Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Rugby Union, (b) the Irish Rugby Football Union, (c) the Welsh Rugby Union and (d) the Rugby Football Union on the broadcasting of rugby union on free-to-air television.

I have had no such discussions with the Scottish Rugby Union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union or the Rugby Football Union. The Government is clear that the existing list works well, and strikes the right balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public, and allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. The Government has no current plans of undertaking a review of the list, or of moving the Six Nations from the category B list to the category A list. As a Group B event, live coverage of the Six Nations Rugby tournament may be broadcast by a subscription television service provided that secondary coverage is offered to the eligible free-to-air broadcasters.