Sport on Television – Review of the anti-siphoning scheme

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On 25 November 2010, the government released ‘Sport on Television: A review of the anti-siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital environment’—the report of its review of the anti-siphoning scheme that was conducted in accordance with section 115A of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

The report compiles and analyses all the issues and comments raised by members of the public and stakeholders in the course of the public submission process that was conducted in 2009.

The review of the anti-siphoning scheme was initiated by the release of a discussion paper 'Sport on television: a review of the anti-siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital environment' on 20 August 2009 by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.

The government encouraged members of the public to obtain a copy of this paper and submit their comments on the effectiveness and appropriateness of the anti-siphoning scheme.

The submission period closed on Friday 16 October 2009. Over 330 submissions were received and all publishable submissions are available to view on the department’s website.

Sport on television—reforms to the anti-siphoning scheme

The government has considered the issues raised in submissions to the review and in consultation with stakeholders, and has announced reforms to the anti-siphoning scheme. These reforms will ensure that all Australians continue to have access to events of national importance and cultural significance via free-to-air television.

Further detail on the announced reforms is provided in the following documents:

On 22 December 2010, the Minister made a new anti-siphoning list to ensure continuity of the anti-siphoning scheme until such time as the government's reforms are fully implemented.