TV Wars - It's Over
 

The tv racing wars between TVN & Sky are over with a settlement being reached between the war generals in their various bunkers.

Sky within the next 48 hours will once agains start to show Sydney & Victorian racing, while TVN will start to show selected interstate races.

Sky will pay TVN something like $300 million over the next six years plus an immediate payment of $15 million.

TVN will be available to all pay tv subscribers, inlcuding Optus.

Why did it take so long to reach a settlement? Ego's, BIG ego's maybe.

Yep. And nobody wanted to admit they were wrong.

The answer was so damn obvious all along!!!

There should always have been one channel (Sky) with ALL racing, and another channel (TVN) concentrating ONLY on the major gallops racing.

Does this mean I just changed to digital on my austar, so I could get TVN for nothing?

The outcome took some time because the agreed too terms by all parties is actually quite complex and involved substantial negotiations. I read it all in the business section of yesterdays Age but I won't bore you with the details.

There is about 10 deals in the outcome covering many parties. What happens now and more importantly for those involved, what will [probably] happen in the future and who is entitled to do what, is the reason it all took so long.