Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights

The Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee is undertaking an inquiry on Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights.

The Broadcasting Act 1996 gives the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the power to draw up a list of sporting events of “national interest”. This means the broadcast rights to these events must be offered to the main free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters on “fair and reasonable terms”. The aim is to make sure the events are made available to all television viewers.

The Draft Media Bill proposes changes to the services (i.e. broadcasters) that qualify under the listed events regime to include S4C,  but does not change the scope or nature of protection provided to listed events. 

The Committee will consider the extent to which the current listed sports regime is suitable for Wales, including issues such as:

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>>>Whether the Six Nations Rugby Championship should move from Group B to the Group A list of sporting events of “national interest”, meaning full live coverage should be offered to free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters;

>>>The impact on audiences of popular sporting events being broadcast only on subscription services;

>>>The impact on Wales’s cultural life of popular sporting events such as Six Nations rugby being broadcast only on subscription services;

>>>The impact on sports participation of popular sporting events being broadcast only on subscription services.

>>>The impact on sporting national governing bodies such as the Welsh Rugby Union of including sporting events on the list of sporting events of “national interest”.

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