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ALL of the major sporting codes have joined with Pay-TV group Foxtel to urge the federal government to slash the number of sporting events that have to be shown on free-to-air television.
Critically, they would keep key events such as the AFL and NRL finals and the Melbourne Cup on free-to-air.
But they want the government to reduce the so-called “anti-siphoning list” of other events, both local and overseas, that currently are reserved for FTA-TV. These include events that are “hoarded” by the FTA networks but not shown.
This is the first time all major codes — the AFL, NRL, soccer, netball, rugby, tennis and cricket — have agreed to a specific and dramatically reduced anti-siphoning list.
The CEOs of all the bodies signed off on the list, in a letter to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month, along with Richard Freudenstein, the CEO of Foxtel (jointly owned by Telstra and NewsCorp), and Tony Shepherd, the chairman of the ASTRA umbrella body.
http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-...-1227062044159
Given Rugby's lack of FTA exposure I fail to see what the ARU can gain from the signing up unless they're paying Channel 10 to screen the Tests