Bookmaker Tom Waterhouse has spoken out and said companies like his are saving the broadcast industry while traditional ad breaks are no longer always effective. And maybe he's right, the gambling sector spent $123 million on main media last year.
Waterhouse has been at the centre of discussion by a joint parliamentary committee on gambling reform. His on-screen participation in Nine's NRL coverage faced backlash from the community and critics which argued his paid-for presence was indistinguishable from Nine commentators.
Despite being invited to appear before the committee after the NRL itself said the Nine/Waterhouse deal “blurred the lines” between advertising and commentary, Waterhouse has instead submitted a written document to the committee.
In it, he argued deals such as the one he has with Nine, which has since been pared back into a branded “discreet segment”, is vital to the future of the broadcast industry.
Waterhouse wrote: “This type of arrangement by our company, and others in this and other industries is vital in keeping TV a viable and relevant medium to promote business. For TV to be able to afford broadcast rights, the funding of which is ploughed back into the sport, it needs to stay relevant to advertisers. In the modern age traditional advertising (commercial ad breaks) no longer always works effectively.”
He's probably right in that gambling companies are showering media companies, including TV networks, with cash. According to SMI figures, which measure agency bookings, the sector spent $123.1 million in 2012, significantly up from $91.2 million the previous year.
He also contended his company promoted responsible gambling and had no intention of targeting children. Committee members including independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Senator Richard Di Natale both raised concerns about high viewership of sports events by people under 18-years old.
He added: “In our company's segments we aim to be informative and relevant from a statistical perspective. We specifically avoid hard-sell betting messages and look to enhance the program.”
He declined to go into specifics of his deal with Nine and said the arrangement with the NRL was not yet concluded.
Nine director of commercial and regulatory affairs Scott Briggs revealed to the committee a month ago the network had changed the set-up of Waterhouse's on-air presence after it received 35 complaints, which was double the amount the network had received about live odds in the whole previous year.
The Waterhouse affair has stirred the issue of sponsored content in the industry, with one media executive accusing agencies of “screwing up” sponsorship and pushing to commercialise all content.
FreeTV Australia has tabled proposals with the Australian Communications and Media Authority to define what are acceptable promotions of live odds during broadcasts.
The committee is expected to hand in its report by 30 June. Senator Di Natale has separately introduced a bill to ban all live odds during sports and sports-related programming.
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