The Coalition of Major Participant and Professional Sports, a group representing the interests of Australia’s leading sports, met Australian government ministers on Monday as it stepped up its campaign to amend copyright laws in the wake of telco Optus’ federal court victory last week.
Last week’s ruling that Optus’ TV Now service – which allows viewers to access near-live programming from free-to-air broadcasters on a delay of as little as two minutes – did not breach copyright laws will have an adverse impact on rights fee income, according to the coalition. Australian rules football’s Australian Football League and the National Rugby League say Optus’ service undermines their sale of exclusive mobile rights to the Telstra telco. The AFL and NRL said they will appeal the judgment.
The chief executives of the Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia and the NRL, as well as the head of the AFL, were part of the delegation that met the government. The group also represents netball, rugby union and football.
Communications minister Stephen Conroy, sports minister Mark Arbib and attorney-general Nicola Roxon attended the meeting, while prime minister Julia Gillard “stopped by,” according to coalition executive director Malcolm Speed.
“The government understands the problems the sports face,” Speed told the National Times.
The group also met the government’s main opposition party to seek further support.