Senator Jacqui Lambie has slammed the federal government over potential amendments to anti-siphoning laws which could jeopardise access to free sport for millions of Australians.
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) bill 2023 currently prevents streaming services such as Amazon, Apple, and Disney from buying exclusive “broadcast rights” to major sporting events, including the AFL, NRL and Olympics.
However, the government is currently considering a new bill that would only guarantee free sport access for Australians with an aerial TV.
The digital rights would be up for grabs, meaning those who don’t own an aerial TV but rather watch their favourite sports on free video-on-demand services including 7plus, 9Now and 10Play would be shut out.
Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, Lambie said the government’s proposed changes presented a “big problem” and all Australians had a right to “see what is free”.
“We’re already seeing this with Amazon buying exclusive rights to the ICC cricket tournaments including the next Cricket World Cup,” she said.
“You should not have to have a subscription to watch Aussie sport! Is the government really suggesting that you have to be cashed up to watch Aussie sport?”
Lambie said the bill should require free broadcast and digital streaming rights be offered to a free-to-air broadcaster before the sports event could be acquired by a company such as Netflix or Amazon.
“The bill stops subscription services like Amazon, Apple and Disney from buying exclusive broadcast rights, but it doesn’t guarantee the availability of free coverage for the increasing number of Australians who rely on the internet for free TV,” she said.
The prominence aspect of the new bill, which is supposed to ensure consumers can easily find and access free video-on-demand apps on smart TVs, has also been called into question.
If the bill is passed as it stands, manufacturers of smart TVs will have to meet minimum prominence requirements for new devices supplied to the Australian market, making free streaming services like ABC iview, SBS, 7plus and 9Now easier to find.
In a joint statement, executives from free-to-air networks Seven, Nine, and Ten called on the government to apply the rules retrospectively.
“The industry … wants the government to apply the prominence framework to TV sets already in the market,” they said.
The networks also launched a new advertising campaign — Free Sport Is On The Line — to lobby for the federal government to amend its proposed changes to the bill.
Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer Jeff Howard said the government needed to do more to recognise the changing way Australians watched TV.
“It must recognise the way people watch sport is changing and extend the amendments to the anti-siphoning regime to include free streaming,” Howard said.
“(The problem) is very simple, the bill only guarantees free sports for Australians who have an aerial. It does not guarantee people will get free sport if they choose to stream it over the internet.
“No aerial is going to mean no access to free sport … the clock is ticking as people increasingly use the internet to watch sport, they are going to have to pay unless the government acts now.”
More information can be found at Free TV Australia’s Free For Everyone website.