United Kingdom

[GB] Government Announces Review of the "Listed Events" Protected from Exclusive Broadcasting on Subscription or Pay-per-view

IRIS 1997-6:1/22

Tony Prosser

University of Bristol Law School

Under the Broadcasting Act 1996 the Secretary of State has designated eight "listed events" which cannot be broadcast only by subscription or pay-per-view without regulatory consent. There has been some political pressure recently for an extension of the list, which currently specifies the FA Cup Final, the Scottish FA Cup Final, the FIFA World Cup finals, the Derby and Grand National horse races, the Olympic Games, the Wimbledon tennis finals weekend and cricket test matches involving England.

On 19 May 1997 the Under-Secretary of State for National Heritage announced a review of the list "to ensure that the greatest number of people can see the events that they want to see". Press reports have suggested that Ryder Cup golf may be added, together with radio coverage and recorded highlights of events currently only shown on subscription channels.