Free-to-air sports debate reignited
The debate over whether sporting events such as England football World Cup qualifiers and home Ashes cricket matches should be free-to-air has been reignited.
Ashes: should it be available on terrestrial TV?
Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw accepted that there should be a protected sports list but has launched a four month consultation into which sports should be included.
Last month, the Davies Report recommended adding the Ashes to its recommended list of protected sports.
It also said that all England football World Cup or European Championships qualifying matches — home and away — should be available on free to air TV.
Bradshaw said the Government "has not reached a provisional conclusion on which events should be included in the list".
Instead, the Government will wait for a full impact assessment from the sporting bodies involved. Bradshaw said he would "consider the impact of listing an event upon the finances of a sporting body and any strategic direction that body has publicly expressed (across the range of activity it supports), as well as upon affected broadcasters and the wider broadcasting market".
The England and Wales Cricket Board, which sold Sky the rights to screen the Ashes until 2013 after agreeing a £300m deal last year, is known to be very concerned about the future of the grassroots game if the Ashes was available on a free-to-air basis.
• To view the consultation, click here.
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