‘Free sport is on the line’ is the slogan for a new campaign run by Channels 9, 7 and 10 for sports to be free or everyone to watch.
The broadcasters wanted to amend the Communication Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill, which passed federal parliament yesterday, to include mandated free-to-air sport elements.
The bill gives ‘aerial TV’ channels the opportunity to buy the rights to sport events before they are offered to pay-TV and streaming platforms.
Free TV Australia Chief Executive Officer Bridget Fair said she was disappointed about a few gaps in the bill.
“The rights that need to be offered to free-to-air broadcasters are only the aerial-delivered broadcast rights,” Ms Fair said.
Around 20 per cent of Australians watch their sports on the internet, which is predicted to rise to 50 per cent by 2030.