Introduction

Sport is an important part of Australian culture. Almost two-thirds of the population (66 per cent or 10.5 million people) aged 15 years and over participate in sport or recreational activities each year, and of this proportion, around one-third (29 per cent or 4.7 million people) participate in sport twice per week.[1]

At a grassroots level, there are around 26 000 local sporting clubs across the country.[2]

Australians are keen followers of sport on television. As the following table shows, the 10 most popular programs on free-to-air television in 2008 were all sporting events. The audience for every event below was greater than the audience for the most popular non sports program in 2008.

Table 1: 10 most popular sports programs on free-to-air television in 2008

Source: OzTAM

Sports coverage on pay television is also very popular among Australian audiences and, hence, a major subscription driver. Table 2 on page 3 shows the 10 most popular programs on pay television in 2008, nine of which were sports-related.

Table 2: 10 most popular programs on pay television in 2008

Source: OzTAM

The pay television sector in Australia offers subscribers access to a range of dedicated sports channels which are provided through various channel packages. Sports channels include Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3, Fox Sports News, ESPN, TVN, Fuel TV, Nat Geo Adventure, Sky Racing and Euro Sport. Subscribers can also choose to pay to watch particular one-off sports events on pay-per-view channels such as Main Event.

The anti-siphoning scheme was introduced in 1994 to ensure that television coverage of events of national importance and cultural significance was not siphoned off exclusively to pay television. In the 15 years since the scheme was introduced, the scope and nature of television broadcasting in Australia has changed substantially.

Australia’s transition to free-to-air digital television is well advanced, with 91 per cent of Australian households now able to access all the national and commercial digital services licensed for their area. As at first quarter 2009, 47 per cent of households have converted their main television to digital. The full conversion to digital by December 2013 and the closure of analog broadcasts is a policy priority for the Australian Government.

Pay television has also grown substantially since the first services began in 1995, with 2.2 million households as at first quarter 2009 subscribing to a pay television service. Pay television has also successfully completed its own transition to digital.

The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the Act) requires the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy to conduct a review of the following aspects of the anti siphoning scheme before 31 December 2009:

• the operation of the anti-siphoning scheme and whether it should be amended or repealed
• the operation of the licence condition on pay television operators restricting access to anti siphoning listed events (listed events) and whether it should be amended or repealed
• the operation of the restrictions on commercial television broadcasters in relation to listed events on standard definition and high definition multi channels and whether these should be amended or repealed.

The anti-siphoning scheme was previously reviewed in 2001 by the then Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA). In December 2000, the then Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Richard Alston, directed the ABA to investigate which events should be removed or added to the anti-siphoning list and the dates on which protection should expire for events on the list. In conducting its investigation, the ABA was to have regard to the policy that an event should be included on the anti-siphoning list if the event has been consistently broadcast by free-to-air television broadcasters in the previous five years.

The ABA report of its investigation, Investigation into Events on the Anti-Siphoning List: Report to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, was publicly released in August 2001. The ABA recommended, among other things, that a number of events be removed from the anti-siphoning list on the basis of their not being broadcast consistently in the previous five years, and recommended certain other events that had grown in popularity be added to the list. The ABA also recommended that the list not run longer than five years. In addition, the ABA suggested the anti-siphoning scheme be reviewed in the context of digital television arrangements.

The Productivity Commission reviewed the anti-siphoning scheme as part of its March 2000 Broadcasting Inquiry Report, and also more recently as part of its June 2009 draft research report Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business: Social and Economic Infrastructure Services.

This discussion paper

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that sporting events of cultural significance and national importance can be made freely available to the Australian public.

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is releasing this paper as part of the anti-siphoning review. The paper is intended to stimulate public debate about the scheme and inform the Minister’s considerations of the effectiveness and appropriateness of the anti-siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital television and sports rights environment. The paper is not intended to indicate a preference by the Australian Government for any particular aspect of the scheme or any particular change. This paper is in seven parts.

Part one outlines the regulatory framework for the scheme. This includes the process for listing an event on the anti-siphoning list, removing an event from the list (de-listing), the licence condition on pay television providers, the prohibition on premiering listed events on digital free-to-air
multi-channels, and the role of the anti-hoarding arrangements.

Part two considers what sporting events are currently on the anti-siphoning list and the rationale for adding or removing an event from the list.

Part three looks at other countries with schemes similar to Australia’s anti-siphoning scheme. This includes schemes in Europe such as those of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark and Finland. Part three also looks at overseas countries that do not have schemes that are similar to Australia’s anti-siphoning scheme, including the United States and New Zealand.

Part four of the paper summarises current levels of free-to-air television coverage of sports, including live coverage and delayed coverage.

Part five considers digital free-to-air multi-channels in the context of the anti-siphoning scheme, particularly the current prohibition on premiering events on the anti-siphoning list on digital free to-air multi-channels.

Part six of the paper explores the anti-siphoning scheme in the context of new media, such as the internet and internet-enabled mobile phones, and the way the owners of rights to televise sporting events are increasingly turning to new media platforms to provide sports coverage and content.

Part seven outlines issues relating to the anti-siphoning scheme on which comment is sought.

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Health and Ageing data for 2007.

[2] Ibid.