Every few years the anti-siphoning legislation comes up for renewal, and the current version of the legislation is set to expire in April:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/free-to-air-sport-anti-siphoning-2021-2
This is a potential issue for many problems.
Firstly, as a sports fan, if the scheme isn't renewed, it could see more sport going behind a paywall, which means having to pay more to access the content. Not ideal when you are on a part time wage.
As an academic, this could emaciate Australian culture, as less people have access to sport, which is a large part of our culture.
As a researcher, this is a massive problem for my thesis, because large parts of the data are based on the anti-siphoning scheme, meaning the data will become obsolete if the scheme is abandoned.
Given the neoliberal disposition of the Liberal government, I have no confidence they will renew anti-siphoning, as it’s a market protection. They will also argue that consumers are now comfortable paying for content (i.e., look at the market penetration of Netflix! etc.), and that competition in the market place benefits sports.
Sports organisations are also likely to support the scheme not being renewed, as it allows them to realise true value for their rights.
Ughh...
No comments:
Post a Comment