The Role And Responsibility Of The Government In Sport Broadcasting

The Australian Government's commitment to sports development

Describe about the Responsibility of the Government in Sport Broadcasting.

The Australian Government is committed to the development of sports in the country from the grassroots to the best. Government plays a primary role in increasing the participation of recreational and physical activities to promote mental and physical health in the nation. Along with that, the government is responsible for organising world-class sports events and utilise sports as a vehicle to deal with social inclusion challenges and disadvantages. Hence, the aim of the Australian government is to increase participation in Sports and contribute to clean and competitive sports in the country (Collins, 2014). The objectives of the Sports Ministry of Australia are based on the pursuit of integrity, leadership and excellence. Broadcasting rights have been recognised as a primary component of sports revenue for some years. It is the primary reason in Australia to make the football events highly professional in the middle of 1990. On the other hand, the Australian televisions also broadcast various other sports events taking place all across the globe (Lewis, 2007). It has been found through researches that broadcasting is a primary source of revenue for the sports organisations all across the globe. In the same way, the government of Australia and other major sports organisation earns good revenue through the broadcasting of sports in television and other internet media (Tildesley, 2009).

The primary objective of the study is to observe and evaluate the role and responsibility of government in sports broadcasting in Australia. It can be seen that Sports broadcasting is a source of income for the government of Australia and government authorised bodies that control and promote sports participation in the country. Along with that, the government of Australia introduces various legislations that must be considering while broadcasting any sports in the country (Carney, King and Maddock, 2015). There is a need for broadcasting rights that must be taken from the Australian Government before telecasting any sports event in the market. Hence, the study will present the influence of Australian government on sports broadcasting in the nation.  The study has been supported by theoretical models by conducting a literature review on sports broadcasting in Australia (Lewis, 2007). Furthermore, a discussion has been drawn on the role and responsibility of government in sports broadcasting to analyse the implication of the legislations on Sports organisations and athletes of the nation (Wenbo and Bollinger, 2015). Finally, recommendations have been made on the findings and observation of the study to develop the participation of government in sports broadcasting and promote sports in the country for the healthy living and welfare of the social.

Broadcasting rights as a primary component of sports revenue

Through the identification of the best practices in the sports broadcasting arena, the Federal government of Australia has derived the most practical social-political-philosophical principles to construct a significant and responsible relation between the social public and sports media broadcasters. In this way, the efficient relationship between the society and the broadcasting media has been identified as ‘normative theory’ to be precise. Clearly, the normative theory has guided the sports broadcasters to follow the terms and conditions directed towards social responsibility (Yang, Narayan and Assael, 2016). Meanwhile, the government of Australia has produced dominant ideas for the sports media broadcasters to promote each and every sport within the social culture. By identifying the significant regulations, social solidarity and liberal tradition within the Australian culture, the government has promoted law of equality among the entire sport broadcasting media to prioritise diverse culture and its principles (Armstrong, 2007). Although the identified normative theory model is significantly handy to improve the functionality and performance of the Australian sports broadcast industry, the federal government has adopted other theories to intervene the rights and responsibilities of media broadcasters towards the society in order to promote games and sports at the national level (Collins, 2014). Herein, the analysis has presented including five specific theories applied to the sports broadcasting industry to support the traditional growth of the industry.

First of all, Authoritarian theory has been identified within the press and media industry so that the government can keep an eye on the activities and communication methods among the social public and media. The supervision of the broadcasting media activities somewhat contravenes the right of the broadcasting media. Therefore, such interventions have been reduced so that the broadcasters can act as per their significant terms and policy protecting the rules and regulations at the same time (Carney, King and Maddock, 2015). In the meantime, the Social Responsibility theory has been enforced within the transformation of the sports broadcasting industry so that the corporate businesses operate within the industry may become more socially accountable. Understandably, the theory has prompted the broadcasting media to follow the obligations and restrictions in the form of legislation and broadcasting regulations. By following the obligations, the broadcasting media has served to the community in a new perspective driven by professional self-regulations as well as public interventions. Invariably, the role of the government is massive in this regard (Bryant, 2010). Moreover, the theory has ensured that the broadcasters have placed greater emphasis on the responsibility towards the stakeholders by influencing significant sports activities within the country.

The need for broadcasting rights in Australia

Moreover, another theory namely free press theory has been taken into consideration so that the freedom of the public expression has remained intact. The theory has been identified as one of the most controversial theories as the broadcasting organisations and media have rejected government obligations before social responsibility. Invariably, under the given circumstances, well-functioned media and press have significantly contributed towards sports promotion. Although there are effective measures of the theory, the federal government of Australia has modified the theory before implementation so that the issues within the media and broadcasters can be resolved (Boyer, 2012). Moreover, media development theory has been considered as another significant theory contributing towards the growth of sports broadcasting industry in Australia. Previously, lowered level of resources has forced the federal government of Australia to utilise effective such measures while promoting social, political and economic development through media and broadcasting (Fujak and Frawley, 2014). Furthermore, alternative media theory may have been discussed to identify the dominance of the broadcasting media within a society. Meanwhile, such dominance of sports broadcasting industry has not been found in the Australian economy as the regulations are significantly strict and evident. Such effective theoretical concepts have changed the overall functionality of the Australian sports and broadcasting industry directing towards new dimensions (Burns, 2008).

Identically, the government interventions are eminent to decide the radical changes within the sport and broadcast industry of Australia. In spite of the interdependency, broadcast industry of Australia has come a long way since the past couple of decade or so (Cowper, 2016). Clearly, government policy, augment in the government spending on sports and media development, technological advancement has contributed towards the revolutionary alteration of Australian sport and broadcast industry (Fujak and Frawley, 2014). Apparently, the identified recent changes have completely modified the structure of the broadcasting industry. In the contemporary business scenario, the demand rights of broadcasting in different sports have surged in the Australian territory as the federal government has actively increased the promotional activities of games and sports at the national level (Brotherston, 2009). Through the identification of the opportunities, the government has taken each sport at a time to understand how the broadcasting has created a positive impact on the public. Also, the popularity of individual sports such as tennis and golf has forced the government to use the broadcasting perspective in a commercial way. As the industry has noted significant progress, the revenue of the industry has surged a robust pace creating significant issues relevant to broadcasting rights (Lewis, 2007).

Key theoretical models used in evaluating the role of government in sports broadcasting

In sports and broadcasting industry, the role of the government cannot be denied. Primarily, the federal government of Australia has distributed broadcasters according to their operational segments so that the right of broadcasting can be divided following the broadcasting regulations. Understandably, the federal government of Australia has taken effective measures to stop any duplicity in the broadcasting (Henningham, 2014). In order to maintain fair competition within the market, strict regulations and legislations have been promoted within the industry.  By featuring multiple competing channels within the business premises, the Australian government has promoted sports through each level of the societal structure. Apparently, such instrumental government programmes have increased the scopes of broadcasting industry in Australia (Fujak and Frawley, 2014). Moreover, the federal government of Australia has identified specific broadcasting media regulation patterns enforcing censorship via regulatory. By promoting the public interest and social responsibility at the highest level, the efficient broadcasting model has been evaluated to determine the fate of the industry in the recent time (Bryant, 2010). The government has enforced public service broadcasting in the popular sports so that the social public can be influenced. At the same time, the broadcasting industry has been contributed towards economic development promoting national standards of games and sports through televisions, the internet and other broadcasting media.

In the case of the souring of the games and sports broadcasting, the government of Australia has increased significant spending to provide effective standards in the broadcast industry. By identifying the role of modern technology in the broadcasting media, the federal government of Australia has utilised specific copyright tactics in broadcasting industry to avoid any duplication (Mercer, 2007). Meanwhile, Australia has been the venue of one of the biggest sports events in the world. For instance, Olympics, Cricket World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Australian Open and other mega sports events (Henningham, 2014). By considering the revenue earned from the mega events through broadcasting, copyright of broadcasting must be handled carefully taking care of public interest. Herein, the regulatory body of the federal government has investigated the opportunities within the broadcasting industry to make decisions in the favour of the best and suitable organisation (Zhang, 2010). Moreover, in the case of national level events and other international sports events, the broadcasting rights have been issued under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) to avoid any controversy. Under the current scenario, the events such as National Rugby League, Big Bash T20 League and other national championship events’ broadcasting rights and royalty have been given according to the standards underpinning the public and social interest (Cowper, 2016).  

The impact of government interventions on sports broadcasting in Australia

In terms of the current proceedings within the sports and broadcasting industry in Australia, specific COAG National Policy and Integrity Agreements have been promoted by the federal government to arrange fair sporting events and broadcasting (Zhang, 2010).  Under the annual budget directed towards economy’s growth perspective, The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commits funding to improve the infrastructure of the sports and broadcast industry (Kelly and Hickey, 2009). Moreover, the significant endorsement has been promoted at the administrative level to stop negative events within the sports such as fixing, gambling and betting. Apparently, the federal government’s role can be criticised to some extent as the stronger relationship among the teams and broadcasters has been preferred in providing the right of broadcasting in some cases such as National Football Leagues and other sports events. Arguably, the broadcasting industry in Australia has improved significantly due to government funding and regulations (Essex, 2015). The specific theoretical concepts have been successfully implemented at the certain time to improve the internal structure of the industry. Currently, there are so many business corporate, associates, sports club, teams and government agencies attached to the industry working according to the public interest and social accountability. Moreover, the federal government has utilised the broadcasters efficiently in promoting games and sports at the every level of the society (Kelly and Hickey, 2009).

The Sports Ministry of Australian Government plays an important role in promoting Sports in the country using the broadcasting media. The primary responsibility of the authorised bodies are to control broadcasting of major events and use them appropriately to earn better revenue for the welfare of the sports community (Sklovsky, 2010). It is important to note that the demand for sports broadcasting has increased in the recent years due to the rise in the demand for broadcast services in Australia (Gantz, 2011). The nature of demand is highly complex because of the heterogeneity among the broadcasters in regards to their source of income, objectives and strategies. Additionally, the sports events are differentiated products that cannot substitute another events belonging to the same sport.

Hence, the government is responsible to control the demand and supply of sports broadcasting in the Australian market by implementing different macro-economic policies (Catsis, 2016). The most important policy of the Government of Australia is the funding policy that is used to promote Sports in the region. It can be seen that the federal government maintains a separate fund for sports development in the region while preparing the national budget (Essex, 2015). The fund is used as subsidies to promote sports in the nation. On the other hand, the fund is also used for conducting major sports events in the country. It is important to note that Australia is known for its Golf leagues, International Cricket events and Open Tennis Tournaments and other sports events that have high demand in the market for broadcasting (Catsis, 2016). Hence, the government of Australia controls the broadcasting of these major events to earn revenue that are further used for the welfare of sports in the nation (Gomez, 2014). In other words, it can be said that the Australian Sports Ministry controls the broadcasting of sports events to earn revenue from the events that can be used for the development of sports and to support the needs of athletes that promotes welfare of the society and sports community (Winn and Brinson, 2015).

Recent changes in the Australian sport and broadcast industry

On the other hand, it can be seen that the Australian government has developed certain theories and legislations that can be used to eliminate illegal means that are used in sports to earn money. Some of the legislations that have been developed by the Australian government include the Copyright Act of 1968 and the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to control broadcasting rights of sports (Sklovsky, 2010). According to the rules and regulations, the broadcasters are not allowed to broadcast all sports without taking the permission of the government. The broadcaster needs to apply for seeking proper rights for broadcasting any sports on television (Teitelbaum, 2009). The Anti-siphoning scheme has been introduced by the Australian government that does not allow free top air TV broadcasters to broadcast any event that are listed on the Anti siphoning list. The listed events can be re-telecasted on the digital multi channel after they are first broadcasted on paid channels (Nettheim, 2013). Hence, this tactics have been used by the government to increase the revenue of the sports organisations as well as the government that can be further used for the welfare of the sports individuals and teams.

The Australian government has developed a committee namely the Australian Sports Commission that will focus on sustainable development of sports in the country. The primary objective of the authorised body is to control and monitor the investment made on sports development and see that everything works according to the plan (Smethers, 2011). Furthermore, the Australian Sports Commission will be responsible to interact with every sports individual and teams around the country to organise events that will helps the government to earn a high level return on its investment. On the other hand, it can be seen that the Australian government has increased its funding for sports development in the region (Sklovsky, 2010). Records show that the government has invested around $1.2 billion in the last four years to improve sports in the country (Catsis, 2016). Along with that, ASC has introduced a review system to judge the annual performance of sports industry by taking care of the historical data and estimate the potential growths in the future to plan further investment (Nettheim, 2013). Hence, the Australian Sports Commission headed by the Sports Minister, Honourable Sussan Ley, takes care of the broadcasting rights of the national television organisations that operate in the country.

Furthermore, it is important to note that government of Australia is also responsible for marketing sports organisations and events all across the globe using the broadcasting media. It can be seen that the broadcasting organisation makes contract with the sports organisation and Sports Ministry to market major events such as Cricket Australia, Football Leagues and Golf Tournaments that are conducted in the country (Downward and Dawson, 2010). Hence, the government acts as a marketer for the major sports organisations in the country to make people aware of the events and the sports organisations that exists in the Australian Sports industry. Furthermore, the Australian Government controls the marketing rights of the sports organisations who use the broadcasting media individually to market sports events (Schultz, 2012). It is important for every organisation to follow the rules and regulations of the Australian Sports Commission while marketing any event through the broadcasting media. The sports organisations must take permission of the government and get their ads approved by the ASC before publishing it on any television or printed media. On the other hand, it also provides funds for the development of athletes who participate in the Olympics and other international tournaments.

The recent development of technology has enforced the government to implement innovative technologies for the broadcasting of sports in the country.  Currently, Apple TV has been approved to broadcast major sports events that have occurred in Australia for its viewers. But, they are not provided with the rights to broadcast live events going on in the country. In the same way, other online media have been approved by the ASC to broadcast Australian events to promote sports among the young generations of the country. On the other hand, the government has used social media sites to promote sports among the internet users who do not get time to watch TV within their busy schedule of life (Gratton and Solberg, 2016). Hence, technology innovation has been implemented by the Australian Government to improve sports broadcasting in the country. Notably, it can be seen the government of Australia plays an essential role in sports broadcasting in the country (Heath, 2015). It is the responsibility of the Sports ministry to improve the current status of the sports industry by effectively using fund and seeking higher return on investment.

Sports broadcasting agencies in Australian territory have identified the existing market opportunities and business rights to utilise significant tactics to promote games and sports. Currently, there are some major sports broadcasting companies such as Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Clearinghouse Sports Broadcasting, Optus, Fox Sports, and Gearhouse Broadcast Australia have taken the majority of the market share and broadcasting copyrights of the maximum popular sports events around the country and at the international premises (Gantz, 2011). According to the evident market research, Australian Sports and broadcasting industry has clearly driven massive revenue growth. Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Commission has effectively managed the industry worth more than $5 billion (Cowper, 2016). Predominantly, lucrative marketing statistics, advertising markets and high payment of advertisers have motivated the federal government to put more effort on the industry. However, in the last five years of so, the sports broadcasting industry has seen a drop by 2.5% due to online advertisement and marketing concepts. Invariably, the identified stakeholders in sports broadcasting industry are participants, spectators, community, governing agencies, and financial stakeholders that are majorly affected in case of any mismanagement (Cowper, 2016). Through the identification of the scenario, broadcasting agencies have utilised marketing broadcast promoting sports related products and items. Thus, the broadcasting media agencies have linked up with sports club, athletes and sports governing bodies through precise contracts. In the source of income of the broadcasting agencies is basically advertisement marketing (Gomez, 2014). Better government sports policy and administrative management have encouraged more sports clubs to be added with the industry promoting sports at the highest level.

Primarily, government agencies and financial sponsors can be picked as the valuable stakeholders of the broadcasting companies. The Sports governing bodies regulate national level events such as National Hockey League, Rugby League, Football League and other major leagues and have the right to overview the rules and regulations of the sports broadcasting (Nettheim, 2013). Also, the regulatory bodies have delivered regulatory framework to the broadcasters to be followed. Herein, sports broadcasters have to follow the regulations in promotional events and interviews with the players. By taking the responsibility towards the society, government regulations have encouraged the broadcasters to become more accountable (Fujak and Frawley, 2014). On the other hand, the government policy intended towards the broadcasting industry has encouraged the financial bodies to become attached with the industry creating more opportunities for the poor athletes. Meanwhile, the broadcasting media agencies such as Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Clearinghouse Sports Broadcasting, Optus, Fox Sports, and Gearhouse Broadcast Australia have helped athletes and clubs to find new commercial sponsors for betterment of the games and sports. At the same time, the broadcasting industry has added extra revenue through promotional activities (Snare, 2012).

The federal government of Australia has efficiently utilised the sports broadcasting agencies to promote national level games and sports in the grass root levels so that enthusiasm of games and sports will be enhanced among the children. Furthermore, identifying the role and responsibility towards the community, government agencies have restricted the broadcasting rights of the broadcasters. Moreover, the federal government of Australia has invested significant amount of money to the sports and broadcasting industry so that the functions and reach of the broadcasting media can be enhanced. Thus, the government of Australia has ensured structural development of the broadcasting media industry (Goldstein, 2010). Clearly, broadcasting media industry has been efficiently utilised to dominate sports governing agencies so that critical issues associated with sports such as match-fixing, bribery, betting and sports gambling can be stopped in a permanent way.

The Australian Federal Government has also managed the broadcasting media agencies to control the illegal activities within the industry. Most of the broadcasting agencies have become the sponsored partners of many national clubs and athletes to improve their Television Rating Point (TRP).  Basically, based on the TRP ratings, marketing agencies and enterprises promote several sports industry based products and services through broadcasting media advertising. Hence, the industry’s revenue is continuously surging (Gantz, 2011). During national and international level sports events, the regulatory government agencies has promoted the sports activities using the most efficient broadcasting media enterprises so that the broadcasting quality can impress the target demographics. At the same point of time, the revenue earned from the industry can be effectively contributed to the Real GDP of the country.

Considering the above analysis, it can be seen that the government of Australia play its role to improve sports in the country. On the other hand, broadcasting media is an essential tool of the Sports Ministry to promote sports industry of the country. Some of the recommendations that must be considered by the government to improve its role and responsibilities in sports broadcasting are discussed herein below:

Broadcasting reforms: The government of Australia should invite international broadcaster to increase the level of competition in the Australian sports industry. It will enforce the broadcaster to work on a strategic path and increase the revenue earned from sports broadcasting in the country (Snare, 2012). Furthermore, it will help to promote Australian Sports internationally that will further improve the current status of the Australian Sports Industry in the international market.

Increase investment: It can be seen that the ASC has invested around $1.2 billion in the last four years to improve sports in the Australian market. But, there is a need to increase investment to implement innovative changes in the strategy of sports broadcasting (Yang, Narayan and Assael, 2016). The government need to promote local level sports by making investment on college level and university level sports broadcasting. It will help to improve sports in the country from the grassroots level.

Make changes in the legislations: The Sports Ministry of Australia needs to make changes in the broadcasting rights by promoting local broadcasters to broadcast small sports events conducted in school, college, university and state level. It will help the local authorities to promote sports from the grassroots level.

Implement Innovation: Innovative technology can be used to promote sports in the country using broadcasting of events on internet media. It is important to note that people around the world have become regular user of internet that makes internet media an emerging platform for broadcasting sports (Snare, 2012). Hence, implementing new broadcasting media will help the government to improve sports in the country.

It can be seen from the above analysis that the government of Australia plays an important role in controlling sports broadcasting in the nation. Furthermore, the government has introduced a separate committee known as the Australian Sports Commission to improve sports in the country. The Australian Sports Commission is responsible to maintain all major sports events in the country. Along with that, the Australian Sports Commission is also responsible for promoting sports events and organisations in the country. It controls and monitors the broadcasting rights of major events that are conducted in Australia. Hence, the policy of the Australian government controls the broadcasting demand and supply that fixes an appropriate amount to be earned by allocating the broadcasting rights. Furthermore, the broadcasting right is a major source of revenue of the government and sports organisations in the country. Conclusively, it can be said that the role of the government is quite important to control the sports broadcasting in a country. It is the responsibility of the government to use the revenue earned from the broadcasting of sports in appropriate resources to improve and promote sports in the country.

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