Public Service Broadcasting

(asked on 9th November 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that only public service broadcasters have the right to broadcast listed events.


Answered by
Julia Lopez Portrait
Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This question was answered on 15th November 2022

The Government believes that certain sporting events of national interest should be shown on free-to-air television so that they can be enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible.

We want to ensure that as viewing habits change and technology evolves the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose.

The listed events regime works effectively for traditional linear broadcasting by prohibiting the broadcast of exclusive rights of an event on the list without prior consent from Ofcom. The current list is divided into two categories (Group A and Group B) and where rights holders make an event available, full live coverage must be offered for purchase to qualifying channels for events in Group A. Group B events may have live coverage on subscription TV provided that secondary coverage or highlights are offered for purchase to qualifying broadcasters. However, no rights holder can be compelled to sell its rights, and no broadcaster can be compelled to acquire rights.

In our Broadcasting White Paper, we announced our intention to make qualification for the listed events regime a PSB-specific benefit. This will more clearly enshrine the important role our PSBs play in distributing important and valuable content to UK audiences. The Government will introduce this legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

Our Broadcasting White Paper also confirmed our intention to undertake a review to look at whether the scope of the listed events regime should be extended to include digital rights. The Government is speaking to stakeholders to look at whether in the face of technological change, the objectives of the existing regime are still being met and whether digital rights should be included in the regime. The review will need to balance the ability for audiences to watch national sporting events at no additional cost with the ability for sporting organisations to generate revenues from sports rights to re-invest in their sports at all levels.

The Terms of Reference for the review can be found here.

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