TOP SPORTING events such as rugby’s Heineken Cup and the Cheltenham horseracing festival will continue to be available only on pay television after the Government decided not to make them freely available to all viewers.
The Cabinet yesterday approved a decision by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte not to amend the current list of sports events designated for coverage on free-to-air TV services.
Previous minister Eamon Ryan had planned to add the Cheltenham festival, Six Nations and Heineken matches involving Ireland as well as provincial finals in the GAA senior football and hurling championships to the list of free-to-air events.
However, Mr Rabbitte said he had decided “on balance” not to make any changes to the list after considering submissions and a consultants’ report. He stressed that a balance had to be struck between the financial viability of sports and the maximum access for viewers.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) had vehemently opposed Mr Ryan’s plans last year, arguing that moving big games to free-to-air would “destroy” the sport by depriving the association of income generated from pay-TV services.
However, the report by consultants Indecon, which Mr Rabbitte published yesterday, strongly disagrees with the IRFU’s claim that Heineken Cup and Six Nations matches were not events of major importance to Irish society, which is a key criterion for inclusion on the free-to-air list.
The report also takes issue with the association’s estimate of the financial losses it would suffer were these games to be made freely available. It estimates the annual loss at about €6.5 million, about half the loss estimated by the rugby authorities.
The Minister’s decision means the following events will continue to be shown free on a live basis: the summer Olympics; the All-Ireland football and hurling finals; Ireland’s qualifying games in the European football championship and World Cup; the European Championship and World Cup finals; the Irish Grand National and Irish Derby; and the Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show.
Ireland’s games in the Six Nations championship remain on the list on a deferred basis, though they are shown live. Mr Rabbitte warned he would intervene if it was proposed in future that they would no longer be shown live and free-to-air.
The Indecon report states that the All-Ireland football and hurling semi- and quarter-finals, as well as the provincial football finals, are events of major importance.
However, it says the Ulster provincial hurling final should not qualify because of low attendances and argues that Cheltenham does not meet the criteria because it is in another jurisdiction.