Free TV Australia has warned that Amazon Prime securing the exclusive rights to the ICC proves warnings that were raised at last week’s Parliamentary Showcase.
At the event in Canberra—attended by TV stars and suits, and politicians, including prime minister Anthony Albanese and communications minister Anika Wells—FreeTV revealed the five areas it was lobbying the government on, including an expansion of anti-siphoning rules to cover streaming rights.
Amazon signed a multi-year broadcasting detail with Amazon Prime in 2023 that makes it the host broadcaster for ICC world cups until 2027.
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair said the deal underlines the need for the Government to fast-track updates to the anti-siphoning rules to protect Australians’ access to live and free sport.
“Just three days after we told parliamentarians that streaming giants pose a real threat to universal free sport access for all Australians, Amazon has proven our point by securing exclusive rights to another major cricket tournament,” Fair said.
“Amazon says it will be making this tournament available for free, but we all know with
Amazon there’s no such thing. Only a tiny minority of Australians are currently Amazon Prime subscribers. This is just a means to grow their subscriber base, acquire user data and upsell. This deal shows how quickly our major sporting events can be snapped up by global streaming platforms that have no obligation to provide universal access.
“The need to close the digital loophole in the anti-siphoning list is more urgent than ever. Global streaming companies are coming for our beloved national sports. We all know how this scenario plays out – offer the event for free until the competition is knocked out and then make everybody pay. Ultimately, Australians will be forced to pay to watch their national teams compete.”
Fair said that current anti-siphoning rules only cover world cup cricket tournaments played in Australia or New Zealand, but not elsewhere.
“With families already struggling with cost-of-living pressures, we cannot allow access to our great sporting moments to depend on which subscription services Australians can afford. The anti-siphoning rules must be updated to ensure free access whether
Australians choose to watch on broadcast television or free BVOD services,” she said.
Anti-siphoning laws are not the only issue that Free TV is actively lobbying. FreeTV wants the government to abolish the corporate broadcast tax, which costs the industry collectively $50 million each year; the gambling advertising ban to extend to digital platforms and to further mitigation for the impacts of lost revenue when a full TV ban is rolled out. At present, the gambling sector spends between $200 million and $240 million on TV.
The commercial TV industry would also like greater support for regional television, as well as a news production offset that provides tax relief to news media production that is similar to the 30 per cent film and tv producers rebate.
