Foxtel's purchase of 15 per cent of the Ten Network could give Rupert Murdoch's global media conglomerate News Corporation too much power over Australian sport, opponents of the deal say.
Any terrestrial television network bidding for the right to broadcast sporting events would have to co-operate with pay-TV network Foxtel, which is 50 per cent-owned by News Corp, and there are fears in the media industry and professional sport that Foxtel would want to include Ten in any deal.
A source suggested that the two main football codes might receive only one offer each: a joint bid from Ten and Foxtel or Fox Sports, which is 100 per cent-owned by News Corp, and either Nine Entertainment Co or Seven West Media.
The Australian Football League and National Rugby League would like record-breaking broadcast deals of $1.5 billion to $2 billion each over five years. They hope for intense competition between free-to-air networks, Foxtel, Telstra and other companies keen on gaining some digital rights.
Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein has said previously that the potential stake in Ten would not have much of an impact of sports rights negotiations and the pay-TV provider would work with whoever had the best deal.
Competition lawyers have suggested that if the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approves the Foxtel-Ten deal it would increase the level of scrutiny of sports rights contracts to make sure Ten would not be given an unfair advantage.
The NRL and AFL want at least one more match a week shown on free-to-air television, up from the three and four Nine and Seven respectively show under current arrangements.
The sporting codes had hoped Ten would bid for an additional match but fear a consortium would bid for only the current number of matches but change the mix across the networks.
Global Media and Sports chief executive Colin Smith, who worked for the NRL on its last TV deal, said if the Foxtel-Ten tie-up was vetoed by the ACCC sport could suffer, given Ten's financial future would be called into question.
"What you would have then is a cosy duopoly with Seven and Nine for free-to-air rights and I don't think you'll ever see anti-siphoning (which guarantees prominent sports for the free-to-air networks) disappear completely."
Another source said Nine could be keen to bid for large portions of both the NRL and AFL, in an effort to overtake Seven as the highest-rating network.
