Explanatory Statement
Broadcasting Services Act 1992
Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2010
(Amendment No. 4 of 2011)
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Broadband, Communications
and the Digital Economy
Purpose
The Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2010 (Amendment No. 4 of 2011) (the Notice) is made by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (the Minister) under subsection 115(2) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA).
The purpose of this Notice is to amend the Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2010 (the Principal Notice) to remove one event from the Principal Notice to permit the premiere of the event on a free-to-air television digital multi-channel.
This Notice is a legislative instrument for the purposes of subsection 6(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Background
Legislative background
Subsection 115(1) of the BSA provides that the Minister may specify events that, in the Minister’s opinion, should be televised free to the general public. Such a notice is commonly known as the anti-siphoning list.
The inclusion of an event in a subsection 115(1) notice triggers a licence condition that prohibits subscription television broadcasters from acquiring rights to televise the event ahead of commercial television broadcasters and national broadcasters (see section 99 of the BSA and paragraph 10(1)(e) of Schedule 2 to the BSA).
The BSA also imposes restrictions on both commercial television broadcasters and national broadcasters with regard to televising events listed on a subsection 115(1) notice. Such restrictions ensure that anti-siphoning events (or parts of those events) are not shown on the broadcasters’ standard definition or high definition television digital multi-channels without first being shown, or being shown simultaneously, on the broadcasters’ main channels during the simulcast period (see Part 4A of Schedule 4 to the BSA). Similar restrictions apply after the end of the simulcast period to ensure that events on the anti-siphoning list are shown first, or shown simultaneously, on commercial television and national broadcasters’ primary digital multi-channels.
Subsection 115(2) of the BSA allows the Minister to amend a notice made under subsection 115(1) of the BSA to remove an event from the notice.
The purpose of this Notice is to amend the Principal Notice to remove from the current anti-siphoning list one race to be held as part of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series.
The event to be removed is specified in Item 12.3 of the Schedule to the Principal Notice, as amended by this Notice.
2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series
The 2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series will be held between 10 February and 4 December 2011 in various locations around Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of 26 races held across 14 locations and will be contested by 28 drivers.
This Notice will remove from the Principal Notice the first race scheduled to be held in Hamilton, New Zealand on Saturday 16 April 2011 as part of the ITM Hamilton 400. The ITM Hamilton 400 is part of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series.
The delisting of this race will allow (but not require) the free-to-air broadcasters that hold the broadcast rights to this race (the Seven Network and its regional affiliates) to premiere the event on a digital multi-channel at the same time as scheduled coverage of an AFL Premiership match on the main channel of those free-to-air broadcasting services. It is anticipated that the free-to-air broadcasters will provide viewers with a greater level of choice, by enabling viewers to access earlier coverage of the ITM Hamilton 400 race that would otherwise only be shown on the main channel after a long delay, if it remained specified in the anti‑siphoning list.
Notes on Clauses
Clause 1 provides that the name of the Notice is the Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2010 (Amendment No. 4 of 2011).
Clause 2 provides that the Notice will commence on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Clause 3 is a definitions clause.
Clause 4 is the main operative clause. It provides that the Principal Notice is amended by adding an exception at the end of the existing Item 12.3 of the Schedule to the Principal Notice.
This amendment has the effect of removing the specified event to be held as part of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series from the Principal Notice. As amended, each race in the V8 Supercars Championship Series, including the Bathurst 1000, will remain listed on the Principal Notice, except for the first race to be held in Hamilton, New Zealand as part of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship Series.
Consultation
Consultations were undertaken with V8 Supercars Australia, Foxtel, Austar, the Seven Network and its regional affiliates following the Seven Network’s request to the Minister that the first race to be held in Hamilton, New Zealand (known as the ITM Hamilton 400) be removed from the anti‑siphoning list. The Seven Network holds the free-to air broadcast rights to the V8 Supercars Championship Series, including this race.