The Federal Government has released details of its new
anti-siphoning policy for sports events on television, which will
now comprise two tiers of sporting events, with different
rules applying to them.

The reforms are the culmination of a review process that started
in August 2009 with the release of a discussion paper, Sport on television: A review of the
anti-siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital
environment.

Tier A events are nationally iconic events such as the Melbourne
Cup, Bathurst 1000 and finals of major Australian tournaments like
the NRL and AFL Premiership. Free-to-air broadcasters must
broadcast these events live and in-full, with limited
exceptions.

Tier B events include the regular games of the AFL and NRL
premierships seasons, and non-finals games of the Australian Open
tennis. Free-to-air broadcasters will be allowed to broadcast these
events on digital multi-channels.

The Government is also introducing new “must-offer”
obligations – once a broadcaster has acquired the right
to anti-siphoning listed events, it must either televise it or
offer it to another free-to-air broadcaster.

The list of events has also been updated, with some new events
added and others removed.  The Government will however not
de-list any NRL or AFL games until a mechanism which protects the
quality of free-to-air games has been settled, so an important part
of the reforms is still not finalised.

The reforms include changes to the anti-siphoning list which
will take effect from 1 January 2011. However until the passage of
legislative amendments the Government intends to introduce in early
2011, the current regulatory regime will apply to the acquisition
and broadcast of these events.

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