Face of Nation : If you mention to most people the name Kieren Perkins, chances are they’d know he’s the guy who steamed home to win the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics from the outside lane.
Ask another group of people about the emerging Australian women’s 400-metre-freestyle world record holder, Ariarne Titmus, and you may find most struggling to put a face to the name. Titmus and team-mate Mack Horton have both made headlines for different reasons at the swimming world championships, currently being held in South Korea.
But in both cases, their efforts have been seen by far fewer people than they might have because the world’s governing body for swimming, FINA, failed to find an Australian TV broadcast partner for the meet.
Media analyst Peter Cox said the outcome should serve as a wake-up call for other Australian sporting codes, which still rely heavily on free-to-air and pay television broadcast rights. “In the old days you could have sports as your loss-leader, because they drew people to your networks and you made your profitability out of your programs around them.”
The coverage blackout is a big setback for Swimming Australia, which needs to drive participation rates to create the next superstar, to drive attendances, sponsorship revenue and government funding.
Swimming was a dynamic and dominant Australian sport in the 90s, with events such as the Skins and the World Cup series known to many, which raised the profile of the sport’s stars. Cox said that Australia’s sporting codes — previously riding high off the back of record broadcast rights deals — should not expect future rights deals to grow in size anytime soon.
FINA’s failure to sell the world championships in Australia reflects the state of the market, which is feeling the effects of the digital economy.
Streaming services such as Netflix have disrupted Foxtel, while the likes of Google and Facebook are securing much of the advertising revenue that was once exclusively enjoyed by free-to-air broadcasters.
Cox did extensive research on the Foxtel business in 2014 and concluded that it was facing significant threats. “At that stage they were making $930 million a year [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation],” he said.
“I predicted it would fall by now to $400 million, and it has.” The elephant in the room is the technology companies themselves, who are yet to make a play for Australian sport, but could do so in the near future.
