Sport Austria sent an open letter to the ORF on Thursday during an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee regarding the planned discontinuation of the special interest channel ORF Sport + as a linear TV channel. In it, the legal interest group for Austrian sport asked the ORF management to submit a “clear, strategic and future-oriented concept” for the future depiction of sport in Austria by March 9th.
This should then be discussed with representatives of Sport Austria. The majority of organized sport is being deprived of “the media and thus also the economic basis of life” “without having presented an alternative concept beforehand,” the letter said. “Indications of the direction in which things should go are not enough.”
Endangered Diversity
ORF Sport + is not only the “lifeline” for mass sport, but “in particular for a large part of top-class sport, for special formats of disabled sport, school sport and women’s sport”. Domestic sport absolutely needs a broadcasting area like ORF Sport +, it said. The diversity of Austrian sports culture is endangered. In addition, there was no contact with organized sport before the savings plans became known.
This is “a disregard for sport and thus a disregard for 1.9 million sports club members, who make up 50 percent of the fee payers,” said Sport Austria President Hans Niessl: “Sport needs the ORF and the ORF needs the sport. The unconceptual announcement of the Cancellation of ORF Sport + endangers Austrian top and popular sport.” A cessation of the niche broadcaster would “cause millions in damage to our associations through lost value,” emphasized Niessl, and “torpedo the socio-political tasks of sport supported by the federal government.”
ASKO President Hermann Krist, like other association representatives, showed little understanding. “Initiating a public discussion without a legal basis, without a concept and without informing the affected sports associations beforehand makes me lose my voice, but in any case calls for resistance and protests,” said Krist. “For many Olympic sports, the disappearance from the scene would be a significant and far-reaching damage,” added ÖOC sports director Christoph Sieber.
On Monday, ORF boss Roland Weißmann presented his savings plans for the public media company to the board of trustees as part of a special finance committee, which was also called for by politicians. Around 300 million euros are to be saved by 2026.