Screenrights vs Foxtel returns to Federal Court over TV rights

How much will Foxtel pay for retransmission rights? The fight has gone to the Copyright Tribunal.

For the third time since 2000, the screen industry’s copyright disbursal organisation Screenrights has taken the subscription industry to the Federal Court.

At issue is the retransmission fee. The law insists that subscription providers aka Foxtel, pay the free-to-air television sector for the right to put its channels into the Foxtel box, as if they are subscription channels. In August last year Foxtel started to renegotiate the amount. At the end of the year it turned the tap off completely.

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.