Federal poll to stall broadcast rights talks JON PIERIK
July 17, 2010 DISCUSSIONS over a new broadcast rights deal are set to be delayed further, with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou not expecting the federal government's revised anti-siphoning list to be released until after the federal election.
The list governs which key sporting events must appear on free-to-air TV first, with the government reportedly expecting a backlash from Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd if there is not a relaxation in laws that would allow its pay TV company, Foxtel, to bid for sports.
Under the anti-siphoning list, Foxtel cannot bid for its own product. It bought its four weekly AFL games from networks Seven and Ten.
With the election expected to be called as early as today, Demetriou said the AFL would be ready to work with a returned Labor government or a new Liberal leadership.
''It just defers [the discussions],'' he said yesterday. ''We can understand that. There is probably going to be an election announced shortly.
''We have worked pretty closely with the federal government and we'll work with whatever government is in office.''
The government's delay in releasing the list, which expires on December 31, has frustrated broadcasters.
It's been almost a year since the initial discussion paper on anti-siphoning laws was made public.
A spokeswoman for federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy last night refused to elaborate, saying only: ''The government is considering its response to the review of the anti-siphoning scheme and will respond in due course''.
In recent broadcast rights deals with the AFL, networks had known a year before the contracts had expired just who had won the rights.
This time, for the 2012-16 period, that might not be possible, particularly if a Liberal government was to return to power and begin, as some insiders believe, an extensive review of Conroy's work.
''In normal circumstances, we would be well into the discussions,'' Demetriou said.
''We have had discussions with the broadcasters. We will continue to have dialogue. [But] we won't be losing any sleep.
''We are still confident in our product, confident in our preparation and we are confident we will have competition, so, let the election go ahead, and regardless of who is in power, we'll deal with our rights in the appropriate manner.''
The broadcast rights deal is also central to discussions on a new collective bargaining agreement between the AFL and its players.
Channels Seven, Ten and Foxtel paid a total $780 million to secure the broadcast rights until the end of the 2011 season.
The AFL started negotiations with Ten and Seven late last year but talks were soon put on hold because of the uncertainty over the anti-siphoning list.
The AFL's chief operating officer, Gillon McLachlan, has publicly said he would ''like to think they [the rights] would be worth a billion dollars'', a claim backed by prominent media buyer Harold Mitchell.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/federal-poll-to-stall-broadcast-rights-talks-20100716-10ec6.html
