Keeping Sport On Free-to-air

[Maple]

If you're interested read on....

A new marketing campaign has come along to keep sport (all sport we currently enjoy) available on free to air TV. The following is from a website set up for this campaign:

Watching sport on free-to-air TV is something most of us take for granted; unlike in many countries, Australians dont have to pay to watch major sporting events. The reason for this is the anti-siphoning list. The anti-siphoning list was established by the Federal Government to ensure the broadcast rights for major sporting events could not be bought exclusively by pay TV. To view a copy of the anti-siphoning list click here.
The list is currently under review.
Despite the fact the list has clearly and consistently delivered on its public policy objectives, the pay TV industry is lobbying for changes which would force Australian viewers to pay for sport they currently watch for free.
We believe sport on Free TV is too good to lose.

Sports fans are encouraged to respond to the Government's review of the anti-siphoning list and help keep sport on TV free. For a copy of the Government's "Sport on Television" discussion paper click here. The deadline for submissions is 4pm, Friday 16th October, 2009.

You can also Sign Our Online Petition.

Have a look, have a think, then RDWHAHB while you cast your voice, either with signing, or not.

One of the things I love about Oz is the sport. it's not just for foxtel.... it's for everyone! (it could be your son/daughter/niece/nephew playing one day)

 

[Bubba Q]

Im all for free sport, but it works both ways. If the commercial stations want the right to telecast a sport then they should damn well do it.

I am currently living in Melbourne and if I want to watch the NRL on a Friday night I have to stay up until about 4am to watch both games because channel 9 refuses to start screening them before midnight. Channel 9 dont even show their Sunday game down here at all.

If foxtel came along and got the rights to the NRL and screened every game live (or on a slight delayed telecast) then I would have no problem handing over the cash to see it. I would be extremely pissed off if all the rights were given to 9 and they continued to jerk around.

 

[Nath151]

I believe that if the commercial channels cant show the games LIVE then let another channel show it
if it be pay TV or another commercial channel

Take the Friday night NRL games
if fox shows one game live and channel 9 shows the other live then swap
then people can choose which they want to watch first

 

[bum]

If you object to this, vote with your wallet and don't pay for tv.

 

[Ivan Other One]

I signed the petition. and wrote the below comment in the optional message box.


"Keeping sport on TV free will give our young Australians the dreams that one day they may become our next heroes."

I do hope that all folks who read this thread will do the same.

 

[gregs]

I'm all for free sport, but it works both ways. If the commercial stations want the right to telecast a sport then they should damn well do it.

I am currently living in Melbourne and if I want to watch the NRL on a Friday night I have to stay up until about 4am to watch both games because channel 9 refuses to start screening them before midnight. Channel 9 don't even show their Sunday game down here at all.

If foxtel came along and got the rights to the NRL and screened every game live (or on a slight delayed telecast) then I would have no problem handing over the cash to see it. I would be extremely pissed off if all the rights were given to 9 and they continued to jerk around.

Channel 9 jerks everyone around, thank Christ they don't have the V8's because they can't manage the F1.

 

[MarkBastard]

I only really watch the NRL as far as popular team sports go.

Channel 9 hate the team I go for and never televise the games. So I have Foxtel.

Channel 9 are constantly failing the Rugby League fans. They constantly fail to show big games live. They constantly fail to show games at reasonable times into Melbourne (not that I live in Melbourne, but I know a lot of people are put out).

These guys are a massive corporation that want the government to help them out. They keep the royalties for the sports we love artificially low and in consequence the salary caps are low and then we fail to retain our good players.

I hate these guys and to think the nerve they have to try and cry poor and start a grass roots campaign. Absolutely incredible.

If they want the rights they can pay the correct price for them just like they should.

 

[raven19]

I hope they keep what little sport there is left on free to air.

I'd rather buy more grain and hops than pay for foxtel...

 

[tcraig20]

Sport these days is a business. Unfortunately, like any business, the only real way to show your displeasure is abstinence.

 

[manticle]

I have mixed feelings on this.

I don't have pay TV and I do think that premium sporting events should be on free to air. However the current marketting campaign is little more than a desperate grab to save advertising revenue and the point (very pertinent) that was previously made about actually showing the sports you have the rights to strikes a chord.

Anyone remember the first year Channel 9 got the rights to show the world cup? They cut it into (from memory) 13 games - the games they decided were the most exciting and obviously ratings winning. Forget the fact that SBS had been showing the entire competition for free for years completely live with later highlights and analysis etc. Some commercial marketting ning nong decided all we needed to see was Italy, germany and Brazil and some 2 minute highlights before the news.

I'm all for keeping it free but the F2A commercial networks need to show they actually give a shit about sports fans.

 

[bum]

We all know there is a 24 hour f2a sports station now, right?

Man, I can't wait for the Highland Games coverage!

 

[Ivan Other One]

I only really watch the NRL as far as popular team sports go.

Channel 9 hate the team I go for and never televise the games. So I have Foxtel.

Channel 9 are constantly failing the Rugby League fans. They constantly fail to show big games live. They constantly fail to show games at reasonable times into Melbourne (not that I live in Melbourne, but I know a lot of people are put out).

:icon_offtopic:
Not to mention the so-so comentary and the cameras showing what is going on off the field whilst you miss out on the game in play. :angry:

It's no wonder with this going on as well as poor refereeing, the game is loosing fans.

In rugby league country, I am growing to like AFL more and more every day.

That said, Lets keep the sport thats on free to air TV where it is.

 

[O'Henry]

I signed the petition. and wrote the below comment in the optional message box.


"Keeping sport on TV free will give our young Australians the dreams that one day they may become our next heroes."

I do hope that all folks who read this thread will do the same.

This is a great point I didn't even think of.

While I don't watch much sport, I do watch most finals and love the cricket. SBS's coverage recently of the Ashes tour was fantastic, as far as I could tell (the analysis seemed pretty good), and it would be sad to see that disappear. If it came down to it, I would choose making beer over foxtel. Infact, I would choose milkshakes over foxtel. That is a lot of milkshakes...

 

[MarkBastard]

:icon_offtopic:
Not to mention the so-so comentary and the cameras showing what is going on off the field whilst you miss out on the game in play. :angry:

It's no wonder with this going on as well as poor refereeing, the game is loosing fans.

In rugby league country, I am growing to like AFL more and more every day.

That said, Lets keep the sport thats on free to air TV where it is.

Yeah one of my pet annoyances is when they'll just show someone on the side of the field for no reason, perhaps because it's Lockyer, but at the expense of the actual game. Then something will happen in the game that we missed, and so they'll show a replay, but that replay itself makes us miss even more of the game! Grrrr! Channel Nein can F.O.

Rugby League isn't losing fans though. It's actually gaining fans at a decent rate, more than other sports.

 

[technocat]

I'm all for free sport, but it works both ways. If the commercial stations want the right to telecast a sport then they should damn well do it.
I am currently living in Melbourne and if I want to watch the NRL on a Friday night I have to stay up until about 4am to watch both games because channel 9 refuses to start screening them before midnight. Channel 9 don't even show their Sunday game down here at all.

After living in Sydney for 26 years I am a avid fan of NRL and AFL quite frankly bores me shitless.
I now live in Tassie and get bombarded with AFL with very little mention of NRL in any type media.
Win channel 9 Is supposed to be the wide world of sport but on the contrary it is very narrow so
consequently one has to record games in the small hours of the morning. Even showcase games such as Origin are put on the back burner with some preceding crap movie given preference. One thing about recording a game if you can get one, is the fast forward feature to cut out the mind numbing ads which
are of a standard that would make anyone brain dead.

:blink:

 

[MarkBastard]

That's the other thing I hate, the first game in Friday night football is usually very good coverage, so you're still in a footy mood and start watching the second one, but it's chock full of ads to the point where it's barely watchable.

 

[technocat]

I would like to get hold of the guy in the crowd and wring his neck for getting as close as he can to the commentary box and bellows every 60 seconds like a horny bull.

:angry:

 

[MarkBastard]

I would like to get hold of the guy in the crowd and wring his neck for getting as close as he can to the commentary box and bellows every 60 seconds like a horny bull.

:angry:

I would like to kill the guy that always takes a trumpet to Knights home games.

I would also like to kill that twat with the 'Good StGeorge Team' sign. What an idiot.

 

[Pennywise]

If I have to pay for tele, I'll listen to the radio instead. Especially with all the freakin' adds on pay tv ATM, which is the reason I got rid of it about 10 years ago. That said, sport on FTA should never be let go, I'll put up with a delay, but FFS it's like charging to walk on the footpath out the front of your house, f**king rediculous.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Sport telecasting is a property, and the bodies that sell them can sell to whoever they want to. However, given that a majority of the country's population don't have Foxtel it is in the interest of the bodies to make sure that a majority of their live coverage is on free to air because they're trying to maximise their audience- that makes sense.

The only problem with anti-siphoning lists is when the rights aren't used- take for example seven's history with soccer rights.