Sport

Noel Hester on Sport and the Evil Empire

Murdoch and Packer make Australian fans pay but elsewhere the fans fight back

The Australia-West Indies test series threatened to be a one sided wipeout. It ended up as the most compelling series in years.

It was a contest which reverted to traditional type with sublime pace and brilliant batting deciding the outcomes and with spin marginalised for the first time in years.

On one side we had the brilliant, the resilient and the ever awesome Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose.

And on the other the world's toughest cricketer in Steve Waugh and a Glenn McGrath at the peak of his powers.

After the third test commentators claimed they were witness to one of the best ever test victories and one of history's great batting performances from Lara.

Well, it was just as well someone was there to witness it because most of us saw sweet bugger all.

Shafted (again) by the media bovver boys

There was not one minute of live coverage of either test or one day cricket of the Windies tour on free-to-air television. There wasn't even a highlights package.

700,000 subscribers could afford access to the West Indies tour through Foxtel (owned jointly by Murdoch, Packer and Telecom). 15 million Australians could not.

As Alan Ramsey pointed out in the Sydney Morning Herald the underlying issue has nothing to do with cricket.

'It's about broadcasting policy and how, like much of the rest of this country's mass communications, pay TV, too, is coming to be dominated by old familiar faces,' he said.

The issue is access

The big issue with cable is access and it will become even more so according to Queensland University of Technology Lecturer in Media Terry Flew.

'The rights to sport will become even more expensive and priced out of the reach of public broadcasters,' he said.

'In the past we've relied on the ABC to make sure things of national interest are available to all Australians. But the cuts to the ABC have made it uncompetitive in sports broadcasting.'

Terry Flew says it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Authority through their anti-siphoning list (the list of sporting events that must be available through free-to-air) to set the rules which guarantee access to major sporting events.

'Some events like the Melbourne Cup, home test matches and the AFL Grand Final have been on the ABA's anti-siphoning list since 1995. But the series against the Windies has exposed the limits of available protection for sports fans,' he said.

Terry Flew says unions and community groups have an important role to play in ensuring access to major sporting events is fair and equitable.

'We need to address existing regulations that are in place and lobby the ABA to broaden the list of what should be available on free-to-air. We need to make sure there are no easing of the laws on media ownership. And we need to strengthen public broadcasters,' he said.

A first innings lead to News Corp in the cricket but it's Murdoch 0, Football 2

All is not lost. Elsewhere in the world the fans have been fighting back. The first big blow against Murdoch's drive to monopoly was in New Zealand.

The local religion - rugby - was only available on Sky, Murdoch's New Zealand pay TV channel until a rebellion by the rugby public forced the Government to step in and insist on the broadcasting of tests on free-to-air.

And this week the British Government blocked Murdoch's 623 million pound bid to take over Manchester United. The British Monopolies and Mergers Commission claimed it would be anti-competitive, against the public interest and would damage the quality of British football.

'This is good for the fans who have fought an impressive David and Goliath contest and won, and good for the club itself which, with its Manchester roots, is more than capable of standing on its own feet,' said the editor of the British newspaper The Guardian.

Little Johnny, Kerry and Rupert - a sordid threesome in bed together

Complicit in the shafting of the sports public is the Government especially John Howard - cricket lover and champion of the battler.

The Government has the clout to influence the anti-siphoning list as was shown when Channel 9 was pressured by Richard Alston into broadcasting the last Ashes series.

But when it came to the Windies tour the Government was talking from the same bed as the pay TV operators.

'All free to air broadcasters were given a reasonable opportunity to acquire live rights,' said Communications Minister Richard Alston.

Let's give the last word to Senator Robert Ray who accused John Howard of using his position of wealth and power during the tour to get a more priviliged position than the rest of the Australian community.

'When you get up and put on your slippers and you have your honey and crumpets and your cup of tea, and you are watching (on Foxtel) the direct telecast from Antigua, most of the battlers you purport to represent out in Penrith, Bayswater and Ipswich will be struggling to find a radio broadcast because the ABC will have gone over to some crackpot fishing show or some handyman program and there's no cricket at all,' he said.

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 9 contents

»	Public Speaks: We Are Not Monsters!
»	Qantas to Dump Aussie Accents
»	Carr�s Faction Call Music to Costa�s Ears
»	But Thumbs Down to Small Business Labor...
»	Blow for Reith's Anti-Unionism
»	Un-Reconstructed Unionists on Study Tour
»	Unionists to Celebrate May Day
»	Tanner to Bragg with Billy

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Social Audit: Where's the Left?
»	Piers, Piers, Piers
»	Conspiracy of Silence?
»	Y2K plus VCR Equals SCAM

Notice Board
- Check out the latest events

Latest Issue

View entire latest issue
- print all of the articles!

Previous Issues

Subject index

Search all issues

© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW

LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW

[ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ]

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW