Free TV counts Nine Entertainment (the publisher of The Australian Financial Review), Seven West Media and Network 10 among its members.
“We all know that there is a significant loophole in the current [anti-siphoning] Laws that do not protect these events from being put behind a paywall via streamers,” Mr Hywood said.
Important for Australians
“We’ve come close to that [Morrison] government during the campaign and we really got stuck even though the AFL was on a plane. If the coalition had won the talks would have been more difficult than with the Labor government.”
Seven West Media chief executive James Warburton said it was disappointing that the Morrison government had taken the anti-siphoning issue to the extreme.
“Right now there are multiple rights in the market, the Olympics, the AFL and other things. They’re pretty basic sports – it’s important that Australians have the right to watch them for free,” he said.
“It’s important that it is protected and modernized because the legislation is quite old compared to how far the industry has come.”
Mr Hywood also welcomed the reassurance surrounding the Communications Secretary, noting that Labor leader Anthony Albanese had pledged during the election that Ms Rowland would run the communications portfolio if they won the election.
Michelle Rowland, spokeswoman for labor communications. Alex Ellinghausen
“We’ve worked with Ms. Rowland for a long time and she’s knowledgeable on all subjects,” he said.
Ms Rowland, the Greenway MP, was Shadow Deputy Secretary for Communications from 2013 to 2015 and has returned to the portfolio as Shadow Secretary since 2016.
Mr Warburton said he was looking forward to working with Ms Rowland, describing her as “extraordinary” with a “very deep understanding of the media sector”.
Mr Warburton expects the new Labor government to be positive for the industry, noting that the industry “has received the strongest engagement from the Labor government during the election campaign, particularly in terms of prominence and anti-siphoning – this are the two main themes that we see the landscape”.
Labor also pledged to pass legislation to ensure free-to-air TV services are easy to find on connected or smart TVs, something the industry describes as prominence, an issue on which the coalition had set up just one working group.
most urgent problem
“The Labor Government has been vocal in supporting the local media sector so it can compete and thrive,” said Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president of Paramount Australia and New Zealand.
“Celebrity is the most pressing regulatory issue facing our industry and Australian audiences and we are grateful that this will be a top priority for the Government.
“It is evident that the Government understands the unprecedented value of local free-to-air services such as Network 10 and 10 Play as focal points for all Australians, so we are confident there will be no delays in ensuring this becomes an important public policy completed this year.”
Mike Sneesby, Chief Executive of Nine Entertainment, said he looked forward to the Labor Government implementing its prominence and anti-siphoning policies, “both of which have a significant positive impact on the free availability of Australian news, sport and entertainment will”.
“We look forward to working with Michelle Rowland and [arts spokesman] Tony Burke on other issues from her portfolio that are also important for the future of media for all Australians and for our business,” he said.
The Morrison administration has been commended for its achievements in media reform, particularly its efforts in regulating digital platforms and implementing the world’s leading media negotiation code, which resulted in trade deals worth approximately US$200 million between Google and Meta. Dollar have been signed, as well as a variety of Australian news publisher.
“You have shown great leadership with the Code of Negotiations,” Mr Hywood said.
“This has been truly critical to the continued health of journalism in this country and without their intervention, publishers and broadcasters would be significantly worse off financially than they are, which would have meant there would have been less funding for quality journalism. Journalism holds ours Community open and transparent.”
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