Harold Mitchell denies aiding Seven win tennis rights
Harold Mitchell denies allegations he helped steer broadcast rights to Seven West at a price below its rivals’.
Harold Mitchell has vigorously denied allegations he helped steer tennis broadcast rights to Seven West Media at a price below that offered by competitors in a controversial 2013 deal and divulged confidential discussions in board meetings to broadcast rights holder Seven West Media.
The veteran adman has been joined in the denials by former Tennis Australia president Steve Healy, a senior partner of law firm Dentons, according to documents lodged with the Federal Court yesterday.
Mr Mitchell and Mr Healy face bans from corporate life and heavy fines following accusations that they kept fellow Tennis Australia directors in the dark about potentially lucrative bids for tennis broadcast rights.
Mr Mitchell has denied allegations that Tennis Australia board members were told about bids more lucrative than the $35 million annual deal Seven went on to sign with the sport and stopped short of admitting he had received information about the bids, including analysis comparing rival bids, from tennis officials.
Mr Mitchell, a one-time Tennis Australia vice-president, has been accused by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in a civil lawsuit of improperly using his position as director of the sporting body to advantage Kerry Stokes’s Seven Network by passing on confidential information about competing bids for the rights by rival Ten Network and sports agency IMG.
In a defence filed to the Federal Court, Mr Mitchell denied several allegations by ASIC that he had discussed confidential information with Seven commercial director Bruce McWilliam, including telling him that Seven “was safe” and that Tennis Australia would renew its rights agreement with Seven despite rival Ten informing the sport via its then chief executive, Hamish McLennan, it was willing to pay up to $50m a year for the rights.
Mr Mitchell also did not admit to seeing an offer from IMG to acquire the domestic rights for $210m over seven years and international rights for $US202m ($286m) sent to then Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood, but agreed he had seen a subsequent copy of a nondisclosure agreement provided by IMG requiring tennis authorities to keep the offer confidential.
In an email to Mr Wood, Mr Mitchell said: “Thanks for the note on IMG! it is their usual tactic! Fails to impress, but we will talk tomorrow.”
IMG was allegedly to later table a $150m bid for five years of rights.
ASIC has accused Mr Mitchell of telling Mr McWilliam of Tennis Australia board discussions concerning broadcast rights, including bids from its rivals, which Mr Mitchell denies. He also denied telling the Seven executive his network’s $195m offer for five years, including almost $12m in non-cash services, for the rights was “generous”.
Mr Mitchell also denied telling the Tennis Australia board that Nine Entertainment was not interested in the rights as it was committed to bidding for cricket. — ASIC has alleged then Nine executives had held discussions with tennis officials about a potential bid — and that Ten was not in a sound financial position and could not afford tennis rights.
ASIC’s full statement of claims includes a claim that Mr Wood sought legal advice regarding the obligation of tennis officials to disclose information to the board about the broadcast rights, and drafted an email including a view that Tennis Australia should reject Seven’s offer for the rights.
Mr Mitchell’s defence team, headed by Matthew Collins QC, is understood to be intending to call former Ten chief executive James Warburton and ex-IMG Australia boss Martin Jolly as witnesses in the trial, which is likely to take place next year.
Mr Warburton, who headed Ten during the early stages of the tennis negotiations before being replaced by Mr McLennan, said in a statement: “I certainly never got the sense Harold was ever favouring one side over the other. For an outsider to understand a high-stakes media rights negotiation when not in the rough and tumble of real time is nigh on impossible.”
A directions hearing for the case is scheduled for May 17.
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