Sport on television should not be a free for all
Lord’s is not expected to open its gates for free during Test matches nor Wimbledon hand out cheap center-court tickets; why then to we demand they sell their television rights cheaply?
The reforms of the list of “crown jewels” sporting events is eclectic in detail but perverse in principle. The Grand National and FA Cup Final may be enjoyed by the nation but they are not owned by it; why should a government decide whether they should be on pay-television or free-to-air stations?
A key reason why an event is so popular is that is has been built up over the years by its promoter. The committees that run rugby or athletics and other sports may often look like crusty old men, but these are businesses, creating goodwill, investing in assets and looking to maximise revenues. Excluding Sky and all other broadcasters apart from ITV and BBC from the rights auctions can only depress the selling prices of the rights - and possibly also depress ticket sales if the event can be watched without attending.
Giving the terrestrial broadcasters a free run at these auctions is a state subsidy for ITV and BBC that would normally incur the wrath of European commissioners. And a list further distorts the market by potentially making a second-rate sports event more valuable than a top event whose rights cannot be auctioned: a semi-final could sell for more than the protected final.
Any list of the events to be made available to all will yield anomalies and the latest review does just that. Why is the Grand National in but the Derby now out? Why protect Welsh rugby internationals but not the other five nations’? Why include the summer Olympics and exclude the winter games? Open Golf in, Ryder Cup out. Maybe review chairman David Davies betrays his football background by putting all World Cup and Eufa qualifiers onto the list.
But the issue is not which events should be crown jewels but that none should be. If an event is so popular, then let people pay for it. An increasing number of viewers have access to Sky anyway. If event organizers damage their sport by excluding, that is there mistake – but it is their sport to damage, not the nation’s. And why stop at sport? Why not order that Elton John’s next tour or Hugh Grant’s next film should be free for all too?
