, have opposed the proposal, arguing that some games may not be shown in local markets if Foxtel is allowed to bid directly. The AFL effectively gives free-to-air television the best four games.
