Government Proposes New Legislation to Protect Free Access to Major Sports Events
The World Cup, Olympics, and Wimbledon finals are among the 'crown jewel' sporting events in the UK that the government aims to keep freely accessible to viewers.
The UK government is proposing new legislation to prevent streaming and catch-up rights for some of the world's most significant sporting events—including the World Cup—from being placed behind a paywall for UK audiences.
The existing legislation governing these 'crown jewel' events dates back to 1996, a time when only 4% of UK households had internet access.
Currently, the law does not restrict on-demand rights from being sold to streaming services such as Netflix or Discovery+, which require rs to pay to watch content at their convenience.
As part of a media green paper scheduled for publication this week, the government plans to include digital rights within the scope of the regime for events such as the Olympics, the FA Cup final, the Grand National, and Wimbledon finals.
Culture Secretary Emphasizes Importance of Free Access
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy highlighted the significance of these changes for viewers, especially during events with late-night scheduling.
"Due to the late night kick-offs, so many families are currently following the World Cup by catching up on-demand in the mornings.
With these changes we are protecting that for the future, ensuring streaming rights for the biggest sports events must be offered to our public service broadcasters.
This will not only help those broadcasters compete, it will make sure that people never miss out on the history-making sporting moments that bring us together as a nation, for free and however and whenever they choose to watch."
Background and Industry Recommendations
In 2022, a report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee recommended that the previous government "should review extending the protections currently offered under the listed events regime to digital and on-demand content."
There had also been calls to add the Six Nations rugby championship to the list of 'crown jewels'. However, the government currently has no plans to expand the list.
Officials believe the current list strikes an appropriate balance by ensuring many of the nation's most significant sporting moments remain free-to-air while allowing competition organizers to generate revenue through broadcast rights sales.
