Talks continue over ABC decision to scrap Olympics radio coverage

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose will face showdown talks with the Australian Olympic Committee.

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson face showdown talks with the Australian Olympic Committee’s top brass on Wednesday over the public broadcaster’s surprise decision to axe its long-running Olympics radio coverage.

The pair, tasked to rebuild the TV and radio broadcaster following last year’s board turmoil, will meet AOC president John Coates and chief executive Matt Carroll in Sydney, possibly at ABC’s headquarters in Ultimo.

The ABC is under pressure to reverse its decision, which was revealed by The Australian’s Media Diary a fortnight ago, following criticism from the AOC and the Australian Sports Commission, particularly as the broadcaster receives public funding of about $1bn annually.

The ABC has defended its decision, citing budgetary pressures and changes to the media industry. Some staff are understood to have mixed feelings about the decision, particularly given the looming job cuts in March as part of its five-year blueprint.

The $1m cost in delivering live radio coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, which kicks off on July 24, is understood to be the equivalent of the annual salary of about 10 journalists for one year. The ABC has had a tough few weeks, with Ms Buttrose intervening last week and publicly ruling out the proposed creation of an ABC staff climate crisis advisory group to report on climate change.

After an 11-month investigation, the ABC last Monday finally announced it would start paying out about $23m to up to 2500 casual staff that were underpaid over a six-year period. The broadcaster has also come under attack over its story about the horse racing industry last month, as well as its handling of a recent controversial Q&A episode, which has called into question its editorial policies and statutory duties.

The AOC has accused the ABC of being “monumentally shortsighted”. ASC chairman John Wylie has called the decision “absurd”, given the ABC’s hefty budget.

In his letter to Ms Buttrose, obtained by The Australian, Mr Wylie described the Olympics as “the pinnacle of sporting competition and achievement”, noting Australia was “a proud sporting country”. He also urged her to “do the right thing by the country, and broadcast the games for the benefit of all, on its traditional and public funded home, ABC radio.”

ABC radio has broadcast the Olympics since the event was held in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952.

Radio companies, including Southern Cross Media Group, Australian Radio Network and Nova Entertainment are understood to have snubbed bidding for the Olympic radio commercial rights. The Olympics will be televised by Seven West Media’s television network, Seven, and its affiliate partners, Prime Media and Southern Cross.

After waiting for close to a year for the ABC to untangle the underpayment bungle, some staff are understood to be unhappy at the broadcaster’s decision to cut its original interest offer from 5.5 per cent to 5.25 per cent, which has been described as “petty”.

The broadcaster has defended the cut, citing the current Federal Court prejudgment interest rate, in a six-page document sent to staff, which has been obtained by The Australian. The court rate was 5.5 per cent for the first six months of the year but fell to 5.25 per cent from July 1.