Television's future being decided in Canberra

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Matabele link said:
5pm here in Brisbane, with the Aussies about to bat, and Channel 9 go to Antiques Roadshow.  Bugger free to air.  They don't deserve their monopoly on sport when they treat the product so shoddily.

We got the news so perfect timing in Sydney. Serves you right for not having daylight savings...heard it had something to do with the cows up there?
 
I'm definitely on the pro-pay TV side.

FTA is a wasteland of lowbrow swill to keep the masses gauking, other than ABC & SBS that is.

I'd much rather have the History channel & BBC knowledge to go with my guarenteed 8 games of Rugby League per round.

I thought Nein cutting the cricket at six for the news in Sydney was a poor effort but what Mata said they pulled in the Vegas is a disgrace. They have no interest in honouring their commitments, they just want things so nobody else can have them. 7 & 10 are no better.

Paying for TV is just like paying to become a footy club member. It's a change that people are kicking & screaming about now but over time it'll become just the way things are done if you don't want to miss out. I'm sure if you think back 10 - 15 years you'll remember attitudes about the internet & mobile phones in the same way. Now they're just a cost of living. Even people on the dole have a mobile.

Jono, Australia were batting while the news was on. Fcuk Nein !!!
 
Free to air is terrible
FNF game 2 QLD vs whoever always has 15minute ****ing adds
They cut the cricket here for the news......
Sunday games are a ****ing one hour delay which makes an impact on my downloads thanks to having to stream the game because i cannot sit here and not stair at the NRL website while i wait for that fake live game
Car racing is just as bad,there were a billion adds on during bathurst

**** FTA for sports coverage,infact foxtel should get all the rights to all sports for a non negotiable price consistent across the football codes
increasing by 3% every 2 years starting at $800k,if NEIN cant fit live sport into their agenda they can **** off,ive had it

Foxtel should then make a sports only package,say $20ish a month which gives fox sports 1,2 and 3 + ESPN,the other channels can be on a higher package

I dont give a flying **** about what would be considered a monopoly,Free to air has had its chance and failed disgracefully
 
New sport broadcast rules divvy up games
James Chessell From: The Australian November 26, 2010

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/new-sport-broadcast-rules-divvy-up-games/story-e6frg996-1225961148340



NEW anti-siphoning rules governing sports broadcasting for the first time compel broadcasters to show "iconic" events live.

The new rules, unveiled by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy yesterday, also give pay-TV the ability to bid directly for some key NRL and AFL matches.

But the fierce lobbying from media groups and sporting codes in the lead-up to yesterday's announcement is far from over, with the government yet to resolve the key issue of how key football games will be divided between pay-TV and free-to-air channels.

The new rules were generally greeted positively by interested parties, despite concerns about the length and substance of the negotiating process, which had been going for more than a year.

"I think the minister has approached this sensibly and left us all equally unhappy, which from a government point of view is probably the right outcome," said David Gyngell, chief executive of Nine Network-owner PBL Media.


The biggest change announced by Senator Conroy is to divide up the list, which prevents pay-TV from bidding directly for certain sporting events, into an A-list of iconic sports -- such as the Melbourne Cup or NRL grand final -- and a B-list of events including regular AFL games and non-finals Australian Open tennis matches.

Events on the A-list must be shown live, and in full, while events on the second list can be shown on the digital multi-channels. Senator Conroy argued this would give the FTA networks flexibility to, for example, broadcast NRL games live into Melbourne, rather than on delay.

Some sports, such as Twenty20 cricket internationals played in Australia and Socceroos World Cup qualifiers, will be added to the A-list, while others, such as non-Australian group matches of the Rugby World Cup, have been removed.

For the first time, Foxtel (25 per cent-owned by News Limited, publisher of The Australian) will be able to bid directly for the four AFL games and five NRL games it presently broadcasts each round. The change is designed to increase bidding tension for upcoming sports-rights negotiations.

But before Canberra de-lists the football games, it intends to "finalise a mechanism to protect the quality of games on free-to-air".

Exactly what this mechanism is remains a point of contention among the media companies and sporting codes. Foxtel said it was "disappointed (the games) which are not shown on FTA, are not being removed from the list, without need for additional agreements, as the sports codes have offered perfectly adequate guarantees that the best games will stay on FTA".

It is believed the NRL and AFL agree with this sentiment -- arguing they are best placed to ensure a good spread of games -- although both were broadly supportive of the new package.

"Today's decision more closely reflects what people actually watch but, importantly, it takes away the constraints on our ability to negotiate the best outcome for the clubs, the players and the fans," NRL chief David Gallop said.

AFL chief operating officer Gill McLachlan repeated a commitment that popular games, such as Friday night matches, would remain on FTA while South Australian and West Australian team games would be played on FTA in those states.
 
I don't have Fox/Austar because I am renting and to get anything approved is just too much trouble, and generally the contract terms and installation costs for satellite connection are too high. I am sure a lot of others would have the same circumstances so it does mean that many just miss out.

I'm not unhappy with that as I get together with Manly supporters for games that aren't FTA at a local club and that has been a pretty good experience.

The new Telstra T-Box, for those with them, is good value @ $12 a month but it is net streamed. I had a very close look at the connections of this unit and it isn't simple to route games through other devices for those who want to record them permanently.

I am one who is pretty fed up with FTA and the delayed telecasts and the whole package they provide. Pay-for-view, despite the costs, is much better and is the way it is all headed. The way PFV create their packages is extremely annoying as they seem constructed to push most people into the top package. I do watch a huge amount of movies, and these days I am spending money on buying disks rather than a subscription, and I have interests other than just sport. I will be going back to PFV when I next move.
 
I couldn't live here in WA without fox sports.
Every Manly game, every single week during the season. I can't ask for more than that and I'm happy to keep paying for that privilege.
 
It will be interesting to see how the announced requirement that all A level sports that the FTA networks have bought the rights to, they must LIVE and IN FULL.

Eg. The Ashes for here and UK, last night they cut the telecast at the usual 6pm when play went on well past that. How often has Nein only shown sessions 2 & 3 for the UK games, cause they have some ****ty reality crap, or the 20th repeat of a crap US comedy to show earlier.

Only the NRL GF is listed as A level though, the other finals and regular games are B level which have less requirements, but can be shown on secondary digital channels.
 
Viewers beware: devil in detail of anti-siphoning changes
Roy Masters
November 27, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/viewers-beware-devil-in-detail-of-antisiphoning-changes-20101126-18amp.html

THE federal government's changes to the anti-siphoning list are being promulgated as a victory for free-to-air TV but the devil is in the detail for the viewer.

The fine print reveals Channel Nine can continue to show NRL games on delay, including treating Victorian fans with contempt by screening them after midnight, while the AFL can now sell their third- and fourth-best games to pay TV.

Three NRL games and four AFL games have been quarantined from pay TV on the government's B list where games can be shown up to four hours on delay on free-to-air, including a network's high-definition multi-channels.

Advertisement: Story continues below
Based on Channel Nine's past programming of rugby league, its two Friday night matches will be flip-flopped, allowing the network to load up the delayed telecast on its prime channel with commercials.

It is unlikely Nine would show either game on its digital channels, which are aimed at a non-sports demographic.

This means Melbourne fans will continue to see the NRL's best two games in the early hours.

Of course, the NRL can insist in its next broadcasting contract scheduled, to begin in 2013, that these games be telecast live into the developing states on the digital channels.

More than a decade ago, the then Melbourne Storm executive director John Ribot protested to the NRL over Nine showing movies in Victoria when its contract stated it should be screening rugby league.

Nothing was done then, and nothing is likely to happen in the future when the broadcaster flouts the rules.

The AFL has been busy promoting the fact Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has insisted their best two games be shown on Friday nights and Saturday nights.

But there has been no comment on the quality of the other two games shown on free-to-air TV.

Foxtel has demanded matches involving top clubs, such as Collingwood and Essendon, in preference to the four passed on by incumbent rights holders, Seven and Ten.

Subscription rates in Victoria are significantly below the national average, and Foxtel argues it needs better games to force fans to sign up.

Foxtel, now allowed to bid directly for four games a week, will pay handsomely for better games when the next contract begins in 2012.

And the AFL needs this extra money to finance its two new clubs, Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants.

Senator Conroy has allowed himself some wriggle room by saying cabinet must approve a ''mechanism'' by which games are shared between pay and free-to-air TV.

Significantly, Foxtel has been reported as opposed to government involvement, obviously confident the AFL will schedule matches to suit the money they have paid.

Earlier this year, the Herald reported Foxtel would be awarded the AFL's third- and fourth-best picks each round but this was denied.

The AFL schedules matches a year in advance but they can allocate two matches to one time and then schedule them to suit the broadcaster.

The NRL allocates matches according to the broadcasters' wishes, first in a six-week block, then an 11-week block, ending the regular season with a four-week block.

Only the two Friday night matches are scheduled simultaneously, allowing Brisbane to watch a Queensland team live and Sydney to see a NSW team live, before swapping them.

It means Nine can choose matches that reflect the teams' positions on the NRL ladder.

In reality, Nine prefers the Broncos, Dragons, Bulldogs and Eels, irrespective of their form.

NRL chief executive David Gallop favours the AFL type fixed season draw, allowing clubs to schedule corporate functions a year ahead.

It is likely the NRL will auction matches at the next TV contract in terms of how much a network will pay for a flexible season draw versus a fixed season draw.

Free-to-air broadcasters will pay more for flexibility. Guess which contract will be accepted.

The loopholes allowed under the anti-siphoning changes threaten to maintain the status quo in rugby league, and disadvantage the AFL fan.
 

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