Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening on an issue relating to the AFL radio broadcast rights. The AFL are currently in negotiations with the major players and are soon to settle as to who will gain the rights and what rights they will gain. The AFL, flush from their extraordinary success in obtaining a premium price for the TV rights, are attempting to mirror the same commercial success with regard to the radio rights. However, as the AFL would know themselves, the radio market is not the same size or wealth as the TV market and certainly pitches to a different market. It also includes the government’s own broadcaster—the ABC, a non-profit organisation which, I add, is a long-time and important player in the broadcasting of football.

So radio broadcasting of football is different in every way to TV and therefore, to state the obvious—and something I am sure the AFL knows—the radio stations should be treated differently when negotiating broadcasting rights. It would be detrimental to the football listener otherwise. History shows that the footy listener has always had the choice of radio stations to listen to for the match of the day and, particularly, on a Saturday afternoon. The choice of radio stations to listen to has also brought with it a choice of style of broadcasting of football. For example, there is a stark difference between Rex Hunt on 3AW and Gerard Waitley on the ABC, but both rate very well and both offer a choice to the football lover. For some, there is only so much of Rex’s tomfoolery, as it was once described, that they can take. Alternatively, there is only so much of the Tobin brothers, as they were once described, that you can take on the ABC. But both have an important part to play in spreading the gospel that is football.

Thus, I am concerned that the AFL are proposing at some level to hand over to the commercial stations the broadcasting rights of the match of the day—or the best part of the broadcasting rights, which is Saturday afternoon. Either one or the other is of concern, as it locks out the ABC and its 60 local radio stations throughout Australia that broadcast AFL football to a particular market. I understand that the ABC is still in negotiations with the AFL, but it is obvious that the AFL have the commercial whip hand in this matter of negotiation. In a dollars and cents world, the AFL can squeeze the ABC into second-run broadcasting and, worse, can squeeze them out of broadcasting the traditional match of the day on Saturday afternoon. 3AW, with their many networks and with the dollar, can simply seduce the AFL into giving them the monopoly or near monopoly over the match of the day.

I understand that it can be said that that is commercial reality and that, moreover, the government can have very little effect and influence in the matter, regardless of the ABC being a state owned corporation. That is correct. It is a commercial reality, and the government does perhaps have no influence over the AFL’s commercial decision. However, I appeal to the AFL, for the long-term good of the game, which itself is a commercial consideration for them, to maintain the status quo of radio broadcasting or, at the very least, to give ABC radio a fair go.

I give three reasons why I make this appeal. Firstly, as I stated before, footy listeners have always had a choice of stations to listen to the match of the day. This choice breeds competition, and competition creates a better service—and surely that is good for football. Secondly, as I stated before, both stations bring completely different styles and, therefore, are capturing a broader market. One station with all the rights or the best of the rights could conceivably narrow the market and listeners could conceivably drop off, and that is bad for football. Thirdly, the ABC has a greater reach than the commercial stations. Even with the commercial stations’ vast syndications, the ABC gets to areas that those stations do not. The ABC’s reach goes into country areas where its is the sole radio frequency. If these listeners were given fewer matches, for example, or could not listen to the blockbusters on a Saturday afternoon between, for example, Carlton and Collingwood, then over the long term their enthusiasm for football just may wane.

Look at the grand final players for inspiration in giving the ABC a fair go. I have a list of the Sydney Swans—better known to me as South Melbourne—team. If you look at their list of players, most of them came from country Victoria and would have grown up listening to ABC radio. No less than Adam Goodes himself came from Horsham, which gets ABC radio. There is Adam Schneider from Osborne in New South Wales and Amon Buchanan from Colac, near Geelong. There is that great player Ben Mathews from Corowa, down the road from Rutherglen, and, even better, their team captain, Brett Kirk, is from North Albury. And then there is the champion Leo Barry from Deniliquin. All would have tuned in at some time as a child to listen to the ABC football.

Not to be denied, the other grand finalists this year, the West Coast Eagles—in fact, I believe they won the grand final—also have players from country Victoria. For example, Matthew Rosa is from North Ballarat and Adam Selwood is from the Bendigo Pioneers. They are both from country Victoria. And the same can be said for every single team in the AFL—that is, that a great many of their players come from rural districts and have, at some time, grown up listening to the match of the day on the ABC.

It is also worthy to note that during the footy season—on 12 August to be exact—Ian Cover from the Coodabeen Champions show urged listeners to text the ABC so as to prove the point that the ABC got into places that the commercial stations did not, or that they simply chose to listen to the ABC over the commercial choice. I have before me over 2,000 texts that came into the ABC during that show. They are from people saying things such as, ‘We chose to listen to the ABC’ or ‘The ABC is the only station that we can get’.

I have many, many examples of them. For example, there is one from Mallacoota. Someone from Ross in Tasmania heard ABC Grandstand on holidays recently; people texted in comments from Far North Queensland and from Aireys Inlet. Someone says, ‘Can’t pick up any FM stations or any other stations here in Terang,’ which is in western Victoria. An Albert Park listener naturally would only listen to the ABC. They came from far and wide: Darwin, Kakadu, Groote Eylandt and Ouyen. There is one here—and time is pressing—sent by someone from a prawn trawler in Far North Queensland. They texted in to say they were listening to the station and that they could not get a commercial station. I have over 2,000 texts to the ABC to prove that point.

So listening to the ABC football on a Saturday afternoon is close to an institution in country Victoria. It has been passed on from family to family; it is something to look forward to on a weekend. This is something the TV stations have not created—and that is not a criticism of the TV stations but a fact. My appeal to the AFL is if they wish to have football always pitched at the highest level in country Australia, which, after all, is the breeding ground of great players, then they should make the judgement for the long term, not the short term, and allow the ABC the match of the day rights.

If they do not, I believe it will severely reduce the service to country people and—not wishing to overstate the matter—may severely damage the culture of football in country Victoria to the point where an Adam Goodes-like character, unable to listen to a great game on the radio, may find something else to do in the afternoon. He may go fishing if he cannot listen to the ABC. I trust common sense and balance between commercial pressures and football culture will prevail.