The mobile telecommunications industry is strongly opposed to the extension of the anti-siphoning scheme in its current or any revised form to new media platforms, AMTA has told the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE).

The anti-siphoning scheme is currently being reviewed. The Sport on Television Review will assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the anti siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital television environment. AMTA responded to DBCDE discussion paper: ‘A Review of the Anti-Siphoning Scheme in the Contemporary Digital Environment’

AMTA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Althaus, said the industry understands that the current regime is in place to ensure that sports of national significance can be enjoyed by all Australians.

As summarised by the Productivity Commission in its recent review of regulatory burdens, the objective of the regime is to “prevent major sporting events from being siphoned off by Subscription Television (STV) to the detriment of free-to-air (FTA) viewers”.

“As the DBCDE recognises, since the inception of the anti-siphoning regime there has been a major shift in how Australian consumers engage, watch and interact with content that was traditionally delivered only via FTA networks,” he said.

“For example, 35 per cent of Australian households now have subscription television services. There have also been improvements to the capacity and speed of mobile and fixed broadband networks to accommodate the delivery of video services. And Australian consumers can expect to enjoy and benefit from more new and innovative services in the next few years, with increased access to a broader range of mobile television and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).

“It is AMTA’s view that for the foreseeable future FTA and STV will remain the overwhelmingly dominant platforms for provision of sporting content in Australia. Sport content accessed through new media platforms such as those highlighted in the Discussion Paper is, and is likely to remain complementary rather than a substitute to

consumers’ FTA or STV television viewing.

“It is also AMTA’s view that new media platforms are still in early development and must be provided the opportunity to grow and evolve without the burden of regulation that would, in effect, simply stifle innovation and protect the strongest players. In fact, the Discussion Paper indicates that, ‘there is little evidence that sporting events are being exclusively siphoned to new technology platforms’.”