Government update on free-to-air sport review expected in ‘near future’

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin is “currently examining” a report on which sporting and other events of national importance should remain free-to-air, and she expects a review of the current list to move on to its next phase “in the near future”, her department said.

The Minister opened up a public consultation on the Designation of Major Events list in December 2020, saying that the placing of events “of major importance to society” behind paywalls “unfairly excludes” some viewers. The consultation closed on January 14th, 2021, but no further update was published.

In response to a query, the department said the process was still under way but had been paused as a result of the pandemic.

“The responses to an initial public consultation were analysed and a report on the findings was completed. Given that Covid-19 restrictions remained a considerable factor throughout the 2021 sporting year, it was decided to pause the designation review until such time as the 2022 sporting year was finalised, and sports bodies had the opportunity to return to normal activities,” it said.

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“The Minister is currently examining the matter, and expects to be in a position to progress to the next phase of the review process in the near future.”

A review of the list of designated free-to-air events was last completed by the Government in 2017, at which point the All-Ireland senior ladies’ football and camogie finals were added.

Ireland’s Six Nations games are currently shown live free-to-air on either RTÉ or Virgin Media under a broader Six Nations joint rights deal

Live coverage of Ireland’s participation in the men’s Six Nations was considered for inclusion on that occasion, but the games were left at “deferred” status, meaning it is possible for a pay-TV or subscription video-on-demand company to buy the rights to the rugby championship and not show the games free-to-air on a live basis.

The games are currently shown live free-to-air on either RTÉ or Virgin Media under a broader Six Nations joint rights deal that also includes the women’s Six Nations and the U20s men’s event.

The Irish Rugby Football Union has objected to any change in the status of the Six Nations on the list, arguing that a live free-to-air designation would cause it “substantial financial damage”.

RTÉ and Virgin Media, however, have urged the Government to add live Six Nations games to the list, while there has also been calls for games in the women’s Six Nations to be given the same designation.

Under the review process, interested parties can nominate events to be removed from the list or added to it, which in practice would mean they would have to be broadcast by either RTÉ, Virgin Media Television or TG4.

The current list also includes the summer Olympic Games, the All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals, Ireland’s men’s games in the Rugby World Cup, the Irish Grand National and Irish Derby, and the Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show.

The soccer fixtures on the list, meanwhile, are the Republic of Ireland’s games (including qualifiers) in the Uefa European Championship and Fifa World Cup, as well as the opening games, semi-finals and final of those tournaments.

As was the case for Tokyo 2020 and will be the case for the Paris 2024 summer Olympics, companies that do not operate free-to-air channels can still buy the rights to events on the list, but they must then either launch a free-to-air channel or sub-license a certain level of coverage to a free-to-air broadcaster.

In this case, Discovery Communications, now Warner Bros Discovery, agreed a sub-licensing deal with RTÉ. The two companies have since agreed a joint rights deal with the International Olympic Committee for the period 2026-2032.

The major events list, first established in 2003 when the pay-TV industry was enjoying spectacular growth, is permitted under EU regulations. Several EU members maintain such lists, as does the UK, where the free-to-air events protected are often described as the “crown jewels” of sport.