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News Corp to boycott Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

3rd December, 2017
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News Corp Australia will boycott the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Winter Olympics in a rights dispute over coverage of the events.

News has told the Commonwealth Games Federation it will not seek accreditation for journalists and photographers for the games from April 4 to 15 next year.

» CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES SCHEDULE

The decision comes after the parties failed to reach a deal to relax restrictions around the use of pictures and video from events online.

The restrictions compel publishers to obey a 30-minute delay for broadcasting content collected at news conferences and limit digital news bulletins to a maximum of 60 seconds a day across no more than three bulletins a day.

The restrictions imposed by the Commonwealth Games Federation are to protect the TV rights of the Seven Network.

News has also advised the Australian Olympic Committee it won’t be covering the PyeongChang Winter Games in February, which will also be broadcast on Seven.

“Under these restrictions, our journalists would be able to tell our readers less than spectators at the events would be able to tell their friends,” The Australian editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker said.

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Fairfax Media and news wire Australian Associated Press have also raised concerns on coverage rights.

“AAP agrees with the industry in general that the current accreditation conditions being sought by the Games organisers impose undue restrictions on press freedom and limits the ability of publishers to provide vital and independent news coverage for Australians,” AAP CEO Bruce Davidson told The Australian.

Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation chairman Peter Beattie said there was nothing GOLDOC could do to change the news access rules.

“They can only be varied between Seven and News, Fairfax and AAP,” Mr Beattie told The Australian.

“Our hands are tied. We’re not party to the agreement.

“I can’t change it even if I wanted to. We have to enforce it.”

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