The BBC response to the Government’s Free-to-Air Events consultation

2

Foreword by the BBC Trust

This foreword sets out the BBC Trust’s views on this consultation and provides a commentary on the BBC’s response to it

The BBC Trust is the sovereign body of the BBC working to get the best out of the BBC for the licence fee payers. In our work for the public, which owns and pays for the BBC, we focus primarily on audiences, while seeking to understand all opinions and expectations to inform our judgements.

We welcome this consultation on a subject of great importance to licence fee payers. In our role as their representative we have exercised close oversight of the preparation of the BBC’s submission and have undertaken some work of our own on market impact to support it. In this foreword we set out our views on the review’s three key aspects:

• The principle of having a list

• The criteria for listing

• The content of any list

1. The principle of having a list

The case for retaining a list lies principally in the public value that listed events create

We note in particular how successful sport is in reaching large and diverse audiences and how, despite audience fragmentation, this has held up well while other key genres have seen declines. Major sporting events succeed in attracting consistently large audiences on the main TV channels, with, for instance, the football World Cup in 2006 attracting some of the largest audiences for that year.

However, as the BBC’s submission makes clear, sport has the potential to do much more than just attract large audiences.

We are particularly impressed by what audiences tell us about the importance of sport in creating social and cultural benefits

We always take the views of licence fee payers into account when reaching our judgements. The BBC engaged IPSOS MORI to undertake a major piece of audience research and it is clear from the evidence outlined in the submission that licence fee payers see sporting events of national resonance as creating value for society as a whole and not just individuals. For instance, sport ranks fourth, after News, Current Affairs and Regional News to as the genre most important to society as a whole.

Of particular importance here is the potential of sporting events to create what is known as social capital in reaching across a range of different groups in society, such as those defined by age, social class or ethnicity. We believe that as audience fragmentation gathers pace the listing of sporting events is likely to become more, rather than less important as a means of creating social capital.

Audience research also underlines the social value that audiences perceive in watching events that are a key part of either the UK’s or an individual nation’s culture, as these are events that can create a shared sense of national pride and therefore should not be missed.

3

Licence fee payers also see many events as having the potential to inspire interest in the sport or sports concerned, thereby possibly encouraging participation. While it is difficult to demonstrate a direct link between watching sport and participation we are encouraged that the research suggests that audiences believe that watching listed sports events can make them more interested in sport and that a minority go further and think it makes them more likely to participate. The events which stood out in terms of people’s perception of a link with participation were the Olympics and the World Cup.

2. The criteria for listing

The current criteria for listing are still appropriate but should be amended to reflect the reality of devolution

Audience research suggests that the public not only supports the principle of listing but also the rationale behind it as set out in the criteria. To summarise, audiences:

• Understand that sport can be important to society as a whole and not just to those who ordinarily follow the sport concerned

• Appreciate the opportunity to see top events, especially those involving national teams or representatives

• Value events that are a traditional part of their national culture

For these reasons we believe that it is appropriate that the current criteria for listing should be retained. However, we believe there is a strong case for extending the criteria to acknowledge the reality of the devolved UK.

Since the last review the UK has fundamentally changed as a result of devolution

The governance of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is now in large part devolved, with the parliament and assemblies in those nations now taking responsibility for key areas such as health, education, social services, and local government. Unsurprisingly there is now a far greater emphasis on the differences between people’s needs and interests in the different parts of the UK.

As the licence fee payers’ representative we are acutely aware of this significant change. Our principal link with audiences across the nations and regions is provided by our Audience Councils whose job it is to advise us on how well the BBC is serving licence fee payers in each of the UK’s four nations.

During the preparation of the BBC’s submission we engaged with the councils, all of whom strongly supported the principle of listing based largely on the existing criteria. At the same time they all highlighted the significance of specific events to the individual nations and regions of the UK. This is clearly supported by the audience research which found significant uplift in the societal value ascribed to certain events in different nations and regions, for example demonstrating the special resonance of Scottish football in Scotland and rugby in Wales.

We believe that an extension of the criteria to reflect the importance of certain events to the devolved nations would be both in keeping with the spirit of the existing criteria and fully supported by the available evidence.

3. The content of any list

We endorse the BBC’s approach to drawing up the list and are satisfied that it has been clear and consistent in its proposals

4

We are not commenting on the BBC’s proposals for the list itself as this is a largely operational matter and outside the scope of the Trust’s activities. However, we did believe it necessary to satisfy ourselves that the BBC’s approach to drawing up the list was sound and had been applied in a clear and consistent manner.

We think BBC management’s evidence-based approach has much to commend it, while acknowledging that judgement has an important role

The BBC Executive has developed a structured approach which draws on available evidence such as audience usage data and perceptions of social value, to enable an informed assessment of how far an event meets the criteria for listing. We believe this has the benefit of making the reasoning for any assessment much more transparent, although we acknowledge there remains a degree of judgement involved, especially when taking into account other factors such as the likely impact on the broadcasting industry and/or rights holders.

We believe the Executive’s proposals for listing have been arrived at in a clear and consistent manner

We have reviewed the Executive’s use of their proposed approach and are satisfied that, allowing for the exercise of judgement, it has approached this in a clear and consistent way.

4. Competitive impact

The Trust has a particular duty to consider competitive impact and commissioned an independent report to inform its understanding of the issues

Although we are not commenting on the BBC’s proposals for the list as such we nonetheless wanted assurance that in either defending the existence of listed events or arguing for an extension of the current list, the BBC would not be risking undue negative market impact. We therefore commissioned Value Partners to assess the potential market impact of the listed events regime.

The independent report concludes that it is unlikely that listed events either have or will have a significant impact on the broadcasting market

Only if the volume of listed events was to be increased dramatically (especially for football rights - for example by listing one Premiership match a week), is it likely that barriers to entry would be raised. The report concludes that the current market structure and degree of competition within the broadcast market have not been significantly impacted by listed events. In addition, the need for deep financial pockets and overpayment for rights have been greater barriers to viable new entrants than listed events.

The impact on rights holders is less clear cut and may depend on the particular rights in question

It is a reasonable hypothesis that rights holders may face reduced revenue for their rights if these are listed. This is due to the reduced pool of potential bidders for the rights. However, this will depend on the business model in question with sports heavily reliant on sponsorship such as Formula One less reliant on rights revenue than interested in maximising audiences. The report concludes that the events most likely to be affected are those such as long-running tournaments, with one to two matches per week in primetime or over the weekend. In addition, the move to digital will, in principle, enable more channels to bid for listed events if they believe there is a commercial opportunity there.

5

A case by case evaluation of the likelihood of negative market impact would therefore seem to be the best approach and we urge the Panel to weigh the likely negative market impact against the likely public value to be created in these instances.

The Value Partners report is appended.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion we believe that listing remains an essential means of ensuring that sport’s ability to create public value is maximised

The BBC’s submission presents a very strong case for sport’s ability to create public value. We also believe that it presents a convincing argument that the absence of a list would risk those audiences unable or unwilling to pay for premium subscriptions losing access to many national events. That would represent a significant loss in terms of the social and cultural benefits that sport can uniquely create and one which, on the basis of the work that we have commissioned on market impact, could not be justified.

BBC Trust, July 2009

6

Executive summary The BBC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Government’s independent review of free-to-air (FTA) listed events. It has been over ten years since the list of events reserved for free-to-air television was last reviewed, and during that time take-up of digital television has grown and audience consumption habits have changed. It is, therefore, timely that the Government’s advisory panel is looking not only at the content of any list, but also the broader questions of the principle of having a list and the criteria against which any events should be listed. It is hard to imagine the UK without Listed Events. Sport is at the centre of UK culture: it can break down barriers, it can provide a common language, and it can be an agent for transformation. There is still a massive virtue in the UK being able to come together for the biggest sporting moments, from the Football World Cup to Wimbledon. And there is a widespread expectation among the UK public that the major sporting events will be available on television on a universal, free-to-air basis. Imagine the 2018 World Cup being hosted in England and the whole tournament not being available to the entire UK population. Imagine the London 2012 Olympics restricted to pay-TV. We believe it is vital that the review of listed events places the interests of UK audiences first and foremost. Principle of listing The listed events regime was created to ensure events of national resonance were available to the widest possible audience. Specifically listing increases public value by:

• maximising the reach of the major sporting events and ensuring that as many people as possible have the opportunity to watch events which have national resonance; and

• having a social/cultural impact – a key characteristic of listed events is that they are not only of personal value to the audiences who watch them, but they also have a positive impact on society as a whole, partly as a function of their significant reach.

Listed Events are not just sporting events. They have a profound cultural and social impact. They are part of a national conversation. They unite the nation in ways very few other television events manage. They create national pride. Audiences place a high value on free-to-air access to the major sporting events and regard it as a core part of public service broadcasting. Listed events are personally important to the public averaging 6.1 (on a scale of 1 to 10). The public places a higher social importance on listed events at 7.1. Given the commercial strength of the leading pay-TV operator in the UK, there is a very high risk that de-listing would lead to a significant erosion of free-to-air, universal access to the UK’s crown jewel sporting events. To limit access to those willing and able to subscribe to pay-TV would threaten the fabric of our sporting and cultural nation. The BBC maintains that the listed events regime works. It works even though we live in a multi-channel world where audiences face a range of television, radio, online and leisure alternatives. The major sporting events are viewed in astonishing numbers in the UK:

7

• The recent Beijing Olympics reached 42 million or 74% of the population. • The 2006 World Cup reached 48 million or 86% on the BBC and ITV. • The 2004 European Football Championships on BBC and ITV reached 41.6 million

or 82% share. • The 2008 European Football Championships reached 35.2 million on BBC and ITV

despite there being no home nation participation. • The 2008 Wimbledon Nadal versus Federer Final peaked at 12.7 million - with no

British player in sight once again. Our research suggests that there are a committed core group of sports fans who are willing and able to pay a subscription to watch the events that they are passionate about. There are currently an estimated 5 million subscribers to Sky Sports channels. This sub-set of pay-TV subscribers appears to have plateaued. For example, BSkyB’s Premier League audiences have “barely fluctuated in the five seasons suggesting that the number of subscribers signing up for their football has reached a peak”1. This leaves many more millions of people who tune in for the major tournaments or the ‘water-cooler’ moments on free-to-air television. Our research indicates that the vast majority of these viewers would be lost to sport if they had to pay a specific fee for the privilege. Free-to-air television delivers significantly greater audiences than pay-TV. Examples include:

• World Cup qualifier England versus Croatia peaked at 13.2m on BBC1 compared to 1.5m for Croatia versus England on Setanta

• Andy Murray in the US Open Final peaked at 1.4 million on Sky compared to Nadal versus Federer at 12.7 million at Wimbledon on the BBC.

• The Open Golf reaches 12.9 million on the BBC versus only 3.6 million for the Ryder Cup on Sky.

Digital TV is now in 90% of UK households – the remaining 2.5 million will switch by 2012. Forecasts suggest that pay-TV penetration is unlikely to reach significantly more than 50% of UK households at digital switchover. The UK has a successful mixed ecology within sport broadcasting: a bedrock of major events that are available to the whole UK population, supplemented by additional services for sports fans who are willing and able to pay for greater choice. The growth of pay-TV since the last review has expanded choice, and standards of coverage are high. Plurality is good for viewers. The listing of events of national importance has co-existed with the development of a strong, pay-TV model for sport. Rights holders have benefited from the strong competition between broadcasters (both pay and FTA) for rights, with inflation at 15% per annum over the past ten years. Sport is an attractive genre for broadcasters. It underpins the delivery of the BBC’s public purposes. It is also strategically important for commercial free-to-air broadcasters such as ITV as it delivers guaranteed live audiences. Free-to-air broadcasters by law must offer a fair and reasonable price for listed events and rights holders are not obliged to sell. As a percentage of the annual UK sports rights market we estimate that listed events make up 5%. While the current economic climate could depress demand in the short-term for rights, the long-term value of listed events is likely to remain high. The competition for listed events could become even more intense at digital switchover. It is important that the review takes

1 TV Sports Markets, 5th June 2009.

8

a long-term view of the broadcasting market rather than focus on a ‘snap-shot’ of today’s market. As the UK moves to digital switchover, the public value rationale for listed events has not changed. The debate is not about digital versus analogue. The faultline is a straightforward one: universal, free-to-air coverage on the one side, paying an extra fee for a channel or an event on the other. Pay-TV is in a stronger position now than when the list was last reviewed. Sports rights inflation has outstripped the growth in advertising or licence fee income. The economics of pay-TV means that strong, incumbent operators have always been able to outbid mixed-genre public service broadcasters that rely on advertising or a fixed licence fee, when they have chosen to bid. Revenue from subscription TV commands a rising proportion of TV industry revenue in the UK. In terms of revenue and level of penetration, BSkyB is in a stronger position than pay-TV operators in most other EU countries. It controls around 70% of pay-TV subscribers in the UK and generated subscription revenues of £3.8 billion in 2007 (up 11% year-on-year)2. Ofcom’s pay-TV review has highlighted BSkyB’s strength in relation to premium rights content including sport. So, in the absence of listing in the UK market, there would be a very high risk that a significant number of viewers who value sport would be denied access to the events of national importance. Without universal, free-to-air availability, the social and cultural value of the biggest sporting events would be severely diminished. The criteria for listing events Under the current framework, in order to be considered for listing, an event has to pass the ‘essential criterion test‘. An event must have ‘a special national resonance, not just significance to those who ordinarily follow the sport concerned; it is an event which serves to unite the nation, a shared point on the national calendar’. The BBC believes that this test remains ‘fit for purpose’. It reflects the rationale for public intervention to secure universal, free-to-air access to those sporting events that:

• are not only valued by people as individuals but also have a wider importance to society as a whole; and

• reach not only sports fans but also those who value watching the biggest events, but would not necessarily be willing or able to pay to access sport on pay-TV

However, we suggest that the wording of the ‘essential criterion’ is amended to reflect the importance of particular sporting events in the devolved nations. Aside from the social and cultural consequences of eroding universal access to sporting events of national resonance, who would gain? It is not clear, for example, that de-listing the whole or parts of the major international tournaments such as the Olympics or Football World Cup would lead to a significant increase in investment in UK sport3. Moreover, it is unlikely that any such benefits would outweigh the significant disbenefit of denying large sections of the UK public access. 2 Ofcom, The International Market Review, 2008 3 FIFA spent 30% of its revenue from the 2006 World Cup on the tournament itself; 15% of the tournament revenue flowed back to the participating countries. See Ofcom, Summary of UK sports rights: Annex 10 to pay-TV market investigation consultation, 2007

9

Content of the list The BBC would like to argue for a modest shift in the current listed events position. Not because we are complacent and not because we do no recognise the real technological upheaval the industry is currently going through. But because the list works well and continues to receive strong public support. We feel there are certain omissions to the current list which could be rectified. For instance, we note the recent debate about the limited availability of crucial international football qualifiers across the UK and also the anxiety about the absence of live cricket from free-to-air television. We believe that modest changes could be made to the list without significantly disrupting markets or flying in the face of the sports’ rights holders themselves. We suggest the Advisory Panel considers adding to the A List: • The live nations home and away qualifiers for the World Cup and European

Championships (in each nation). We feel this strikes a balance between public sentiment and market impact.

• Given that there is no live cricket scheduled on FTA TV until at least 2013, we propose the listing of the Final of both the ICC Cricket World Cup Final and the Twenty20 World Cup Final. They represent pinnacle moments in the sport and listing should have a minimal impact.

• The Commonwealth Games which have a particular resonance in the nations. Indeed the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 reached an audience of 40.3 million.

• Welsh Rugby Union matches in the Six Nations and the Autumn Internationals (in Wales)

We have also made a new suggestion for how the Advisory Panel might want to view the various categories of sporting events for inclusion in the list. In reviewing the Listed Events, we have increased the number of categories from two to four, sub-dividing the current A List of live free-to-air events into three: GROUP A1: These events form part of the national conversation, attracting huge numbers of non-sports fans. To remove them would therefore damage the UK’s cultural fabric. The huge cultural impact of these international events outweighs any market impact experienced by their international federations. We believe there is a strong case for listing A1 events in their entirety rather than selective listing of certain matches or aspects of a competition. Broadcasting the entire event free-to-air allows the broadcasters to tell the whole story of the event, building audiences as it progresses. By promoting the whole event, rather than a series of individual matches, free-to-air TV is able to attract ‘main eventers’ as well as sports fans. The UK is an increasingly multi-cultural society; coverage of the World Cup, European Championship and Olympics helps to unite these communities in celebrating the narrative around the major international sporting events. If we look back at previous World Cups or Olympics, it is difficult to predict which matches or medal successes will make the biggest and most lasting impression. These moments are not limited to when a home nation is taking part as the last European Championship tournament demonstrated. Audience reach to the tournament was 35 million with an

10

average audience of over 5 million for the matches – much higher figures than if the same games were played outside the tournament. The BBC is able to use its portfolio of digital audio-visual services to maximise the breadth and depth of coverage of the major international tournaments. Building on Beijing, the BBC’s ambition for the London 2012 Olympics is to cover 5000 hours across all sports. We would expect to follow a similar pattern for future events in 2016 and beyond. The BBC – with ITV – will continue to offer free-to-air coverage of all matches in both the World Cup and European Championship. GROUP A2: These events represent those sports that resonate with audiences in the UK’s nations. GROUP A3: These are key UK moments that rise above the normal day- to- day sporting mainstream. They are pinnacle sporting events, borne out by both audience interest and tradition. Sub-dividing the A list in this way also serves to rank the events, as we see it, in order of importance with the Group A1 events being the most important to society. For B List events, we propose that highlights are available for the whole event. This both simplifies the list and reflects current practice. For the ICC Cricket World Cup, for example, not to list the whole event risks depriving the wider UK community of access to their teams. There is considerable debate about whether home cricket test matches should be A listed. Cricket is one of the nation’s most important sports, with a long tradition and loyal fan base. The BBC was extremely disappointed to lose live television coverage of test cricket to Channel 4 in the late 1990s (although Test Match Special on radio remains one of the BBC's most iconic brands). The de-listing of cricket in the last review and the subsequent acquisition of exclusive live rights by BSkyB from 2006 has meant live cricket is now available only to those fans who are willing and able to pay for access. In our opinion, there is a clear public value case for re-listing some home test match cricket – for example, the major summer test series (every year) or the Ashes series (every four years). However, we also recognise that international cricket and the commercial market for its rights have moved on in recent years. There has been a significant increase in the value of the rights to English cricket – it is estimated that the contract with BSkyB for exclusive rights to live cricket is worth around £300 million over the period 2010-2013. At the same time, the major one-day international cricket events have grown in stature and popularity. The decision as to whether some test match cricket should be re-listed for live coverage is a difficult and complex one. The Panel will need to weigh up the public interest in re-listing with the potential impact on the funding of the sport, particularly at the grass-roots level. However, the BBC remains committed to covering cricket on radio and television, and we have recently acquired the TV highlights to both the ICC Cricket World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup tournaments. If, in future, some test match cricket was re-listed then the BBC would participate in any subsequent tender of the rights, subject to the usual value for money and editorial considerations which apply to all sports rights auctions. There has also been a debate about widening the list to include minority sports events, including women’s sport, which should be shown on free-to-air television. The BBC has a

11

strong commitment to minority sports as part of its public service remit and sport’s strategy. We believe it is as part of this remit that this issue should be debated. However, we propose that in the event of a home nations’ team reaching the final of the Women’s Football World Cup, Football European Championships, or ICC Cricket World Cup, the highlights should be offered to a free-to-air broadcaster as a B List Event. We have not assumed the status quo, but reviewed each event on our proposed list against a number of criteria: national resonance, pre-eminence, represents the national team, audience reach, as well as public value and market impact. Our proposed list is: A1 List: UK Conversation Events (Live) The IOC Winter and Summer Olympics Games The FIFA World Cup The UEFA European Football Championships A2 List: Resonance in the Nations (Live in Relevant Nation) The FA Cup Final The Scottish Cup Final (Scotland) The Football International Qualifiers Home and Away (Respective Home Nations) The Commonwealth Games Welsh Rugby Union Six Nations and Autumn Internationals (Wales) A3 List: Pinnacle Sport Events (Live) The Wimbledon Championships Men and Women’s Final The Rugby World Cup Final The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final ICC Cricket World Cup Final The Twenty20 World Cup Final The Grand National The Derby B List: Events of a UK Importance (Highlights) The Wimbledon Championships The Rugby World Cup ICC Cricket World Cup The Twenty 20 World Cup Six Nations Rugby Tournament The Open Golf Championship The Ryder Cup England Cricket Home Test Matches The British and Irish Lions Tour Women's Football World Cup/European Championship/ICC Cricket World Cup Finals involving Home Nation's Teams

12

We believe our proposed list reflects the UK public’s interest in viewing those special events and moments that help maintain the cultural and social fabric of the UK.

13

BBC response to the DCMS Free-to-Air Events Review 1. Introduction The BBC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Government’s independent review of free-to-air listed events. It has been over ten years since the list of free-to-air sporting events was last reviewed, and during that time take-up of digital and pay television has grown and audience consumption habits have changed. It is therefore timely that the Government’s Advisory Panel is looking not only at the content of any list, but also the broader questions of the principle of having a list and the criteria against which any events should be listed. Our response is structured as follows:

• Section 2 reviews the make-up of the UK audience for sport and its consumption patterns, and the supply of broadcasting rights to sporting events over the last ten years. It shows that even though the market and audience context have changed, there is still a very strong public interest case for retaining a proportionate listed events framework.

• Section 3 discusses how listing major sporting events for free-to-air access creates public value and contributes to the quality of life in the UK.

• Section 4 discusses the criteria against which events are listed. • Section 5 considers the potential positive and negative market impacts associated

with listing. • Section 6 discusses the approach the BBC has taken to reviewing the list. • Section 7 presents our recommendations for revisions to the current list.

The Annexes consider the public value and the market impact of our proposals for changing the list.

14

2. Key trends in the sports broadcasting market

Despite the changing market and audience context over the last ten years, a strong public value case for listing remains. 2.1. Market context Over the last decade, digital television has resulted in a growth in capacity on cable, satellite and digital terrestrial television (DTT) platforms. There has been a proliferation in channels dedicated to covering sport, ranging from channels showing premium sports content (such as Sky Sports 1 and Setanta 14) to channels covering niche sports (such as Eurosport and Extreme Sports). But, at the same time, coverage of the largest sporting events has remained on the main terrestrial channels because of the listed events legislation. This has resulted in a mixed ecology within sport broadcasting: a bedrock of major events that are available to the whole UK population, supplemented by additional services for sports fans who are willing and able to pay for greater choice. Only three of the UK’s top ten sports rights properties (by commercial value) are fully A-listed5. The listing of events of national importance has co-existed with the development of a strong, pay-TV model for sport. There are currently an estimated 5 million subscribers to Sky Sports channels6. The market for the sale of sports rights in the UK is complex. There are three main models for rights selling: collective selling by the sports organising body/league, individual selling by clubs and the use of third party intermediaries. Rights-holders face different incentives and trade-offs, for example the maximisation of income versus exposure, or the relative value of media rights versus sponsorship. As a result, some rights holders have so far preferred free-to-air TV (e.g. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) and Formula 1) while many others have sought to maximise income from pay-TV operators. 4 In June 2009, Setanta went into administration. 5Ofcom, Summary of UK sports rights: Annex 10 to pay-TV market investigation consultation, 2007. 6 This figure was estimated using data on total subscriber numbers for Virgin media and Sky in Q109 and results from Ofcom research commissioned for their pay-TV investigation. The Ofcom willingness to pay omnibus survey (carried out in April-July 2008) asked which sports channels respondents subscribed to.

This section relates to question 1 of the consultation paper (Q1 Do you think that the UK should continue to protect certain major events through live or deferred coverage on free-to-air television?).

• Listed events remain relevant and important within a changing market and audience context

• Listed events area core part of a healthy mixed economy model for sport broadcasting - balancing the interests of sports bodies, broadcasters and the wider public interest

• Major sporting events have the unrivalled ability to attract large audiences and provide ‘shared experiences’ in an age of audience fragmentation

• Listed events appeal to ‘main eventers’ who do not normally follow sport, as well as ‘sport fans’ who are unwilling or unable to pay a subscription to consume sport

15

The listed events legislation seeks to balance the interests of sports bodies with the wider public interest of reserving events of national importance for the maximum number of people in the UK. Under the framework, qualifying broadcasters are required to pay a ‘fair and reasonable’ price for listed events and rights holders are not obliged to sell. There are now many more hours of sport broadcast on television than 10 years ago across a variety of sports7. In football, 138 live Premier League matches were broadcast in 2006/07 compared to only 15 First division matches in 1988/89 – 1991/92. Rugby League and Rugby Union have seen significantly increased coverage of club matches and a wide selection of overseas sport, including England’s overseas cricket tours, are now broadcast on pay-TV. And audiences have a much greater choice of channels8. For example, Sky currently offers four Standard Definition sports channels, two High Definition sports channels and Sky Sports Active, which provides interactive streams behind its sports channels on digital satellite. Setanta, Eurosport and Extreme Sports also offer channels devoted to sport. In addition, there has been a wide range of innovation in sports coverage in recent years such as ‘red button’ interactivity and new technologies such as HDTV. Sport has benefited from this mixed economy model. There is now more money invested back into sport. It is, for example, no co-incidence that investment in football at all levels has increased over the period when the value of the Premier League rights has also risen (albeit at slowing rates of growth)9. Sport is an attractive genre for broadcasters. It underpins the delivery of the BBC’s public purposes. Strategically, it is important for commercial PSBs such as ITV as it delivers guaranteed, mass live audiences and attractive demographics which cannot be delivered effectively by other genres. For pay-TV operators, it is a key driver of their subscription businesses. The strong competition between broadcasters (both pay and FTA) for sports rights has led to super-inflation in the cost of many rights. Over the last ten years, top sports rights values have grown at an annual (compound) rate of 15.2%10. Inflation has characterised the value of both listed and non-listed sporting events. For example, since 1988 the value of Olympics TV rights has increased at an annual (compound) rate of 65% per summer event11. Over the last four years, we estimate that FTA broadcasters have invested £250 million acquiring the rights to A-listed events and a further £55 million in production costs. While the current economic climate could depress demand in the short-term for rights among certain broadcasters, the long-term value of key events is likely to remain high given their strategic value.

7 Ofcom, Summary of UK sports rights: Annex 10 to pay-TV market investigation consultation, 2007. 8 The on-going Ofcom investigation into pay-TV is looking at Sky’s position in the market for wholesale provision of channels (particularly premium sports). It is currently consulting on whether Sky has market power in the wholesale of core premium sports channels. If Ofcom’s final conclusions support this view, then this suggests that while the market has become more competitive, there is still scope for further improvement. 9 In 2006/7 Premier League clubs generated over £0.7 billion from broadcast rights. Some of this income has been ploughed back into grass roots initiatives such as providing schools with new football facilities, giving children free sports kit, and supporting community initiatives using football as a vehicle to tackle issues including crime, drug abuse and social exclusion. 10 Ofcom, Summary of UK sports rights: Annex 10 to the pay-TV market investigation consultation, 2007. 11 Ofcom, Summary of UK sports rights: Annex 10 to pay TV market investigation consultation, 2007.

16

Looking ahead, the competition for listed events is likely to become even more intense. Digital switchover in 2012 could mean that many more broadcasters potentially qualify for Category A status, allowing them to bid for listed events. We believe the review should take a long-term view of the broadcasting market as the new listed events framework is likely to be in place for several years. 2.2. Audience context A number of audience trends provide an important context for an assessment of the continued value of listing sporting events of national importance. 2.2.1. Changing nature of UK society Since the last review of listed events 10 years ago we have seen major changes in the social and political fabric of the UK. UK society has become increasingly plural and diverse. Ethnic minorities represent around 10% of the overall population12 and have grown rapidly over the last decade, particularly in urban areas. The UK continues to experience net immigration from both Commonwealth and European Union countries. At the same time, the distinct characters, politics and cultures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been given a clearer voice and sense of identity over the past decade, largely due to the process of devolution. Research for the BBC Trust highlights, for example, the decline in the number of people describing themselves as ‘British’ – rather than, say, Scottish or English13. Public service broadcasting (PSB) has a critical role to play in reflecting the changing nature of UK society. Ofcom has identified the delivery of 'shared experiences' at both a UK and national/regional level and the fostering of cultural identity, as one of the core purposes of PSB14. The network of shared values, traditions and experiences that people hold in common is sometimes known as ‘social capital’. It helps to build higher levels of trust, tolerance and shared understanding that can make many aspects of a society’s operations easier and more productive. Research suggests that broadcasting in general and coverage of ‘event’ programming such as major sporting moments in particular can be a strong contributor to ‘social capital’15 2.2.2. Fragmenting media consumption The growth in digital television and new on-demand technology has led to changes in audience behaviour and media consumption patterns over recent years. Digital TV is now in 90% of UK households – the remaining 2.5 million will need to switch by 2012. Digital TV growth has been driven by free-to-air platforms over recent years. 40% of UK households (10 million) have free television services through DTT or digital satellite.16 Independent modelling suggests that the penetration of free-to-air platform will be around 50% in 2012.17

12 Office of National Statistics 13 SIRC, Life in the UK today: The role and citizen impact of PSB, 2004. 14 Ofcom, First Review of Public Service Television Broadcasting – Phase 1, 2008. 15 Martin Brookes, Watching Alone: Social Capital and Public Service Broadcasting, 2004. 16 Ofcom, Digital Progress Report, Q4 2008, April 2009. 17 Independent forecast of pay-TV penetration, 3Reasons, February 2009.

17

While the proliferation of television channels and other media platforms has provided audiences with greater choice, it has also led to audience fragmentation. In a fragmenting media world it is becoming increasingly hard to attract large audiences to programmes. However, sport remains one of the genres that consistently attracts large TV audiences on the main terrestrial channels. Major sporting events are some of the most watched TV programmes each year (see Figure 1). In 2006 the five most watched programmes were all World Cup matches and of the seven matches that featured in the top 20, two were games not featuring the home nations. Overall, 86% of the UK population watched the last World Cup on the BBC and ITV, while 74% followed the Beijing Olympics last year on (BBC) TV. Figure 1: Top programmes for 2006

Title Aud (m) Channel1 WORLD CUP 2006: England vs Sweden 18.5 ITV12 WORLD CUP 2006: England vs Ecuador 16.3 BBC13 WORLD CUP 2006: England vs Portugal 16.2 BBC14 WORLD CUP FINAL 2006: Italy vs France 13.9 BBC15 WORLD CUP 2006: England vs Trinidad & Tobago 13.7 ITV16 CORONATION STREET 12.6 ITV17 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY 12.4 BBC18 EASTENDERS 12.3 BBC19 STRICTLY COME DANCING 12.1 BBC1

10 WORLD CUP 2006: England vs Paraguay 12.0 BBC111 DANCING ON ICE - THE SKATE OFF 11.7 ITV112 LEWIS 11.3 ITV113= WILD AT HEART 10.8 ITV113= THE X FACTOR FINAL: RESULTS 10.8 ITV115 WORLD CUP 2006: Portugal vs France 10.3 BBC116 A TOUCH OF FROST 10.1 ITV117 I'M A CELEBRITY, GET ME OUT OF HERE 10.1 ITV118 EMMERDALE 9.9 ITV119 GHOSTBOAT 9.7 ITV120 HEARTBEAT 9.7 ITV1

2006

Source: BARB

Over the last decade, reach to sport has remained fairly stable on the main terrestrial channels despite strong competition from pay-TV, whilst many other genres such as children’s, music and films have suffered. For the BBC, 15 minute cumulative reach of sport has been around 95% each year for past five years. Figure 2 highlights the decline in weekly reach among many genres with the exception of sport. For example, weekly reach of childrens’ programming fell from 18% in 2003 to 8% in 2008, reach for soaps fell from 49% to 31% over the same period, whist reach for sport remained constant at 30%.

18

Figure 2: 15 minute weekly reach by genre Source: BARB One of the reasons for sport’s enduring popularity is that it offers live, ‘water-cooler’ moments that can be shared with many others. For example, YouGov18 research showed that over half of the population (56%) felt that the Olympic Games created shared viewing moments. Although the ability of television to bring the UK together on a daily basis may be falling, those occasions where it is possible, such as major sporting events, will become more valuable over coming years. 2.2.3. Audience for sport Despite the growth in new delivery mechanisms such as broadband, TV remains the primary platform for the consumption of sport. Ipsos MORI research19 indicates that 75% of people watch sport on TV compared to 48% who listen on radio and 36% on the internet. This pattern is particularly true for the major sporting events. The YouGov survey showed that audiences claimed to have followed the Olympics Games in Beijing primarily via TV at 74%, compared to 32% through newspapers and 31% online. Moreover,20 66% of those who consumed Olympics content only watched it on TV. Audience appreciation of TV coverage was also substantially greater than that of other media. The survey showed that live TV coverage of the Olympics received an appreciation score of 83% compared to 70% for radio and 69% for live online streaming. For most audiences, new platforms such as broadband currently supplement the provision of live sport on television but are not yet effective substitutes.

18 YouGov Omnibus, September 2008. 19 Ipsos MORI, BBC Sport Listed Events, May 2009. An online self-completion methodology was used (Ipsos Online Access Panel) with the survey asked to UK adults aged 16+. A sample size of 2,543 was achieved and the data weighted to be representative of the UK population 16+. An additional weighting variable taking account of ownership of technology (using NRS '08) was also applied in order to better represent an offline population. Here after known as Ipsos MORI research. 20 BBC Pulse, September 2008.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Childrens

Documentaries

Entertainment

Films (Cinema)

Soaps

Sport

15 mins weekly reach %

19

Ipsos MORI research suggests that 74% of UK adults are interested in sport. The potential audience for sport can be segmented as follows. Figure 3: Segmentation of sport audience Note: Respondents were asked to choose from five statements that best describes their interest in sport. 1) I am interested in sport and an effort to watch, listen to or read about it at least twice a day; 2) I am interested in sport and make an effort to watch, listen to or read about it at least once a day; 3) I am fairly interested in sport and make an effort to watch, listen to or read about it most days a week; 4) I only read, watch or listen to sport occasionally but will follow if there are events I’m interested in; 5) I am not interested in sport. ‘Sport fans’ are those who chose 1), 2) and 3), ‘main eventers’ are those who chose 4) and ‘Sport rejecters’ are those who chose 5).

Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ Over 34% of the UK population can be characterised as ‘main eventers’ who follow events of interest to them compared to 40% ‘sport fans’ who make an effort to watch, listen or read about sport most days of the week. ‘Sport fans’ are predominantly male (70%) and younger (35% between16-34), whilst ‘main eventers’ are more likely to be female (63%) and older (38% over 55).

20

3. Principle of listed events

Audiences support the principle of reserving major sporting events of national importance for free-to-air consumption. The widespread availability of major sporting events remains a key way of creating public value (that is, value to consumers and citizens).21 Specifically listing can increase public value by:

• maximising the reach of the major sporting events and ensuring that as many people as possible have the opportunity to watch events which have national resonance; and

• having a social/cultural impact – a key characteristic of listed events is that they are not only of personal value to the audiences who watch them, but they also have a positive impact on citizens and society as a whole, partly as a function of their large reach.

The coverage of major sporting events is a core part of the BBC’s public service remit. The BBC is committed to sport for the long-term as it is important to our audiences.22

The coverage of major sporting events contributes to the delivery of the BBC’s public purposes in the following ways:

• Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence: Effective coverage can enrich the cultural life of the UK and its nations, and encourage interest and engagement in sporting activities.

• Represent the UK, its nations, regions and local communities: Sport is rooted in national and local communities. Major sporting events have the power to bring audiences from disparate communities together for shared experiences.

• Help to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services: Sport coverage has encouraged technological innovation such as ‘red button’ interactivity and is a key driver of new platforms such as HDTV.

• Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK: The coverage of major international sporting events such as the OIympics and World Cup can broaden UK audiences’ experience of and exposure to different cultures from around the world.

21 BBC, Building Public Value, 2004. 22 BMRB, BBC Trust Purpose Remit Survey, Feb 2007.

This section addresses the following questions of the consultation paper. Q1 Do you think that the UK should continue to protect certain major events through live or deferred coverage on free-to-air television? Q7. Do you agree that both an A and B list should be maintained? If not, please explain why.

• Listed events deliver consumer value and maximise audience reach by bringing together viewers from a wide range of different backgrounds

• Listing generates wider social benefits by delivering ‘shared experiences’ and fostering cultural identity

• Ipsos MORI research shows audiences tend to place greater social importance on listed events than personal importance

• Research also indicates that showing live sport on TV can help to generate interest in sport and could influence participation

21

3.1. Maximising audience reach The free-to-air availability of sporting events maximises audience reach:

• 42 million people or 74% of the UK watched at least 15 consecutive minutes of the Beijing Olympics on BBC TV.

• The BBC TV reach for the 2006 World Cup in Germany was 80%. ITV reach was 75%.

• The 2008 Grand National race attracted an average audience of 10.1 million and share of 63%.

• 12.7 million watched the climax of Federer v Nadal at 2008 Wimbledon; coverage of the championship reached 32.4 million (or 57% of the population).

• Despite no home nation involvement, the European Football Championship Final was one of the top 25 most watched programmes in 2008.

Figure 4: Audience reach to major sporting events Cumulative 15 minute reach (m) Source: BARB; * Events are also on pay-TV; reach figures shown are delivered by FTA. Pay-TV delivers significantly lower audiences and reach to sporting events. A comparison of the audiences for similar sporting events on FTA versus pay-TV is revealing:

• England Football Qualifiers on Setanta or Sky secured a peak audience of 2.8 million versus 13.2 million on ITV or BBC.

• 12.9 million reach for Open golf on BBC versus 3.4 million for Ryder Cup on Sky. • Wimbledon Men’s Final 2008 peaked at 12.7million versus peak for US Open Final

(Andy Murray) of 1.4 million on Sky.

48.0

42.2 41.6 40.3

35.233.1 32.4 31.1 30.8 30.3 30.2

27.3

23.1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Foot

ball

Wor

ldC

up 2

006

Bei

jing

08

Eur

os 2

004

Com

mon

wea

lthG

ames

(Man

ches

ter 2

002)

Eur

os 2

008

Rug

by W

orld

Cup

2007

Wim

bled

on 2

008

Eng

land

Inte

rnat

iona

ls07

/08

Cha

mpi

ons

Leag

ue 0

7/08

*

Com

mon

wea

lthG

ames

(Mel

bour

ne 2

006)

FA C

up 0

7/08

seas

on *

The

Ash

es 2

005

Six

Nat

ions

BBCBBC

Other FTAOther FTA

22

Forecasts suggest that pay-TV penetration is unlikely to reach significantly more than 50% of UK households at digital switchover, therefore there will always be a major gap between the number of people who can access sport on FTA television and pay-TV platforms. Moreover, major sporting events bring together viewers from a wide range of different backgrounds. Many of the listed events on the BBC deliver significant unique reach among lower income and ethnic minority audiences. For example during the final week of European Championships 2008, sport bought in an additional 7% of the ethnic minority population to the weekly reach for BBC One and an additional 4% from lower income audiences. Similarly, during the first week of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, sport delivered an additional 10% of ethnic minority audiences and 6% from lower income groups to BBC One. The biggest sporting events can also deliver significant value to audiences in the UK’s devolved nations.

• The Manchester Commonwealth Games 2002 reached 74% in the nations.23 • Coverage of the Scottish Cup 2008 Final on BBC One Scotland attracted an average

audience of 574,000 and 56% share. • Six Nations 2008 achieved an average share of 53% in Wales compared to 29% in

UK as a whole. • 62% believed that the BBC’s coverage of Beijing 2008 represented the UK’s nations

and regions. 3.2. Delivering consumer value and social benefits 3.2.1. Consumer benefits Listing major sporting events plays a central role in maximising reach and providing opportunities for audiences to watch sport events which they enjoy and are of interest to them. There is a widespread audience expectation that sporting events of national importance should be available on the main terrestrial channels. When asked (as part of Ofcom research for the PSB review) to choose the types of programmes whose presence on the main terrestrial channels was the most important to them personally, sport was ranked fourth24. The importance of sport to many people was also highlighted in research the BBC conducted for the Ofcom PSB review. When asked to rate different genres on a scale of importance, 53% of respondents said that sport was very important to them25. Ipsos MORI research confirms that emotions such as enjoyment and involvement are critical drivers of why people watch major sports on TV. When asked whether a series of statements applied to individual sporting events from a personal perspective, ‘passion for the event’ and ‘inspiration that the event brings’ stood out as the two most important reasons to why people watch major sporting events on TV. 23 Reach for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2002 was lower than in 2006 because of the time difference. 24 Research conducted for the Ofcom PSB review based on 2,260 interviews with UK adults aged 16+, October - December 2007. 25Human Capital, Deliberative Workshops (base of 126), 2008.

23

Figure 5: Top five reasons for why sporting events are important personally (average of % of those agreed strongly on the events)

Statement Those strongly

agree (8-10) I am passionate about this sport 87% This event inspires me 86% Watching this event increases my interest in this sport 83% This event encourages me to participate in this sport 81% It is an event that should not be missed 79%

Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ As highlighted earlier, free-to-air availability is arguably more, not less important in a digital world given audience fragmentation. Pay-TV channels provide audiences with more choice, but there is a risk that audiences will be denied the opportunity to watch the biggest sporting events without a listing regime. Not everyone can afford to access pay-TV and many will choose not to. Forecasts suggest that pay-TV penetration will not reach significantly more than 50% of the population by digital switchover. Therefore de-listing could exclude large numbers of people from accessing events which generate value to them as consumers. Ipsos MORI research indicates that overall only 9% or less of those who don’t currently have access to premium sport channels would be willing to pay (e.g. via a subscription) for any single sporting event if they were no longer available to view live or as highlights on the five main television channels; and 17% will be willing to pay for one or more of sporting events. The Olympics was cited as the event that survey respondents would be most willing to pay for in the event if it were not available on a FTA basis. Figure 6: Willingness to pay for major sporting events by non-premium sport channel subscribers Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 1,672 UK adults aged 16+, without Sky or Setanta at home. And while there will be other options for audiences who want to view major sporting events - watching at the pub or attending sporting events live - these options are not attractive or viable choices for many people.

9 8 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1

77 81 82 83 82 84 84 86 85 83 86 86 87 87 88 87 87 88 88 86 87 88 87 88

14 11 12 11 12 11 11 10 11 13 11 11 11 11 10 11 11 10 11 12 11 10 11 11

6

83

11

Olympic

Gam

es

FIFA World

Cup F

inals

FA Cup Final

The Euro

s

Champio

ns Lea

gue Fina

l

Wimble

don

World &

Euro Q

ualifie

rs (h

ome n

ation

s)

Six Nati

ons Cham

pionsh

ip

The Ash

es

Rugby W

orld C

up

Commonwealth

Gam

es

Grand N

ational

Lions To

ur

Rugby U

nion Autumn I

nts

Englan

d Cric

ket T

ests

in Englan

d

Cricket

World

Cup

Ryder

Cup

The Open

Twenty2

0 Worl

d Cup

Scotti

sh FA

Cup

Fina

l

IAAF World

Cham

pionsh

ips

The Derb

y

RL Challe

nge C

up Final

Women's FA

Cup Fina

l

Women's In

t finals

(home n

ations

)

I would be willing to pay (e.g. via a subscription) I would not be willing to pay Don't know

24

Around a third of UK audiences view live sport on TV in a pub and the majority of viewing is done less than once a month. Less than 5% of viewing to England games in the 2006 Football World Cup took place out of the home.26 TGI survey data suggests out of home viewing is done mainly by young men, is skewed to certain types of big events and is unlikely to deliver much in the way of unique reach as young males would be more likely to subscribe to pay-TV anyway. And pub viewing is arguably not the most appropriate way of introducing major events to children, the viewers and participants of the future. Listed events, by definition, tend to be the pre-eminent national or international event in the sport. As a result, they usually sell out (e.g. FA Cup Final, Wimbledon Final and Grand National) and so it would be difficult and/or prohibitively expensive for many people to view these events live, particularly for events which take place overseas. 3.2.2. Social benefits The BBC believes that the wider social and cultural benefits of universal, free-to-air access to major sporting events lie at the core of the principle of listing. Sport has an unrivalled capacity to bring audiences together for ‘shared experiences’ at both a UK-wide and a national level and foster cultural identity. In addition, the coverage of major sporting events such as the Olympics and Football World Cup can broaden UK audiences’ experience of and exposure to different cultures from around the world. These are core purposes of public service broadcasting, as set out both by Ofcom and the BBC’s Charter and Agreement. Media fragmentation and the changing nature of UK society (see section 2) suggest that this attribute may become more valuable over coming years. Ipsos MORI research A large body of research evidence indicates that people regard the biggest sporting events as a core element of public service broadcasting as they generate benefits to society. When asked to choose the types of programmes whose presence on the main terrestrial channels was the most important to society as a whole, sport was ranked fourth. Figure 7: Importance of sport versus other genres Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+

26 TGI, April 06-March 07.

61

26

32

32

34

17

31

48

10

9

81

50

37

34

32

28

24

23

22

22

News

Current Affairs

Regional News

Sport

Serious Factual

Educational

Soaps

Comedy

Regional Current Affairs

Children's

% To you personally

% To society as a whole

6thPersonally

4thTo Society

Sport Ranking:

6thPersonally

4thTo Society

Sport Ranking:

25

The results of the Ipsos MORI research are supported by other sources. Ofcom research shows that 78% of the UK population believe that ‘the coverage of big national events’ on the main terrestrial channels is important: it ranks third in the hierarchy of importance of PSB components. Audiences rank sport on the main terrestrial channels as the fifth most important genre from a societal perspective.27 Ipsos MORI research also indicates that audience tend to place a higher value on the major sporting events as citizens than they do as consumers. When asked how important it is for specific events to be shown on FTA TV (on a scale of 1-10) both personally and to society, the average score from a personal perspective was 6.1, compared to 7.1 from a societal perspective. And the proportion of people that place a high value (8-10) on the importance of listed events for society as whole was 54% (compared to 47% from a personal perspective). Figure 8a: Importance of listed events Note: Respondents were asked the following: How important is it to you personally that there is a list of sporting events that have to be shown on the 5 main television channels, either live or through highlights? Please rate the importance on a scale of 1-10, where 1 means ‘not important at all’ and 10 means ‘extremely important’. They were then asked: How important do you think it is to society as a whole that there is a list of sporting events that have to be shown on the 5 main television channels, either live or through highlights? Please rate the importance on a scale of 1-10, where 1 means ‘not important at all’ and 10 means ‘extremely important’.

Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ The uplift (i.e. the difference between the average personal importance and social importance scores) is even more marked among non pay-TV audiences and ‘sports rejecters’, who are more likely to recognise the benefits to society, rather than themselves. (See figure 8b).

27 Ofcom, Second PSB Review - Phase 1, 2008.

32%17%

21%29%

47% 54%

To you personally To society as a whole

8-10 (net)

5-7 (net)

1-4 (net)

6.1 7.1

26

Figure 8b: Importance of listed events to audience groups Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ Ipsos MORI research also supports the notion that sport foster social cohesion and cultural identity, and has the ability to bring together people from diverse backgrounds. Ethnic minorities found listed events particularly important with an average personal importance score of 6.7 and a societal score of 7.5, well above white averages of 6.1 and 7.0 respectively. The societal importance uplift was also particularly strong among women, even though many were not personally interested in the events. Even the lower income groups showed an uplift of 1.1. Figure 8c: Importance of listed events to audience groups Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+

7.1

7.0

7.2

7.9

8.5

7.6

4.4

6.1

5.9

6.3

7.3

8.4

6.6

2.2

Total

Non Pay TV

Pay TV

Sky/Setanta Pay TV

Sports Fans

Main Eventers

Sports Rejectors

To you personally To society as a whole Points difference

1.0

1.1

0.9

0.6

0.1

0.9

2.2

6.1

7.05.3

5.96.36.26.46.2

6.0

6.66.26.1

5.5

6.16.7

Total

MaleFemale

16-24yrs25-34yrs35-44yrs45-54yrs55-64yrs

65+yrs

ABC1C2DE

WhiteNon-white

7.1

7.56.7

6.87.27.2

7.07.37.1

7.57.27.1

6.6

7.07.5

To you personally To society as a whole

1.0

0.51.4

1.00.91.00.61.01.2

0.81.00.91.1

Points difference

27

In the UK’s nations, the societal uplift is also strong (see Figure 8d). Figure 8d: Importance of listed events by nation Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ Figure 9 shows the average importance of individual events from a personal and societal perspective. The chart suggests that the top five events generating the most benefit to society are The Olympic Games, The FA Cup Final, FIFA World Cup Finals, Wimbledon and the European Championships.

7.1

7.1

7.3

7.1

7.2

6.1

6.1

6.4

6.4

6.1

Total

England

Scotland

Wales

NorthernIreland

To you personally To society as a whole Points difference

1.0

0.9

0.7

1.1

1.0

28

Figure 9: Importance placed on major sporting events Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ The importance of listed events is driven by a number of core factors. Figure 10 shows the responses of the survey participants when asked whether they agreed to a series of statements. The statements can be categorised into three dimensions: tradition, appreciation and involvement. ‘The event is a traditional part of UK culture’ was rated the most important reason why people watch specific events on television. Other statements relating to societal benefits also featured highly. Figure 10: percentage of those who agreed with this statement for at least one of the events This event is a traditional part of UK culture 82 Traditional SocietalThis event showcases the best competitors in their field 78 Appreciation Personal This event is the top event in this sport 77 Appreciation Personal This event creates a feeling of national pride 73 Traditional Societal This event is something that can be watched as a family 73 Appreciation Societal This event is full of dramatic moments 72 Appreciation Personal This event provides an opportunity to watch national heroes 70 Appreciation Societal It is an event that should not be missed 67 Traditional Personal This event is something to talk about with friends/family/colleagues 67 Involvement Societal This event gives people a sense of community 62 Traditional Societal I am passionate about this sport 50 Involvement Personal This event inspires me 50 Involvement Personal Watching this event increases my interest in this sport 46 Involvement Societal This event gives people the opportunity to learn new things 38 Appreciation Societal This event encourages me to participate in the sport 23 Involvement Societal Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Olympic

Games

FA Cup

Final

FIFA Worl

d Cup

Finals

Wim

bledo

n

The Euros

Commonw

ealth

Gam

es

Worl

d & E

uro Q

ualifie

rs (ho

me nati

ons)

Grand N

ation

al

Champion

s Lea

gue Fi

nal

The Ash

es

Six Nati

ons C

hampio

nship

Rugby

Worl

d Cup

Englan

d Cric

ket T

ests

in Eng

land

Lions

Tour

IAAF W

orld C

hampio

nships

Cricke

t Wor

ld Cup

RL Cha

lleng

e Cup

Final

The D

erby

Ryder

Cup

Scottis

h FA C

up Fi

nal

Rugby

Unio

n Autu

mn Ints

The O

pen

Twenty2

0 Worl

d Cup

Women's

Int fin

als (h

ome n

ation

s)

Women's

FA C

up Fina

l

Societal importance Personal importance

29

Other evidence The way in which listing contributes to the quality of life in the UK has also been explored in academic studies and research. Brookes (2008)28 identified that sporting events such as the Football World Cup can build ‘social capital’ as they are examples of programmes which reach across different groups of society, such as age or ethnic groups. They provide a talking point, countering fragmentation of audiences, reducing barriers and increasing trust between people. Boardman and Hargreaves Heap (1999)29 similarly identify that listing contributes to ‘network externalities’ – people talk about things they have in common. When fewer people share the experience, this devalues the conversational value of the event. Szymanski (2000)30 recognises that many types of programming can lead to shared experiences which unite the nation but what differentiates sport is that people derive satisfaction from watching an unfolding drama for which the result is uncertain, and it is this aspect of sport in particular which provides the shared experience. Similarly, Solberg31 pointed out that listing helps to preserve cultural heritage by ensuring that events which are deemed ‘cultural assets’ are given prominence. He also argued that listing can help develop a sense of community pride and national identity. This is supported by recent survey evidence commissioned by GE32, in which Team GB’s recent gold medal success in Beijing was seen to bolster a sense of national pride amongst 56% of survey participants. Sport is also an important part of national identity. Within the devolved nations of the UK, different sporting events are of major importance to audiences. In Scotland, international football has a particular place in the Scottish culture heritage, whilst in Wales rugby is of significance to the nation. In Northern Ireland, sport and in particular football has become a focal point to promote community understanding. For example, research has shown that rugby in Wales and football in Scotland attracts much higher interest than corresponding teams in England.33 Coverage of the Scottish Cup 2008 Final on BBC One Scotland attracted an average audience of 574,000 and 56% share. Six Nations 2008 achieved an average share of 53% in Wales compared to 29% in UK as a whole. Recent Ipsos MORI research also highlighted the difference that each nation place on events of importance. For example, in Wales rugby featured strongly in the top ten most important sporting events compared with other nations.

28 Martin Brookes, Watching Alone: Social Capital and Public Service Broadcasting, 2004. 29 AE Boardman and Hargraves Heap, SP, Network externalities and government restrictions on spending on satellite, 1999. 30 S Szymanski, Sport and Broadcasting, October 2000. 31 HA Solberg, The Market for Sports Rights: Will Listed Events solve the problems? www.nordicom.gu.se/eng_mr/iceland/papers/two/HASolberg.doc 32 Ipsos MORI poll commissioned by GE,October 2008. 33 BMRB TGI Sport + Survey, Britain’s Love of Sport An update from, September 2008

30

Figure 11: Top 10 most important sporting events by nation, ranked by societal importance England Scotland Wales NIOlympic Games Olympic Games Olympic Games Olympic Games FA Cup Final Commonwealth Games Six Nations Championship FIFA World Cup FinalFIFA World Cup Final FIFA World Cup Final Commonwealth Games The Euros Wimbledon Wimbledon FA Cup Final FA Cup Final

The Euros The Euros Wimbledon UEFA Champions League Final (Football)

Commonwealth Games FA Cup Final The Rugby World Cup (Rugby Union) Wimbledon

World Cup & Euros Qualifiers (Home Nations only) The Grand National The Grand National Six Nations Championship

UEFA Champions League Final (Football) The Scottish FA Cup Final FIFA W orld Cup Final World Cup & Euros Qualifiers

(Home Nations only)

The Grand National World Cup & Euros Qualifiers (Home Nations only) The Ashes (Cricket) Commonwealth Games

Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ Evidence on sporting events, interest and participation Increasing participation in sport can deliver positive outcomes, both for the individual concerned (e.g. fitness, well-being) and for society at large (e.g. community involvement; reduced healthcare costs). The Government is aiming to engage a million more people in regular sport participation in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.34 Ipsos MORI research indicates that watching live sport on TV could promote interest in sport. 43% of UK adults said that they have become more interested in sport as a result of watching it on TV, and for those who never participate in sport the result is 29%. Of those who said their interest was not affected, the vast majority (77%) were already interested in the sport. Whilst a wide range of factors influence whether people take part in sport (e.g. such as income levels, availability of sporting facilities etc), Ipsos MORI research provides evidence that watching television coverage of major sporting events could lead to participation. 22% of survey respondents said that they were more likely to participate in the sport as a result of having seen a listed event on TV, compared to 8% of those who have seen a non listed event.

34 DCMS, Playing to Win: A New Era for Sport, 2008.

31

Figure 12: Link between watching sport on TV, interest in sport and participation Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+ Note: All figures refer to percentage of UK population 3.3. The public value case for the B list The above discussion demonstrates how listing is linked to the key drivers of public value – in particular reach, consumer value and wider social benefits. The BBC believes, therefore, that there is a strong rationale for retaining legislation which secures universal free-to-air access for major sporting events. These public value arguments apply to both the Group A list which protects ‘live’ coverage and the Group B list which protects delayed or highlights coverage. However, it is clear from the evidence that audiences place a higher value on live access for many sports and that live events tend to deliver higher reach and fit more effectively with the delivery of public value. It is important, therefore, that the most important sporting events are protected for ‘live’ coverage on free-to-air television. Ipsos MORI research shows that 71% of UK adults would like at least one of the major events shown live and would not be satisfied with just highlights, whilst over half of UK adults would prefer live coverage of the top-ranked events (including Olympics, World Cup, FA Cup Final, Wimbledon and European Championship football), as opposed to highlights. Having said this, the Group B events, even when shown in highlights form, have the capacity to attract large audiences and are considered to be important to audiences, both on a personal level and to society as a whole. The principle of the B list should be maintained. Its purpose should be to secure deferred coverage to those events or parts of events:

• that are of national importance but less so than events or parts of events in Group A

• where the audience attaches a lower value to live coverage The protection of such events by way of highlights or deferred coverage should deliver public value while minimising market impact as sports bodies are able to sell the ‘live’ rights

UK adults 16+100%

Ever watched sport on TV

75%

Generates an interest in that

sport 44%

Influences participation in

that sport 22%

Generates an interest in that

sport 22%

Influences participation in

that sport 8%

Watching a listed event

Watching a non listed event

32

to pay-TV. Many Group B sports are also available live on pay-TV (e.g. cricket test matches, Ryder Cup and, previously, Six Nations Rugby). There is also strong evidence to support the critical role that sport highlights plays, with 53% of UK adults citing that for at least one event they would prefer highlights. Figure 13 suggests that highlights are particularly important for sports that take up an extended period of time (i.e. cricket and golf) and minority sports (i.e. women’s FA Cup final).

Figure 13: importance of live coverage and highlights for major sporting events Source: Ipsos MORI, 7th-12th May 2009, 2,543 UK adults aged 16+

121415

1920202020202123

2627

31333435

384041

454647

5353

2120

22

232222

2120

26272319

2016

1818

2218

1715

121613

914

2222

21

191920

2021

1618

16171416

1313

1311

101110

998

8

1817

1512

1313

121313

1110

11121211

1010

899

910

888

6

27282726272726272726

24262626262525

222423242321

2323

19

16 24 21

Wom e n's Int f inals (hom e nations)Wom en 's FA Cup Final

Tw enty20 World CupEng land Cricke t Tes ts overse as

Rugby Union Autum n In tsSco ttis h FA Cup Final

Cricke t World CupRyder CupThe Open

Lions TourIAAF World Cham pionships

RL Challenge Cup FinalEngland Crick e t Te s ts in England

The DerbyThe As hes

Rugby World CupSix Nations Cham pionship

Com m onw e alth Gam esWorld & Euro Qualifie rs (hom e nations)

The EurosCham pions League Final

Grand NationalWim b le don

FIFA World Cup FinalsFA Cup Final

Olym pic Gam es

This event should beshown live and I wouldnot be happy with justhighlights

I would prefer the eventto be shown live butwould be happy with thehighlights instead

I would prefer highlights,rather than live coverage

This event should not beshown on the 5 mainchannels at all

Don't Know

Base: 2,543 UK adults, 7th – 12th May 2009

33

4. The criteria against which events may be listed

4.1. Proposed amendments to the criteria Under current arrangements, in order to be considered for listing, an event has to pass the ‘essential criterion test‘. An event has to have ‘a special national resonance, not just significance to those who ordinarily follow the sport concerned; it is an event which serves to unite the nation, a shared point on the national calendar’. The BBC believes that the criterion currently adopted is still relevant and useful as it captures two key concepts underpinning the rationale for intervention in the market, reflecting:

• Sporting events which successfully reach not only sports fans but also those who value watching these main events, but would not necessarily be willing or able to pay to access sport on pay-TV platforms; and

• Sporting events which are important to people as individuals and to society as a whole.

Inevitably, that there will be scope for debate about the extent to which an event has ‘special national resonance’ or whether ‘it serves to unite the nation’, but we believe that the criterion provides a useful framework for evidence-based decision-making, an approach that the BBC has taken in recommending changes to the present list (see section 6). However, we suggest that the drafting of the ‘essential criterion’ is amended to reflect the importance of particular sporting events in the devolved nations. We suggest the following:

‘’the event has a special UK importance or resonance in a particular nation, not just a significance to those who ordinarily follow the sport concerned; it is an event which serves to unite the UK or a particular nation, a shared point in the calendar’’

This section addresses the following questions of the consultation paper. Q3. Do you agree that this should remain the essential criterion test? If you do not agree, please explain why and please indicate what you consider should be the essential criterion in a sporting context. Q5. Do you consider that these characteristics remain appropriate? If you do not, or consider that additional characteristics should be included, please explain why. Q6. Are these the appropriate other factors that the Secretary the Secretary of State should take into account when considering whether or not to list an event? If not, or you consider that additional factors should be taken into account, please explain why.

• BBC believes that the current, public interest test for listing sports is still relevant and useful

• BBC recommends an amendment to the test to capture the importance of sport in the nations

• BBC believes that other balancing factors should be taken into account when determining the list

34

We recognise that under the current framework an event does not have to be of major importance to the whole of the UK to be considered for listing. It is sufficient that is of major importance to one nation and can be listed on a national basis. However, we believe that explicit reference to the nations in the criterion will allow the Secretary of State to place greater emphasis on events which unite or have resonance in particular nations than is currently the case. The BBC agrees with the Government’s current approach that (having qualified under the ‘essential criterion’) sporting events are most likely to be listed if they have:

• A large television audience; and • A history of being broadcast live on FTA television

As highlighted above, a large television audience for an event demonstrates its value to audience and underpins the delivery of public value. 4.2. Other factors We note that the consultation paper raised other factors that the Secretary of State should take into account when deciding whether to list an event. Such as:

• Whether it is practical to offer full live coverage on a general channel – extended events such as season-long championships involving many matches will not normally be listed in their entirety

• The impact of listing in reducing the income or potential income of the sport and consequences of that reduction for its investment in increasing participation

• The likely impact of listing on the broadcasting market, including future investments in sports broadcasting, the level of competition and the position of public service broadcasters

• Whether there are arrangements to ensure that access to the events is available to all viewers by means of highlights, delayed coverage and/or radio commentary

The BBC believes that it is appropriate to take these balancing factors into account when determining the shape of the A list. The listed events intervention seeks to balance the interests of sports bodies with the wider public interest of ensuring that a range of important events are universally available to the UK public. We recommend that Government takes an evidence-based approach to assessing the list, such as the one described in the section 6 of our submission, so it is clear to stakeholders how the wider, balancing factors have been considered in the decision-making process.

35

5. Market impact of listing

A public intervention to protect listed events can have potential costs including adverse market impacts. The BBC recognises this point and believes that any discussion of the audience benefits of the principle of listing also needs to consider the potential market implications. The critical question is whether the public value of listing outweighs market impact. 5.1. Affected markets Previous competition cases (e.g. the OFT investigation into the joint bid by ITV and BBC to acquire rights for the 2002 FIFA world cup and the OFT Premier League investigation into its 1997/98 to 2000/01 joint TV deal with Sky and the BBC on behalf of 20 clubs and most recently Ofcom’s pay TV review) provide precedents for the markets likely to be affected by listing. They suggest that listing could have an impact on:

• The market for television sports rights; and • The downstream broadcasting market.

5.2. Impact on competition in relevant markets Negative market impacts in the sports rights market include: loss of income to sports rights holders, reduced future investment in sports and reduced attendances at non-listed events. In the broadcasting market, listing could also lead to loss of income for category B broadcasters (through loss of subscribers and advertising revenues). Potentially listing can act as a barrier to entry into the broadcasting market if listing means that the rights for non-listed events are higher than they would have been in the absence of listing. Positive market impacts include increased reach and exposure for listed sports (with additional benefits of further opportunities to raise income from sponsorship and merchandise) and protecting future rights income from the threat of piracy. In the broadcasting market listing also helps to maintain a balanced market. In the absence of listing, there would be a real risk that Category A broadcasters would be unable to compete with Category B broadcasters, leading to a sport broadcasting market dominated by pay-TV providers. A more detailed discussion of market impact is included in the Annex A2.

This section relates to question 6 of the consultation paper (Q6. Are these the appropriate other factors that the Secretary the Secretary of State should take into account when considering whether or not to list an event? If not, or you consider that additional factors should be taken into account, please explain why).

• BBC recognises that listing events can bring about potential costs including adverse market impacts

• However, the BBC believes that any consideration of the list should take into account the potential positive audience benefits and assess whether public value of listing outweighs market impact

36

6. Assessment of the current lists

The DCMS discussion document asked which events ought to be listed and specifically whether the current lists should remain unchanged, whether any events should move between the A and the B lists, whether any new events ought to be added or whether any events should be removed from the lists. 6.1. BBC approach to assessing the lists To help answer these questions, the BBC developed an evidence-based approach to reviewing a range of major sporting events, including those currently on the list. Specifically, we gathered a wide range of data which reflects the current framework for listing. This covered information that reflects the Government’s essential criterion test:

i.e. the event has a special resonance, not just of significance to those who ordinarily follow the sport concerned; it is an event which serves to unite the nation, a shared point on the national calendar.

We also checked whether each event reflects the characteristics that DCMS suggest are likely to apply in a sporting context. i.e.:

• It is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport • It involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned

The information gathered for this analysis is shown in Figure 14. Figure 14: Evidence used to assess sporting events

Evidence The event has a special national resonance, not just of significance to those who ordinarily follow the

• Measures to capture audience size including reach (millions and % of population), average

This section relates to the following questions of the consultation paper. Q9. Do you think that the Secretary of State should:

• leave the current arrangements unchanged; • move existing events between the A and B lists; • add any entirely new events; or • remove any events that are currently listed?

• BBC has developed an evidence-based approach to assessing a range of major sporting events

• BBC recommends splitting the A list into three groups – A1, A2 and A3 to reflect the different nature of the events

• A1 events, the ‘UK conversation’ events, are the most socially important and ought to protected for universal, free-to-air access in their entirety

• A2 ‘resonance in the nations’ events need to be protected in those nations where they have particular resonance

• A3 events are ‘pinnacle sports’ events, key UK moments that rise above the normal day- to- day sporting mainstream

37

sport concerned; it is an event which serves to unite the nation, a shared point on the national calendar

audiences and share, and peak audiences35

• Audience expectations/value drawing on Ipsos MORI research on importance of individual events to society

• Is an event that has historical/cultural significance e.g. has been established for many years

• Is a sport that has particular resonance in a particular nation; or serves to unite a particular nation 36

It is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport

• Is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport

It involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned

• Is a sport that involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned

• Is a sport which involves individual competitors of special national interest

6.2. Results of the assessment The following table summarises our assessment of each event. The table rates each event on the extent (i.e. Very High, High, Medium, Low) to which they meet the essential criterion test. The table also indicates whether the event is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport and whether it involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned.

35 Whilst reach data is inevitably retrospective, it is important that the list is future-proofed. Sports go in and out of fashion and we have taken this point into account in the assessment. 36 This is to take into account the proposed amendment to the ’essential criterion’, which reflects the importance of particular sporting events in the devolved nations, as outlined in section 4.

38

Event Fit with essential

criterion Pre-eminent

sport in the event Involves national team

or representative The Olympic Games Very High Y Y The FIFA World Cup Finals Tournament Very High Y Y The European Football Championship Finals Tournament Very High Y Y FA Cup Final High Y N Scottish FA Cup Final (Scotland) High Y N Football International Qualifiers (home nations) High Y Y Commonwealth Games High Y Y Rugby Union Welsh Six Nations and Autumn Internationals (Wales) High Y Y The Wimbledon Championships High Y N Rugby World Cup finals tournament High/Medium Y Y Rugby League Challenge Cup Final Medium/Low Y N ICC Cricket World Cup tournament Medium Y Y Twenty20 World Cup Medium Y Y The Grand National High Y n/a* The Derby Medium/Low Y n/a* The Champions League Final High/Medium Y N England Cricket Home Test Matches Medium Y Y The Ashes High/Medium Y Y Six Nations Rugby Tournament Medium Y Y The Open Golf Championship Medium Y N The Ryder Cup Medium Y Y British and Irish Lions Tour Medium Y Y Women's Football World Cup/Euros/ICC Cricket World Cup Finals involving a home nation team Low Y Y The World Athletics Championship Low N Y

* ‘It is an event which involves the national team or national representatives’ is not a relevant criterion for the Grand National or the Derby.

The assessment shows that, according to the Government’s criterion and characteristics for listing, the case for listing many events currently protected by legislation still remains. It also suggests that there is a public case for adding a range of events to the Government’s current list. (See Annex A1 for details of the analysis and evidence underpinning the table). However, as the consultation paper (and section 4.2 of this paper) discusses, the Government should also take into account other, balancing factors affecting the likely costs and benefits to the sport concerned, to the broadcasting industry and to viewers, when deciding whether or not to list events. Many of these balancing factors do not fit easily into an analytical framework, but they nevertheless play an important role in deciding the shape of the list. So, while a pure public value analysis of whether specific events fit with the Government’s criteria for listing might point to one list of events, in practice, this list is likely to differ from that which also reflects wider considerations. For example:

• There is a case that Champions League Final meets the Government’s criteria for listing, but there is little public debate to do so, possibly because UEFA has to date always ensured the Final has been available to FTA broadcasters. In addition, listing the whole tournament would potentially lead to a significant loss in income for the rights holder.

39

• There is a case that the whole of the Wimbledon tournament meets the essential criterion. However, its current listed status works well and the AELTC has not, to date, shown any willingness to sell exclusive rights to the non-finals to a Category B broadcaster.

• There is public debate over whether live home cricket test matches should be

reserved for live free-to-air availability. There is a public interest case for listing but this must be weighed against the potential impact on the funding for the sport. We discuss test match cricket in more detail below (see section 6.2.4.)

• The case for continuing to list the Derby is perhaps less strong than many of the

other sports on the list. However, it remains the most prestigious flat race of the season with a tremendous history and heritage. Similarly, the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final also performs less well on our scoring criteria. However, it is an historic and important sporting event in the North of England which needs to be considered when making an informed assessment.

In light of our assessment, and consideration of additional factors affecting the costs and benefits of listing, the BBC recommends that the A list should be split into three groups (A1, A2 and A3) to reflect the differing nature and value of events.

• A1 comprises ‘UK conversation events’ that are the most socially important and should be protected for universal FTA access in their entirety.

• A2 comprises ‘resonance in the nations’ events that should be protected in those nations where they have particular resonance.

• A3 comprises ‘pinnacle sports’ events, representing key moments that rise above the normal sporting mainstream – either:

o the final match of international tournaments (e.g. Rugby World Cup final; ICC Cricket World Cup); or

o the pinnacle moment/match in an event (e.g. Grand National or the Wimbledon Men & Women’s Final).

• The B list includes highlights to the whole of the above A3 tournaments. It also includes highlights to other sport events that are not A listed, e.g. Open/Ryder Cup golf, Six Nations and England home test match cricket.

We recommend that the lists should comprise the following: A1 List: UK Conversation Events (Live) The IOC Winter and Summer Olympics Games The FIFA World Cup The UEFA European Football Championships A2 List: Resonance in the Nations (Live in Relevant Nation) The FA Cup Final The Scottish Cup Final (Scotland) The Football International Qualifiers Home and Away (Respective Home Nations) The Commonwealth Games Welsh Rugby Union Six Nations and Autumn Internationals (Wales)

40

A3 List: Pinnacle Sport Events (Live) The Wimbledon Championships Men and Women’s Final The Rugby World Cup Final The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final ICC Cricket World Cup Final The Twenty20 World Cup Final The Grand National The Derby B List: Events of a UK Importance (Highlights) The Wimbledon Championships The Rugby World Cup ICC Cricket World Cup The Twenty 20 World Cup Six Nations Rugby Tournament The Open Golf Championship The Ryder Cup England Cricket Home Test Matches The British and Irish Lions Tour Women's Football World Cup/European Championship/ICC Cricket World Cup Finals involving Home Nation's Teams The detailed evidence to support this assessment is summarised below and set out in full in Annex 1. 6.2.1. Group A1 events: UK conversation events Each of the events in this group meet the Government’s criteria for listing to a Very High degree. Furthermore, no other events deliver audiences to the same degree or consistency. Olympic Games - 77% of the UK population followed the 2008 Olympics across all our media and total TV reach was 42 million – 74% of the population. For Athens 2004 (which had a more favourable time zone reach) was 45 million - 82% of the population. The Olympics is one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world and represents the most prestigious event in a variety of sports. The Games have a unifying effect, nationally and globally, in the way that only the biggest sporting events can deliver. Audiences rank it as the most important event from a societal perspective. (Overall assessment: Very High) FIFA World Cup finals tournament - The World Cup produces some of the largest audiences seen on TV: the 2006 World Cup reached 48 million – 86% of the adult population. The World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and almost on a par with the Olympics. It is the greatest football competition in the world and arguably the most popular event of any kind (sporting or otherwise). Audiences rank it as the 3rd most important event from a societal perspective. (Overall assessment: Very High) European Football Championship tournament – the Euros are comparable to the World Cup in terms of reach and popularity. Euro 2004 reached 41.6million and in 2008 achieved reach of

41

35.2 million despite no national team qualifying, making Euro 2008 the most watched sporting event at that time since the 2006 World Cup. The European football championships are almost as popular as the World Cup. It can be argued that the tournament actually has a larger number of top-quality football matches than the World Cup (as only the top European sides compete, compared to the World Cup where a number of lesser footballing nations take part). Audiences rank it as the 5th most important event from a societal perspective. (Overall assessment: Very High) In our view, these events are more important than any other major event hence being distinguished as Group A1. Only these huge events, together with the Commonwealth Games (which is included in Group A2 given importance to the nations) deliver audiences over 40 million (70% reach). This is fundamental to why these events need to be protected in their entirety. These events form part of the national conversation, attracting huge numbers of non-sports fans. To remove them would damage the national cultural fabric. The entire event should remain available to the UK public as it unites the UK even where there is no specific home nation interest. We therefore believe there is a strong case for listing the A1 events in their entirety – as supported by the following case studies.

42

FIFA Football World Cup (World Cup) and EUFA European Championships (Euros) If we look back at the history of the football World Cup and the Euros, it is difficult to predict which matches and moments will make the biggest and most lasting impression. These moments are not limited to when a home nation is taking part as the last European Championship Football tournament demonstrates. Naturally, the absence of a home nation’s team had an impact on the average audience figures for Euro 2008. Their presence would have generated momentum in terms of viewing figures not only for matches involving the home nation teams themselves, but also for the games between their opponents in the group and their possible adversaries in other group matches. Nevertheless the audience figures for all matches were impressive. Euro 2008 matches had an average audience of 5.4 million (or 5.2 million excluding the final and opening games). Euro 2004 (which involved England) averaged 8.4 million per game (or 6.1 million excluding the final, opening and England games). Average viewing for the last World Cup on the BBC was 6.6 million per live match (or 5.4 million excluding the final, opening game and England games). Audiences tend to be significant throughout the World Cup (WC) tournament, not just the final and semi-finals and matches involving home nations as illustrated by the following audience figures (full tournament audiences included in Annex A3): - Brazil v Croatia 10.0 million peak (WC Group) - Argentina v Mexico 10.5 million (WC Round 2) - Spain v France 10.1 million (WC Round 2) - Netherlands v Argentina 9.4 million (WC Group) - Italy v Ghana 7.4 million (WC Group) - Japan v Brazil 8.4 million (WC Group) - Poland v Ecuador 6.8 million (WC Group) For Euro 2008 (which involved no home nation teams) audiences were: Croatia v Turkey 8.0 million (QF), Holland v Russia 8.9 million (QF). In Euro 2004 Spain v Portugal reached 9.7million (Group). Furthermore, average audiences for qualifying matches broadcast on pay-TV for the Euro 2008 Qualifiers involving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were around 250,000 (Setanta). For matches involving England, the average on pay-TV audience was around 1.1 million on Setanta and 2.2 million on Sky, compared to FTA average of 8.4 million. One reason for the interest in the World Cup and Euro 2008 is the increasing number of European players who play in the Premier League, the Championship and the Scottish Leagues. Football fans have been keen to find out how some of their favourite players will fare in tournaments. Furthermore, the UK is increasingly a multi-cultural society with many citizens and residents having roots from across the world and a natural interest in the performance of these countries’ football teams. This is particularly evident in London; where over half of births in London are now to mothers who were not born in the UK. The public is interested in all the matches. Broadcasting all matches of an event on free television allows the broadcaster or broadcasters to tell the whole story of the event, building audiences as it progresses and making each match a ‘water cooler moment’. By promoting the event, rather than a series of individual matches, free TV is able to attract ‘main eventers’ (see Figure 3) who are otherwise not interested in sport. If a large portion of the event was on pay TV, this wider audience would not be attracted. Depriving British football fans access to the whole tournament on FTA television would significantly lower the exposure to the tournament as a whole. Pay-TV audiences for football are significantly lower, and this is likely to remain the case post 2012, given that pay-TV

43

penetration will not reach more than 50% of TV households by switchover and also that willingness to pay for premium sport content is constrained. The World Cup is the people’s tournament. Every team is supported by significant parts of the UK who identify by blood, or by players. The World Cup and Euros helps unite these communities in celebrating the story of the two main International football events. This would be lost without the whole story being told on free-to-air. This globalisation of football shows no signs of slowing down. Football is never just about games and goals but also the images that linger in the memory and will be watched and talked about again and again. It is important that the British public does not miss out on these iconic moments played out in the global sporting arena. Olympic Games Audiences are drawn to the Olympics. It is essential that a broadcaster can cover all its sports and build the full event over a two week period, to be able to invest in marketing and innovation with the security of being able to transmit the whole event. The BBC is able to use its portfolio of digital audio-visual services to maximise the breadth and depth of Olympics coverage. In Beijing we covered over 2000 hours across a broad range of sports. The range and depth of the BBC’s coverage is, for example, illustrated by the 27.5 live hours of hockey and 22.5 live hours of weightlifting that were broadcast. Audiences for individual sports were impressive – virtually all achieved an average audience of 1.5 million, with many reaching over 2 million. Prior to the Olympics, no one really knows which stories will capture the popular imagination. Who would have forecast the Women’s Curling Gold in 2002? The popularity of Eddie the Eagle? Or that Taekwondo would be one of the most popular sports in Beijing? Limiting FTA coverage to the blue ribbon Olympics events or a fixed number of hours could deprive viewers of the unexpected moments. The success of Team GB at the Beijing Olympics was notable for producing the best British gold medal haul since the games were hosted in London in 1908 and with that many remarkable moments: • the astonishing finish of the 400m freestyle when Rebecca Adlington pipped American Katie Hoff

by seven 100ths of a second, and going on to shatter the world record in the 800m to become Britain’s most successful swimmer of the last 100 years;

• how Chris Hoy became the most successful Scottish Olympian of all time, and the first Briton in 100 years to win three gold medals at an Olympics – an inspiration to British sport; and

• how Tom Daley, at only 14 years old, captured the hearts of the British public, reaching a very creditable seventh place in the Men’s 10m platform final.

Iconic moments from every Olympics have an individual and cumulative significance in the nations’ sporting history and sense of pride. The legacy would be weakened if these moments were not freely available in their entirety to everyone in the UK. The BBC’s ambition for 2012 is to cover every event live across its digital platforms. We would expect to follow a similar pattern for future events in 2016 and beyond.

We assessed other major events within this A1 Group, i.e. for listing entire events. In particular, Wimbledon and the Rugby World Cup have strong resonance and public value. However, these major events are of lesser importance than the Olympics, football World

44

Cup and the European football championships in terms of the audiences they deliver. These top three events reach in excess of 40 million. Furthermore, Wimbledon is an annual national tournament (of international significance) compared to the multi-national tournaments included in A1. We are looking to amend the list to reflect the current sporting landscape and nothing has changed in respect of Wimbledon or the Rugby World Cup since the last time the list was examined in 1997. Based on this approach, we have pulled out the pinnacle moments of these other major tournaments which should be protected as Group A3 events (discussed below), with highlights of the entire event protected as Group B events. This also ensures consistency of approach. 6.2.2. Group A2 events: resonance in the nations The FA Cup was first held in 1871/72 and is the oldest football competition in the world, a point on the national calendar. Its rich history ensures that it remains a culturally significant event to the public. The tournament itself reached 30.2 million in 2008 on FTA and peaked in the final at 8.2 million. This was considerably down on the previous three years due to the lack of a ‘big’ team; in the previous year the peak audience (again for the final) was 11.5million. (Overall assessment: High) The Scottish Cup Final (Scotland) is the main national football competition in Scotland. The tournament reached 1.4 million or 30.3% of the adult population in Scotland. The final saw an average audience of 574,000 and 56% share and peaked at 58% share (Overall assessment: High). The Football World Cup and Euro Qualifiers (Home and Away matches in each nation) are the key national football team moments leading up to the major international tournaments, and are the key pinnacle moments if a nations team does not make the finals tournament. Reach for these matches are significant (Overall assessment: High).

• Georgia v Scotland 2007 (last live match on BBC One Scotland): 1.1.million reach, peak audience of 1 million and 41% share (compared to the recent World Cup qualifier Macedonia v Scotland on Setanta which peaked at 0.3 million);

• Final play off Wales v Russia in the Euro 2004 campaign peaked at 585,000, a 50% share. The recent World Cup qualifier Germany v Wales peaked at 0.7 million on BBC 3;

• The average share across the last eight competitive matches covered live on BBC1 NI was 33%. Northern Ireland v England 2005 peaked at 413,000, around a quarter of the population. The recent World Cup qualifier Slovakia v Northern Ireland peaked at 0.3 million; and

• World Cup qualifier England v Croatia peaked at 13.3 million on BBC1 compared to 1.5 million for Croatia v England on Setanta.

The Commonwealth Games is second only to the Olympics in bringing together so many countries to compete in many sports and events. As England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compete as separate teams, the Games are particularly important to the nations. Glasgow has been selected to host the Games in 2014. When the Games were hosted by Manchester in 2002, they reached 40.3 million people – nearly 73% of the UK population, a level of reach on a par with the Olympics, the football World Cup and Euros (i.e. over 40 million). The audience peaked at 9.7 million for the closing ceremony. Reach is also significant when the Games are hosted outside of the UK: 2006 Melbourne Games reached

45

30 million in the UK but had a lower peak audience of 2.9 million due to the time zone. (Overall assessment: High). Welsh Rugby Union Six Nations and Autumn Internationals (in Wales) has more resonance within Wales than within the other nations as illustrated in the case study below. Rugby can achieve 70% share in Wales and it is the most important sport in Wales. Matches often achieve the highest TV audiences of the year in Wales. The audience for the 2008 Six Nations tournament decider (Wales v France) peaked at 1 million viewers (equivalent to 20 million UK wide) – the highest TV audience in Wales since June 2004. Average share for the 2008 Six Nations was 53% in Wales, compared to the UK average of 29% (Overall assessment: High). Welsh Rugby Welsh international rugby has a cultural and sporting profile which sets it apart from the rest of the UK. When the Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends asked people in 1997 about the focal points of nationality, 49% of Welsh respondents cited the national rugby team. It was the second most popular choice, despite the relatively poor form of the team at the time. Ipsos MORI research confirms the extent to which Welsh audiences value free-to-air coverage of international rugby (see Figure 11). The high viewing figures for Six Nations rugby underline the support and enthusiasm for rugby across Wales. The 2009 tournament reached 65% of the population of Wales, well ahead of the average of 41% across the UK. The Autumn International series of matches gives Welsh viewers the opportunity to watch the international team face the best of the Southern Hemisphere. Across three matches, the 2008 series of games reached an audience of 1.05 million in Wales or 38% of the audience. The average audience for the matches was 510,000, with an average peak audience of 600,000. Sky held the rights to broadcast England’s home matches in the Six Nations between 1997 and 2002. A comparison between the audiences for the England v Wales matches in 2002 and 2004 shows the impact of Pay TV on audiences: England v Wales 2002: average audience in Wales on Sky: 119,000 compared to England v Wales 2004: average audience in Wales on BBC1 Wales and S4C: 527,000. The full unifying potential of live rugby and football matches in Wales can only be realised if coverage of those events is available to the widest audience possible. Restricting access to a limited pay-tv audience not only impacts on the sporting interests of individual viewers – it impacts also on the cultural wellbeing of the nation as a whole. 6.2.3. Group A3 events: pinnacle sports events These are the pre-eminent moments within the pre-eminent event of a sport, being either finals of tournaments or one-off events in themselves.

(i) Finals of tournaments Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, and is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the UK. Wimbledon 2008 reached 32.4 million viewers, the highest figure

46

since 2004. The men and women’s final are traditionally the pre-eminent moment of the event; the finals weekend of 2008 reaching 21.5 million. Rafael Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer was watched by 7.8 million (39% share) - the highest men’s final audience since 1995, peaking at 12.7 million. The women’s final was an ‘All Williams’’ affair with 4.2 million (36%) tuning in to watch, the highest reach since 2004. This compares to the Queens Final on FTA, peak audience of 2.2 million and to the US Open Men’s final with Andy Murray (peak scheduling) which peaked at 1.4 million on pay-TV. Wimbledon in particular is a sport which usually involves competitors of special national interest such as Tim Henman and more recently Andy Murray. (Overall assessment: High) The Rugby Union World Cup is one of the largest sporting events in the world and is the premier international rugby union competition. Rugby Union is one of the most popular sports in the UK behind football and continues to grow in popularity, particularly given the strong UK representation from each of the nations. The 2007 tournament reached 33.1 million viewers and in total, rugby union took 21 of the top 100 most watched sports programmes in 2007. The 2007 World Cup audience peaked at 15.9million, when 58% of the UK watched the Rugby World Cup Final on FTA, a larger audience than England’s football Euro 2008 final qualifier against Croatia (Overall assessment: High/Medium). Rugby League Challenge Cup, an annual European rugby league tournament which reached 7.1 million people in 2008, a level that has been maintained for the past four years. The tournament is still dominated by viewers in rugby league’s traditional heartland of the North of England. The final of the Challenge Cup is one of the most prestigious matches in world rugby league and has the largest audience of the competition, peaking at 1.6 million. Although audiences are weaker than other events in this group, the event still has a traditional and cultural resonance in the North of England (Overall assessment: Medium/Low). ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier one day international cricket competition and the final is the pinnacle of the most important tournament of the sport. In 2007, tournament reach on pay-TV was 5.5 million. Highlights on FTA reached 14.4 million. We estimate that if live coverage of the tournament was on FTA, reach would be in the region of 20 million, and for the final would be in the range of 3-10 million depending on time zone and who is playing. The FTA highest audiences for highlights were for England Group games v Ireland and Sri Lanka as well as the final (average audiences around 1.4 million or range 17% - 21% share). Live coverage highest audience on pay-TV was England’s Group match v Australia which had an average audience of c.0.9 million viewers (or 6% share). (Overall assessment: Medium). The Twenty20 World Cup, the international championship of Twenty20 Cricket, had its inaugural tournament in 2007 on pay-TV. Twenty20 has rapidly gained popularity and could potentially represent a key element in underpinning the future of the sport. We estimate that reach on FTA would be in the region of 20 million, and 3-10 million for the final depending on time zone and who is playing - on a par with the ICC Cricket World Cup. This compares to a reach on pay of 7.2 million (7.2% share) and a peak audience of 1.2 million. We propose listing the final in order to future-proof the list and to be consistent with the ICC Cricket World Cup. (Overall assessment: Medium).

(ii) One-off events Other one-off events fall into this category, which are not part of tournaments but which rise above the normal day to day sporting mainstream, borne out by audiences and tradition.

47

The Grand National is an iconic sporting event watched by millions of people, the majority of whom watch little or no other racing during the rest of the year. It is the most famous horse race in the UK. The 2008 race reached 11.9 million people. The peak audience of 10.8 million was the highest since 2004 (Overall assessment: High) The Derby remains one of the most prestigious races of the flat racing calendar. The event arguably unites racing enthusiasts, producing the second highest racing audience on TV after the Grand National, reaching 4.7 million in 2008 and a peak audience of 3 million. Although it is not watched by many beyond those who ordinarily watch horse racing, the Derby has a rich history with the first recorded race dating back to 1661 and still has a strong traditional and cultural significance to the public (Overall assessment: Medium/Low). 6.2.4. Test match cricket in the UK There is considerable debate over whether home cricket test matches should be A listed. Cricket is one of the nation’s most important sports, with a long tradition and loyal fan base. The historic moments in test match cricket, such as "Botham's Ashes" in 1981 and England's last home Ashes series win in 2005, have captured the popular imagination. The BBC was extremely disappointed to lose live television coverage of test cricket to Channel 4 in the late 1990s (although Test Match Special on radio remains one of the BBC's most iconic brands). The de-listing of cricket in the last review and the subsequent acquisition of exclusive live rights by BSkyB from 2006 has meant live cricket is now restricted only to those fans who are willing and able to pay for access. In our opinion, there is a clear public value case for re-listing some home test match cricket – for example, the major summer test series (every year) or the Ashes series (every four years). Test cricket, in particular the Ashes, has the ability to unite the nation and stimulate interest in the sport. Making the major summer test series available on a free-to-air basis could maximise reach and exposure for the sport, as illustrated by the audience figures shown in the table below. Year 2004 (note 1) 2008 (note 2) 2008 (note 3)Broadcaster C4 (live) Sky (live) Five (highlights)Cumulative 15+ reach (m) 18.3m 4.7m 6.5mCumulative 15+ reach (%) 33% 9.20% 11.60%Average Audience 1.1m 0.3m 0.8mShare 14.60% 3.60% 3.90%Peak Audience - 0.9m 1.2m Note 1: reach across both summer test series in 2004. The four match series against West Indies reached 15.7m/28.4% Note 2: reach across both summer test series 2008. The four match series against South Africa alone reached 4.1m/8.1% Note 3: reach across both summer test series 2008

However, we also recognise that international cricket and the commercial market for its rights has moved on in recent years. There has been a significant increase in the value of the rights to English cricket, held by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Broadcasting

48

revenues are an important source of income for domestic cricket and the game at all levels has financially benefitted as a result37. We understand that the ECB’s deal with BSkyB for exclusive rights to live cricket is worth around £300 million over the period 2010-2013. It is extremely unlikely that a FTA broadcaster would be able to match the value of this contract (due to the level of strategic premium BSkyB are prepared to pay for full exclusivity). The impact of listing in reducing the annual income of the ECB, and the consequences for grass-roots investment, should be important considerations. The BBC would not want to see changes that could dramatically impact the overall finances of an important sport such as cricket in England and Wales. At the same time, the major one-day international cricket events have grown in stature and popularity. As described earlier, the Cricket World Cup is already an established competition - the pre-eminent international tournament within the sport - while Twenty20 has rapidly gained popularity and could potentially represent a key element in underpinning the future of the sport. The BBC believes that listing the finals of both these events as pinnacle moments in the sport (with the full tournaments B listed) would strengthen cricket's position in the nation’s sporting culture. There is also unlikely to be a material domestic impact from the listing of these events (see annex 2). As a minimum, it is important also to ensure that access to home test match cricket remains available to all viewers by means of highlights. The decision of whether some test match cricket should be re-listed for live coverage is far less clear, for the reasons set out above. The Panel will need to weigh up the public interest in re-listing some live test cricket with the potential impact on the funding of the sport, particularly at the grass-roots level. However, the BBC remains committed to covering cricket on radio and television, and we have recently acquired the TV highlights to both the ICC Cricket World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup tournaments. If, in future, some test match cricket was re-listed then the BBC would participate in any subsequent tender of the rights, subject to the usual value for money and editorial considerations which apply to all sports rights auctions. 6.2.5. Group B events: events of UK importance This group is for all major events or parts of events which are not included in the A List categories but which meet the main criterion and should therefore be protected for audiences in the form of free–to-air highlights. Listing the whole event simplifies the list and reflects current practice. For the ICC Cricket World Cup, for example, not to list the whole event to protect highlights risks depriving the wider UK community of access to their teams. As noted above these tournaments are of significance themselves and although our evidence suggests that live coverage is of lesser value that the A1 events, there is still a strong case to protect highlights of these events in their entirety. B List Events include the rest of those major tournaments that include key pinnacle moments but have not been included as Group A events in their entirety:

• The Wimbledon Championships • The Rugby World Cup • ICC Cricket World Cup

37 In 2008, 55% of the ECB's total revenues of £94.5m came from the sale of domestic broadcasting rights, ECB Annual report, 2008.

49

• The Twenty20 World Cup

Other major events, which do not have a pinnacle one-off moment (such as a final) and where reach is significantly lower than A1 events, but do meet the main criterion comprise the following. The Six Nations is the most prestigious annual rugby competition and continues to grow in popularity. It presents the rivalry of the nations at its best. The 2008 tournament reached 23.1 million (41%) (Overall assessment: Medium) The Open Golf Championships is the most prestigious annual event on the UK golfing calendar. All the top golfers, including British stars, compete in the event. Audiences are however in decline, and 2008 reach to all coverage (live and highlights) on FTA was the lowest in recent years. 2008 reach for all coverage was 12.9 million and a peak audience of 4.7 million, therefore still significant for highlights to be protected. The average audience for highlights was 0.6 million (4.3% share) (Overall assessment: Medium). The Ryder Cup is the most prestigious golfing event for the British public. The drama of the event and the team nature of the competition does more to capture the public’s imagination than any other golfing tournament. The event is exceptional in bringing players of different home nations together. Reach of live coverage and highlights on pay-TV was 3.4 million in 2008. We estimate that live coverage reach on FTA would be in the region of 12 million, on a par with the Open on Five, reach of highlights coverage was 3.6 million in 2006 (2008 7.1 million) (Overall assessment: Medium). England cricket test matches and test cricket, more generally is the longest form of the sport and has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations. It remains the most prestigious form of the game and although comparatively new One Day International and Twenty20 formats are now more popular amongst some audiences, test cricket remains the highest form of the game amongst traditionalists. Reach of both summer tests in 2004 was 18.3 million on Channel 4. In 2008, live coverage on Sky, reach was 4.7 million; 6.5 million for highlights on FTA (Overall assessment: Medium). The British and Irish Lions Tour has a rich history in rugby union. Combined rugby union sides from the UK and Ireland have toured the Southern Hemisphere since 1888. The event is not shown on FTA (live or highlights) and the 2005 tour had an average audience on pay-TV of 0.9 million, peaking at 1.2 million. We estimate that live coverage of this event on FTA would reach around 15 million, reflecting its true cultural significance (Overall assessment: Medium). Women’s Football World Cup/Euros/Cricket World Cup Finals involving Home Nations’ Teams are the pinnacle moments of the major women’s tournaments. We appreciate that women’s sports do not fit the framework in the same way as other events (scoring does not meet the main criteria) and feel that women’s sports (as with minority sports) are best addressed as part of broadcasters’ own sport strategies. The coverage of minority and women’s sports is an important part of the BBC’s approach to sport. However, for women’s sport, there may be a case that where a home nation team reaches a major final and the event is on pay-TV, highlights should be made available on FTA television. (Overall assessment: Low). World Athletics Championship is not the pinnacle of the sport – it is secondary to the Olympics and from a nations’ perspective, the Commonwealth Games. This is reflected in

50

the lower audiences (reach of 13 million and peak audience of 2.2 million). This event did not meet the main criterion. We therefore recommend removing this event from the list (Overall assessment: Low).

6.3. Conclusions from the assessment Our assessment suggests that there is scope for sub-dividing the current A list of FTA live events into three categories. Of these, the A1 group, comprising the Olympics, the Football World Cup and the European Football Championships, stands out as the most important. These events form part of the UK conversation, attracting huge numbers of non-sports fans. To remove them from the list would damage the UK’s cultural and sporting fabric. The entire event should remain available to the UK public as it unites the UK even where there is no specific home nation interest. No other major events deliver audiences to the same degree or consistency. We therefore believe there is a strong case for listing the A1 events in their entirety.

51

7. BBC recommendations

We believe that the proposed list outlined in section 7 will support the UK public’s interest in viewing those special moments that help unite and maintain the cultural and social fabric of the UK. We have not assumed the status quo, having assessed each event against the criteria. Our proposal broadly reflects the current list but amends it slightly to reflect the current sporting landscape. Our proposed list is (additions in bold): A1 List: UK Conversation Events (Live)

• The IOC Winter and Summer Olympic Games • The FIFA World Cup • The UEFA European Football Championships

A2 List: Resonance in the Nations (Live in Relevant Nation)

• The FA Cup Final • The Scottish Cup (Scotland) • The Football International Qualifiers Home and Away (Respective Home

Nations) • The Commonwealth Games • Welsh Rugby Union Six nations and Autumn Internationals (Wales)

A3 List: Pinnacle Sports Events (Live)

• The Wimbledon Championships Men and Women’s Final • Rugby World Cup Final • Rugby League Challenge Cup Final • ICC Cricket World Cup Final • Twenty20 World Cup Final • Grand National • Derby

B List: Events of UK Importance (Highlights)

• The Wimbledon Championships • The Rugby World Cup

This section addresses the following questions of the consultation paper. Q9. Do you think that the Secretary of State should:

• leave the current arrangements unchanged; • move existing events between the A and B lists; • add any entirely new events; or • remove any events that are currently listed?

Q10. If you have suggested that live coverage of any such tournaments should be listed do you think that: • the entire tournament should be listed; or • only selected stages, events or matches involving national teams or representatives?

Please give reasons for your view and, if you favour selected listing, please specify which tournaments and which stages, events or matches.

52

• ICC Cricket World Cup (extended to all games) • The Twenty20 World Cup • Six Nations Rugby Tournament (extended to all games) • The Open Golf Championship • The Ryder Cup • England Cricket Home Test Matches • The British and Irish Lions Tour • Women’s Football World Cup/Euros/ICC Cricket World Cup Finals involving

Home Nations’ Team

53

Annex 1: Assessment of sporting events

Our main submission describes the information gathered to assess events against the Government’s criteria. This Annex provides further detail about the way in which this information was used to calculate the individual scores for each event as summarised in section 6 of the main document. We collected a range of data to demonstrate the extent to which each event met with the Government’s criteria for listing, based on the Government’s main criterion (relating to ‘special resonance and uniting the nation’) and the additional characteristics (relating to ‘pre-eminence and national representation’).

As in our main submission, we have grouped events by category.

• A1 comprises UK conversation events and are the most socially importance and should be protected for universal FTA access in their entirety.

• A2 comprises ‘resonance in the nations’ events and should be protected in the nations where they have particular resonance.

• A3 comprises ‘pinnacle sports’ events, representing key UK moments that rise above the normal day to day sporting mainstream – either:

o the final match of international tournaments (e.g. Rugby World Cup final; Cricket World Cup); or

o the pinnacle moment/match in an event/sport (e.g. Grand National/Derby horse races; Rugby League Cup Final; Wimbledon Final).

• The B list includes highlights to the whole of the above A3 tournaments (Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, Wimbledon, and Twenty20 Cricket World Cup). It also includes highlights to other sport events that are not A listed: Open/Ryder Cup golf, British Lions (new addition), Six Nations and England home test match cricket.

Assessment against main criteria Inevitably, there will be scope for debate about the extent to which an event has ‘special resonance’ or ‘serves to unite the nation.’ Quantitative metrics (i.e. audience research and reach data) provide a proxy for these criteria, but they do not provide a comprehensive picture. As a result we have also drawn on qualitative data based on our knowledge of each event (specifically reflecting the historical/cultural significance of the event and whether the event has potential to unite the nation). We recognise that this qualitative information does not naturally fit into an analytical framework and therefore we have had to use an element of judgement in scoring events. The tables below set out the data collected for each event in more detail and show where and how judgement has been factored in to the assessment of whether events meet the main Government criteria for listing. Assessment against the two characteristics We also conducted a similar exercise at the event level to demonstrate the extent to which each event falls into the following two categories:

• it is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport; and • it involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned.

The evidence gathered to support these two characteristics is factual, though we recognise that some element of judgment has been used in the definition of a ‘pre-eminence.’ E.g. we have suggested that the Ashes test match is the pre-eminent event in test match cricket and that the

54

Cricket World Cup is the pre-eminent event in international cricket tournaments involving several countries.

55

Category A1 – UK conversation events

National resonance & unites the nation Characteristics Event Reach & peak

audience***

Importance to society*

Other factors – cultural significance or resonance in the nations

Overall fit with main criterion

Pre-eminent event

Involves national teams or representatives

Reason for categorisation

The Olympic Games

V high - over 40m Athens 2004 45m (82%) Beijing 2008 42m (74%) 2008 - 7.6m

High 7.5

High - event of global significance The greatest sporting spectacle in the world, with many shared moments of national unity – global event of global significance

Very High driven by all factors. In particular, distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m and high social importance

P The Olympics represent the most prestigious event in a variety of sports

P The Great British team has elite British athletes from across a range of sports

Very high and distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m and high social importance. Event of global significance

The FIFA World Cup Finals Tournament

V high – over 40m 2006 - 48m (86%) 2006 – 19.7m

High 7.0

High - event of global significance. Football unites the nation like no other sport. World Cup matches, with or without a home nation, draw massive audiences (detailed in section 6)

Very high driven by all factors. In particular, distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m and high social importance

P The most prestigious football competition in the world, watched by billions worldwide. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and arguably most popular

P National teams participate, if they qualify for the finals

Very high and distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m and high social importance. Event of global significance

The European Football Championship Finals Tournament

V high – over 40m 2008 - 35.2m (62%) (no home nation qualifying) 2004 – 41.6m 2008 -12.1m

High 6.7

High Football unites the nation like no other sport. Euros are on a par with the World Cup in terms of audiences and popularity

Very high driven by all factors. In particular, distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m

P Massively popular football tournament throughout Europe

P National teams participate, if they qualify for the finals

Very high and distinguished from other events due to exceptional reach of over 40m

* Importance to society indicator reflects average scores obtained when respondents in the Ipsos MORI research were asked how important it was for society (on a scale of 1 to 10) for events to be shown on FTA television. The average scores ranged between 5.4 and 7.5. Scores below 6.0 are considered as low; 6.0 to 6.5 as medium; 6.5 and above as high. *** Peak audience shown in italics

56

Category A2 – Resonance in the nations

National resonance & unites the nation Characteristics Event Reach & peak

audience*** Importance to society

Other factors – cultural significance or resonance in the nations

Overall fit with main criterion

Pre-eminent event

Involves national teams or representatives

Reason for categorisation

The FA Cup Final

Medium 2008: Tournament 30.2m (54%) Final 11.7m (21%) 2008: 8.2m in final (no ‘big’ team) 2007 – 11.5m in final

High 7.1

High The oldest football competition in the world. The Final is a shared point on the national calendar and culturally significant to the public

High in importance to society and cultural significance, but does not unite the nation/UK (audiences) to the same degree as A1 events

P Important national competition in the nation’s favourite sport

P English club teams take part, usually containing players who play for national teams

Resonance in nations and high social importance (all nations but particularly England) but not A1 UK conversation event therefore include as A2

The Scottish FA Cup Final (Scotland)*

High in Scotland 2008: Tournament 1.4m (30.3%) (BBC Scotland tournament reach) Final 574,000 (56%) 2008: 0.7m in final (58% share)

High 6.8

High Unites the nation in Scotland, with the final achieving 56% share

High across all factors in Scotland

P The pre-eminent annual football cup competition in Scotland

P Scottish club teams take part, usually containing players who play for national teams

Resonance in nations, but not A1 UK conversation events

Football International Qualifiers Home and Away (in each Nation)

High in nations Live terrestrial coverage: England (Euro2008) – 23.3m (49%) Scotland (Euro2008) -1.8m (39%) Wales (Euro2004) – 1.6m (58%) NI (Euro2008) – 0.6 (37%) See section 6 WC qualifier England v Croatia peaked at 13.3m on BBC 1

High 7.0

High Qualifying matches in all nations unite the nation with consistently large audience shares

High across all factors in the nations

P Key national moments in qualifying for the pre-eminent events of the sport

P National teams compete

Resonance in nations, but not A1 UK conversation events

57

Commonwealth Games

High Manchester 2002 40.3m (73%) 2002 9.7m

High - 6.7** High - Unites the UK’s nations with very large audiences. Reach surpassed only by Olympics, World Cup and Euros.

High across all factors, but resonance not as high as A1 events, particularly compared to the Olympics

P A world class multisport event, second to the Olympics

P Elite athletes compete across a range of sports, all representing their home nation. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compete as separate teams

Nations compete as separate teams and the games have resonance across the UK.

Rugby Union Welsh Six Nations and Autumn Internationals (Wales)*

High See section 6 2008 Average share 53% in Wales See section 6 2008 peak audience 1m (equivalent to 20m UK wide)

High - Six nations 7.3 & Autumn Internationals 6.6 -

High - Large uniting effect on the Welsh nation with significant audience share

High across all factors – Rugby has significant resonance in Wales, supported by all factors

P The most prestigious annual events in the most popular sport in Wales

P The national team competes

Resonance in Wales, but not A1 UK conversation events. It has strong cultural significance and high social importance

*Importance to society by the nation ** Research did not split between inside UK or outside UK *** Peak audience shown in italics

58

Category A3 – Pinnacle sport moments

National resonance & unites the nation Characteristics Event Reach & peak

audience*** Importance to Society

Other factors – cultural significance or resonance in the nations

Overall fit with main criterion

Pre-eminent event

Involves national teams or representatives

Reason for categorisation

The Wimbledon Championships Finals

High for final and tournament 2008: Tournament 32.4m (57%) Finals only 21.5m (38%) Exc. Final 26.8m (47%) 2008 – 12.7m (men’s final)

High – 6.8**

High – national annual event of national and international significance. Tournament - enjoyed by many, including people who don’t normally watch tennis. Final – pinnacle of the tournament.

High driven by all factors. In particular, cultural significance within the UK.

P One of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The most prestigious tennis tournament in the UK.

P Strong national interest in British stars, although usually not involved in finals.

High overall, however it’s not a global event of global significance, hence tournament not A1 type of event. However Final is the pinnacle of the event, hence A3. Reach is high but not on par with A1 events. Significance of full tournament means it should continue to be protected on B list.

The Rugby World Cup Final

High for final and tournament 2007: Tournament 33.1m (59%) Final only 17.3m (31%) Exc. Final 29.3m (52%) 2007 – 15.9m (final)

Medium - 6.4

High – international event of international significance. Matches involve home nations unite the UK’s nations, with large audiences achieved.

High driven by reach and strong UK resonance and representation within each of the nations.

P One of the largest sporting events in the world and is the premier rugby union competition.

P National teams compete.

High overall, however it’s not an A1 type of event - reach is high but not on par with A1. Final is pinnacle moment therefore A3. Significance of tournament means it should continue to be protected on B list.

The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final

Low for final and tournament 2008: Tournament 7.1m (13%) Final 2.4m (4%) 2008 -1.6m (final)

Medium - 6.1**

Medium – European event of regional importance in UK. Limited interest nationally. Strong regional significance in the North of England.

Medium/low driven by cultural significance amongst Rugby League audiences and regional resonance

P The leading annual rugby league competition in UK and Europe.

P British and European club teams take part with representatives from national teams

This addresses Rugby League’s pinnacle moment, hence listed on A3. It has strong regional resonance and is a competition with a long tradition

The Cricket World Cup Final

Medium for final and tournament Est 20.0m for live terrestrial

Medium -6.1

Medium – international event of international significance.

Medium score across all factors.

P The premier One Day International

P National teams compete.

Tournament does not qualify for listing on A1 because of medium rating on main criterion.

59

coverage of tournament and 3.0-10.0 m* for the final 2007 5.5m on Pay 14.4m (actual highlights reach) 2007 – 2.8m (for highlights of England Group games v Ireland and Sri Lanka; and final)

Nation united to some extent when national team plays.

competition. However, final is the pinnacle of the most important tournament of the sport. Significance of tournament means it should continue to be protected on B list.

The Cricket World Cup Final

Medium for final and tournament Est 20.0m for live terrestrial coverage of tournament and 3.0-10.0 m* for the final 2007 5.5m on Pay 14.4m (actual highlights reach) 2007 – 2.8m (for highlights of England Group games v Ireland and Sri Lanka; and final)

Medium -6.1

Medium – international event of international significance. Nation united to some extent when national team plays.

Medium score across all factors.

P The premier One Day International competition.

P National teams compete.

Tournament does not qualify for listing on A1 because of medium rating on main criterion. However, final is the pinnacle of the most important tournament of the sport. Significance of tournament means it should continue to be protected on B list.

The Twenty20 World Cup Final

Medium for final and tournament 20.0m estimated reach for live terrestrial coverage and 3.0 -10.0m* for the final as per CWC 2007 Tournament 3.4m on Sky 1.2m

Low - 5.7 Medium – international event of growing international significance. Evidence limited, however forward looking assume consistent with Cricket World Cup.

Medium weighted on potential significance.

P Inaugural tournament in 2007. Up and coming world sport, fast growing and potentially the future of cricket.

P National teams compete.

Inaugural tournament in 2007, up and coming fast growing sport. Future proof as we estimate audiences will be on a par with Cricket World Cup. The potential significance of tournament means it should be protected on B list.

The Grand National

High for a one-off event (race lasts 15 minutes) 2008 11.9m (21%) (all coverage) 2008 10.8m

High - 6.6 High – one off national event of national importance. An iconic sporting event enjoyed by many with no day-to-day interest in horse racing.

High score across all factors, particularly driven by the cultural significance.

P The most famous horse race in the UK.

n/a No national team, although participants are usually British or Irish

Not an A1 event as has no global significance, but A3 event captures the event in its entirety given duration.

The Derby Low Medium - Medium – one off Medium/low - P n/a This addresses flat race

60

2008 4.7m (8%) (all coverage) 2008 – 3.0m

6.0 national event of national importance. Rich history, unites racing enthusiasts but watched by few outside of normal racing audiences. Strong traditional and cultural significance to public.

Just meets main criterion, driven by cultural significance amongst racing audiences.

The most prestigious race of the flat racing calendar.

No national team, although participants are usually British or Irish

pinnacle moment, hence listed on A3.

*Depends upon who reaches the final and time zones

61

Category B – Highlights protected

National resonance & unites the nation Characteristics Event Reach & peak

audience*** Importance to Society

Other factors – cultural significance or resonance in the nations

Overall fit with main criterion

Pre-eminent event

Involves national teams or representatives

Reason for categorisation

The Wimbledon Championships

See above See above See above See above See above See above See above

The Rugby World Cup

See above See above See above See above See above See above See above

The Cricket World Cup

See above See above See above See above See above See above See above

Twenty20 World Cup

See above See above See above See above See above See above See above

Six Nations Rugby Tournament

Medium/High 2008 23.1m (41%) 2008 7.6m

Medium – 6.4 High – Annual event of national significance. Unites the nation well, with large audiences for most games, especially in the individual nations

Medium score driven by strong UK resonance within each of the nations

P The most prestigious annual rugby competition

P Nations teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland compete

Tournament does not qualify as A1 or A2 on basis of reach. There is no final as such, no pinnacle moment of the event to include in A3. Significance of tournament means that it should continue to be protected on B list.

**Research did not split between final and whole tournament *** Peak audience shown in italics

62

National resonance & unites the nation Characteristics Event Reach & peak

audience*** Importance to Society

Other factors – cultural significance or resonance in the nations

Overall fit with main criterion

Pre-eminent event

Involves national teams or representatives

Reason for categorisation

The Open Golf Championship

Medium 2008 12.9m (23%) 2008 4.7m

Low – 5.9 Medium – International event of international significance. Is only major held outside US and so of cultural significance to UK. Limited appeal outside of traditional golf audiences

Medium score weighted on cultural significance, more so than Ryder Cup as is one the four majors.

P One of the four international grand slam tournaments. The most prestigious annual event in the UK golfing calendar

P Many individuals from home nations compete

Tournament does not qualify for A listing (not an A1 event). Significance of event means it should continue to be protected on B List.

The Ryder Cup Medium 2008 3.6m (6%) on pay-TV Estimate would be on par with the Open on FTA. 2008 2.6m

Low – 5.9 Medium – international event of international interest. Enjoyed by all golf fans, but reach beyond that arguably limited

Medium score weighted on cultural significance

P Arguably the most popular and prestigious golf event for the British public

P Team representing Europe competes. Brings together players from the Nations and the rest of Europe

Tournament does not qualify for A listing (not an A1 event). Significance of event means it should continue to be protected on B List.

England Cricket Home Test Matches

See below See below See below See below See below See below See below

British and Irish Lions Tour

Medium 15.9m (estimated reach for live terrestrial coverage) N/A (2008 peak on Sky 1.2m)

Medium – 6.1

Medium/Low – international event of national significance. Popular with rugby audiences. Amongst wider audiences Rugby World Cup and 6Nations are more popular.

Medium – Medium score across all factors.

P Popular nationally

P Team representing Britain and Ireland competes

Tournament does not qualify as A1 or A2 on basis of reach. There is no final as such, no pinnacle moment of the event to include in A3. Significance of tournament means that it should continue to be protected on B list.

Women’s Football World Cup/Euros/Cricket World Cup

N/A Low – 5.4 Low – international events but significance to nation yet to be

Low across all factors.

P The premier competition for women’s football

P The national team competes

Does not fit framework in same way as other events and does not meet main criterion,

63

Finals achieved. There is limited national interest in women’s sport

however, there may be a case where home nation team reaches a final and event is on pay-TV. Highlights should therefore be protected as B list event.

*** Peak audience shown in italics

64

Annex 2: Annex on market impact analysis of the BBC proposals This annex discusses potential approaches to analysing the market impact of listing and supports section 5 of the submission, which provides a brief summary of the potential market implications of the principle of listing. It also examines the potential market impact38 of changing the list in line with our recommendations. It does not aim to quantify these effects. Much of the data required for an analysis of market impact is commercially sensitive and so we have drawn, wherever possible, on published data sources. The figures presented in this analysis on rights values represent estimates and should not be interpreted as the precise broadcaster valuations in the context of market negotiations. A2.1 Markets affected by the BBC proposals A first key step in undertaking any analysis of market impact is to identify those markets likely to be affected. Ofcom’s guidance suggests that previous competition cases provide a useful starting point. Previous competition cases39 have identified possible markets likely to be affected by listing. They suggest that listing could have an impact on:

• The market for television sports rights; and • The downstream broadcasting market.

These two markets are closely related because the value of any rights acquired depends substantially upon how they can be exploited in the downstream market. Thus the structure of the downstream broadcasting market significantly influences the value attributable to rights. Size of the market First, it is necessary to determine the value of the rights market for major sporting events. FTA broadcasters have spent roughly £250 million40 on acquiring the rights to A listed events over the last four years - about 5% of total broadcaster spending on sports rights or 10% if spending on live Premier League football is excluded. Value of highlights Evidence suggests that the value of recorded highlights for most sports is relatively low.41 This point is supported by our own analysis (which suggests that B list spend is likely to form at most 0.5% of the total spending on sports rights) and by the research by Ipsos MORI (which found that over half of people surveyed would prefer live coverage of major sporting events). Given the minimal value of rights for recorded highlights of most events, it is unlikely that the market impact of any of our proposals for B listing will be significant. For this reason this annex considers only the market impact of the BBC’s recommended additions42 to the A list i.e. relating to cricket, football, rugby in Wales and the Commonwealth Games.

38 This annex broadly follows the Ofcom (2007) Methodology for Market Impact Assessment of BBC Services. 39 For instance, the OFT investigation into the joint bid by ITV and BBC to acquire rights for the 2002 FIFA world cup and the OFT Premier League investigation into its 1997/98 to 2000/01 joint TV deal with Sky and the BBC on behalf of 20 clubs and most recently Ofcom’s pay TV review 40 BBC estimate 41 For example, the value of highlights for domestic cricket is nominal (TV Sports Market, 2009). 42 This annex does not consider the potential market impact of de-listing the World Athletics Championships.

65

A2.2 The counterfactual Next, to establish the impact of the BBC’s proposed changes to the list on the markets identified in the previous section, it is necessary to consider a counter-factual: what would the affected markets (i.e. market for sports rights for major events and broadcasting markets) look like over the next 5-10 years without the proposed changes? The simplest and most robust43counterfactual assumes that the status quo will be maintained i.e.

• Rights holders will continue to bundle up rights in the same way – e.g. the All England Lawn Tennis Club will continue to sell Wimbledon as a whole tournament.

• Category A broadcasters will continue to bid for listed events in the absence of change and therefore the current value of rights will broadly persist in the future44.

These assumptions are reasonable in the medium term. Many of the rights agreements relevant to the sports affected by our proposals will not be up for renegotiation until 2014. After 2014, it is possible that the choices made by rights holders could change. For instance, rights holders of events (or parts of events) that are not currently listed, who sell their rights to Category A broadcasters, could decide to sell their rights to Category B broadcasters. However, this possibility is off-set by two factors.

• It is often in the interests of rights holders to bundle valuable sports rights with less valuable ones as bundling helps to maximise the value that they can derive from a whole tournament or portfolio of events. This suggests that rights holders could continue in the future to bundle their rights in the way that they do now.

• Many sports rights holders have built up long term relationships with Category A broadcasters which they may not want to jeopardise. For example, over the last 20 years, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has opted not to sell its rights to different broadcasters, preferring to develop its long term relationship with the BBC. Apart from cricket, the broadcasters of listed events have generally remained stable.

It is also worth noting that post-2012 more broadcasters could potentially be eligible to bid for listed events and therefore we would expect any market impact arising from listing will diminish rather than increase, as the market price for rights for listed events will be more likely to increase rather than decrease post switchover as more broadcasters potentially gain Category A status. A2.3 Potential market impacts The BBC recognises that listing can potentially lead to distortions in the market. However, this is not surprising given the purpose of listed events is to preserve universal coverage of certain key events on FTA television. The key question is whether the market impact exceeds public value. A2.3.1 Potential negative market impacts from listing The sports right market (i) Loss of income to sports rights holders - By restricting the pool of bidders for sports rights to Category A broadcasters, market prices for rights for listed sporting events could be lower than they 43 Alternative counterfactuals could be considered, but this would involve predicting how rights holders and broadcasters might change their behaviour in the future. 44 The accuracy of this assumption will depend upon how broadcasters behave in a tender situation and their bidding strategies.

66

would have been in an unregulated market.45 A key factor affecting the value of rights in the context of listing is whether events are made available on an exclusive basis. (ii) Reduced future investment - Loss of income for sports rights holders could also have longer term consequences. If lost sports rights revenue reduced investment in increasing participation and/or improving performance levels and/or in creating safe facilities, the future perceived value of the sport could reduce.46 (iii) Listing can lead to reduced attendances at non-listed events – Potentially broadcasting sports live on television can have an adverse impact on attendances at other sporting events taking place at the same time,47 although impacts on attendance and revenues for ticket sales are likely to be insignificant as many listed events tend to sell out. The broadcasting market (i) Loss of income for Category B broadcasters - By requiring listed events to be offered to FTA or Category A broadcasters, Category B broadcasters are unable to secure exclusive rights to those sporting events. This could have implications for the ability of subscription-funded broadcasters to attract and retain subscribers. However, given that the A List events are weighted towards one-off and/or periodic events, this impact is likely to be minimal. It is key weekly appointments to view such as live Premier League football and live Champions League football that do more to attract and retain subscribers. Denying Category B broadcasters exclusive access to key sporting events could also reduce advertising revenues. However, advertising revenue is generally of secondary importance to operators of pay-TV sports channels; subscriber revenue is much more significant. (ii) Limiting competition in the future – Reducing the number of events that a sports broadcaster can bid for (by listing some popular events) may lead to increased demand for, and hence a higher cost of, non-listed events. Listing could therefore act as a barrier to entry into the sports broadcasting market. As a result potential entrants to the pay-TV market for sports content might be less likely to enter if they believed that their chances of buying sports rights might reduced, although, of course, listing only poses one (of many) barriers to entry. Conversely, listing can – by reserving rights for category A broadcasters - encourage entry into the sports market, particularly post-analogue switch-off when the barriers to becoming a Category A broadcaster could be significantly lower. A2.3.2 Potential positive market impacts from listing The sports rights market (i) Increased reach and exposure - Listed events benefit from being broadcast to the widest possible audience. This exposure can generate immense popular support which in turn can bring related benefits to the sport concerned. These benefits include increased revenues from sponsorship and sales of merchandise. It is for this reason that some sports bodies have chosen to sell rights to FTA

45 However, as the DCMS consultation paper notes, the listing arrangements are given practical effect by means of a code drawn up by Ofcom which states that the ‘price sought for rights must have been fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory’. 46 See footnote 8 for details of how the FA Premier League has invested in football. 47 Forrest, Simons and Szymanski (2004), Broadcasting, attendance and the inefficiency of cartels Review of Industrial Organization, 24, 243-65 looked at the link between coverage of Premier League football on TV and attendances at matches in other divisions.

67

broadcasters as they believe that the benefits from increased exposure outweigh those from potentially higher rights income. (ii) Protects future rights income from illegal access - There is growing evidence to suggest that the problem of online piracy poses a real threat to sports rights holders, particularly as penetration of broadband increases.48 Providing major sporting events on FTA channels removes the need for viewers to access illegal websites that offer access to live unauthorised coverage from PCs, usually sourced from overseas broadcasters in the Far East or around the world. Listing therefore helps protect broadcasting rights income from the threat of online and other forms of piracy, though increasing the availability of free content is only one out of many solutions to piracy. The broadcasting market Listing maintains a balanced market - A key feature of listing is that it can help maintain a balanced broadcasting market. In the absence of listing, there would be a real risk that Category A broadcasters (i.e. BBC and the commercial PSBs who have fixed or constrained income streams and are required by their public service remits to invest across a range of programming) would be unable to compete with operators of pay-TV sports channels (who do not face the same constraints on their business models nor the same regulatory frameworks.49) This point is particularly important in light of the growing strength of pay-TV operators (relative to commercial PSBs), which is in part due to the limited competition in pay-TV market, as highlighted by Ofcom’s pay-TV review. The remainder of this analysis explores the extent to which these potential market impacts are relevant in the context of our proposals to change the A list. A2.4 Detailed assessment of the market impact of the proposed additions to the A list A2.4.1 Cricket proposals If our proposals were adopted:

• the Cricket World Cup final will move from the B list to the A list; and • the Twenty 20 Final (previously not listed) will be added to A list.

Moving the Cricket World Cup Final from the B to the A list Under current arrangements, the rights holder - the International Cricket Council (ICC) - has bundled up the rights for many international cricket events. Press reports suggest that BSkyB recently paid about $24 million (£15 million) in a deal that covers the 2009 Twenty 20 World Championship, two Champions Trophies (this year and next) and the 2011 World Cup, hosted in Asia.50 In the absence of more detailed information, it is difficult to estimate the price of the Cricket World Cup final to Category B broadcasters. One approach might be to examine the relative importance of events (and matches within events) to broadcasters in reach terms as this could provide some indication of broadcasters’ potential relative valuations of different events. This approach only stands if a broadcaster’s main means of maximising profit is by maximising audience size. An alternative approach might be to estimate valuations on the basis of the volume of matches per event. However, this assumes that all matches are of equal to value to broadcasters. This is unlikely to be

48 Guardian, See for example Premier League goes to war on internet pirates, 22 January 2009. 49 Even if the BBC were able to compete with pay-TV operators on an equal basis in the market for sports rights, it is bound by its regulatory framework to provide a set of mixed genre-channels. 50 TV Sports Markets, 2008

68

the case. In many cases, the value to broadcasters lies with broadcasting the event in its entirety rather than broadcasting individual matches51. It is also difficult to estimate the loss in income to the ICC if the pool of bidders were restricted to Category A broadcasters as this will depend upon the difference in the rights value of the final under listing compared to the status quo. This in turn will depend upon a wide range of factors such as the number of Category A bidders for the final and the importance of the final to them within their overall sports strategies. Past evidence suggests that in the future there could be competition amongst Category A broadcasters for the final – the BBC, Channel Four and Five have all bid for cricket on FTA in the past. In light of the uncertainties discussed above, one could assume that the rights to the Cricket World Cup final will be worth a relatively low proportion of the £15 million that Sky paid the ICC for live rights to international cricket. The Cricket World Cup tournament is one out of a bundle of tournaments and the final is only one match out of tournament that comprises around 51 matches – although potentially the most important one (particularly if England reaches the final). One can also assume that more than one Category A broadcaster would bid for the final if it were A-listed and that listing the final would not prevent Category B broadcaster from bidding for the whole tournament. On the basis of these assumptions, an analysis of potential market impacts of this proposal is shown below. Table A2.1 Market impact analysis of A listing the Cricket World Cup final Negative Positive Sports right market

Loss of income to sports right holder – likely to be relatively small as proposals will lead to the listing of a single match within a whole tournament of about 51. Sports rights holders will still be able to sell the event in its entirety to pay-TV broadcasters and so rights holder will still be able to extract value from Category B broadcasters.

Increased reach and exposure – reach of the final could be up to 3-10 million52 compared to an audience of 364,000 (for 2007 World Cup final broadcast on Sky) or 5.5 million (for the whole tournament on Sky). Difficult to understand whether increased reach might have additional benefits of stimulating interest and participation in cricket53.

Reduced future investment in the sport – not likely to be much as the revenue lost by sports rights holders will be relatively small and ICC would tend to invest revenues overseas.

Reducing scope for piracy - Not much positive impact as illegal down loading is not a significant problem in cricket compared to other sports such as football.

Reduced attendances – not a relevant argument for an international event.

Broadcasting market

Small impact on income streams for Category B broadcasters. This proposal

Listing the final increases choice and availability for audiences; however listing a

51 Value will also depend upon whether broadcasters have exclusive rights to coverage. Current legislation guarantees the availability of rights to live coverage of listed events to Category A broadcasters, but says nothing about exclusivity. 52 BBC estimate. We only envisage a reach of 10 million if England were to reach the final and it would also depend upon time zones. 53 While we note that participation in cricket has apparently increased at the same time that live coverage moved to pay TV, it is not clear how much of this was as a result of the historic Ashes series on Channel 4 which reached 28 million. There may be a time lag before the full implications of the ECB’s move to pay-TV is understood.

69

involves listing a single match and this is unlikely to attract subscribers to pay-TV platforms. Could be some loss in viewers54 who will watch the final on Category A broadcaster instead. This in turn could lead to small loss advertising income to pay TV companies. However, advertising revenue is of secondary importance to pay-TV compared to subscriber revenue.

single match will not have a significant impact on competition.

Limiting competition in the future – listing a single match is unlikely to have a significant impact.

Source: BBC analysis Adding the Twenty-20 Final to the A list The rights to broadcast Twenty-20 cricket are bundled together with the Cricket World cup tournament, as described above. Therefore there is little information about the precise value of the final to broadcasters and it also difficult to calculate the difference in the rights value of the final under listing compared to the status quo. One could assume that the Twenty20 final is a small component of the overall rights deal negotiated between ICC and BSkyB. The Twenty 20 tournament is a single event within the entire package and the final is one match out of 27. One can also assume that there will be interest from more than one Category A broadcaster in bidding for the final (partly because they have shown cricket in the past but also because Twenty20 is an attractive format for mainstream channels given its popularity and relatively short duration) and that listing the final will not prevent the rights holder from selling the entire tournament to a Category B broadcaster. Given these assumptions, the potential market impact of adding the Twenty-20 final to the A list is shown below. Table A2.2 Market impact analysis of adding the Twenty-20 Final to the A list Negative Positive Sports right market

Loss of income to sports right holder – relatively small as the Twenty-20 final is only one match out of 27. The one day format of the event makes it more attractive to Category A broadcasters than, say, test cricket so we envisage potential interest for bidding for this event from more than one Category A broadcaster.

Increased reach and exposure – reach of the final could be as high as 3-10 million55 compared to 3.4 million who watched the inaugural Twenty 20 tournament on Sky in 2007.

Reduced future investment in the sport – not likely to be much as loss of income to sports rights holder is estimated to be relatively low.

Illegal access – not much positive impact. Cricket is not one of the most pirated sports.

Reduced attendances – unlikely as event is generally held overseas.

Broadcasting market

Small impact on Category B broadcaster income. Our proposal involves listing one

Listing the Twenty20 final increase choice available to audiences. However, listing a

54 Audience research suggests that when sporting events are simulcast on pay and free platforms, the audience on pay tends to hold up, and showing the event on FTA television leads to additional viewers. 55 BBC estimate. We only envisage a reach of 10 million if England were to reach the final and it would depend on time zones.

70

match out of 27. single match will have limited impact in increasing competition in the market.

Limiting competition in the future – unlikely to have a significant impact

Source: BBC analysis We would expect the market impact of listing the Twenty 20 final to be less than that of listing the World Cup final as it is a less prestigious event with lower reach. However this position may change in the future as Twenty 20 cricket becomes a more established and popular format. A2.4.2 Adding home and away football qualifying matches in each nation to the A list If our proposals were adopted, listing the home and away qualifying matches for the football World Cup and the European championship in each nation would add around five matches to the A list per year for each nation. The approximate current rights value of home and away matches is shown below. Estimates are based on the 2010 World Cup deals. Matches for the 2012 European championship are only just coming to market. Table A2.3 Current rights holders for live broadcasting of 2010 World cup matches Home matches Away matches56 Approximate value per

match England ITV Setanta £5 million Wales BSkyB Setanta £300k Scotland BSkyB Setanta £600k Northern Ireland BSkyB (previously BBC

NI) Setanta Less than £75k

Source: TV Sports Market, December 2007 As the rights to the home England matches are already shown FTA, in practice the market impact of listing these matches in England is likely be relatively minimal. Currently a Category A broadcaster holds the rights to show qualifying matches in England and this situation will not change if the BBC’s proposals are adopted. Potentially, there could be some reduction in the value of rights for these games as a result of listing (because Category B broadcasters will no longer be eligible to bid for these events on an exclusive basis). But post 2012, the reduction in demand due to listing will partially be offset by an increase in demand due to potentially increasing numbers of broadcasters qualifying for Category A status. There will be some market impact from listing away qualifying matches in England. There will also be limited market impact in the nations from listing home and away qualifying matches. If the home and away qualifying matches were listed, then a key question is what will be the change in the value of rights for qualifying matches? The answer to this question will partly depend upon demand for the matches amongst a number of Category A broadcasters and whether the matches will be available on an exclusive basis to Category A broadcasters. One can reasonably assume that demand for these matches will be high amongst Category A broadcasters (particularly given that more broadcasters will qualify for Category A status post 2012) and that rights holders would also make matches available to Category B broadcasters.

56 In June 2009, Setanta went into administration and the rights to the qualifying matches to the 2010 World Cup have reverted to the rights holders.

71

On the basis of these assumptions, the potential market impact of listing home and away qualifying matches is shown below. Table A2.4 Market impacts of listing home qualifying matches Negative Positive Sports right market

Loss of income to sports right holder – the current rights values for matches represent a relatively small percentage of rights’ holders’ total income for these two tournaments. We anticipate this impact to be small.

Increased reach and exposure – estimated reach of 23.3 million (England), 1.6 million (Wales), 1.8 million (Scotland) and 0.6 million (Northern Ireland)57 if similar to past qualifying matches on terrestrial.

Reduced future investment in the sport is likely to be small as - as loss of income to sports rights holder for listing home games is minimal. No investment is made in the UK from revenues raised for away matches.

Piracy is an important issue in football and therefore there could be some positive market impact from providing coverage of qualifying matches on FTA television.

Reduced attendances – unlikely as home qualifying matches tend to sell out and this is not relevant for away games.

Broadcasting market

Some impact on Category B broadcaster income, particularly those (e.g. Setanta) that have no fixed-term subscription contract. Must-see matches spread sporadically over a two-year period could provide Setanta with subscription “spikes” and help anti-churn. Could be some loss in advertising revenue, though the impact of this is likely to be small.

Helps to maintain a healthy balanced market by ensuring that PSBs maintain a foothold in the broadcasting of football matches.

Listing qualifying matches is unlikely to limit competition in the future as matches are relatively low value (outside of England).

Source: BBC analysis In summary we envisage that listing:

• England home qualifying matches will result in little market impact – currently a Category A broadcaster holds the rights to show qualifying matches and this will not change if the BBC’s proposals are adopted. Any potential market impact could be partially offset post 2012 by an increase in the number of Category A broadcasters.

• England away qualifying matches will have some potential market impact. • Nations’ home and away qualifying matches will result in some market impact. But as the

open market value of these matches is relatively low (ranging approximately from £300-600k per match), we expect that any reduction in value due to listing is likely to be small. Moroever, listing these matches will have less of an impact post-2012 when the number of Category A broadcasters eligible to bid for listed events will increase.

57 Reach figures show the audience for qualifying matches for European Football Championships on terrestrial television. Figures refer to 2008 apart from Wales which refer to 2004 (as this was the last time qualifying matches in Wales were shown on terrestrial).

72

A2.4.5 Moving the Home Commonwealth Games in the UK from the B to the A list Should our proposals be adopted, the Commonwealth Games in the UK will be added to the A-list. We envisage that the market impact of listing the Commonwealth Games when held in the UK will be minimal. The Commonwealth Games has a history of being broadcast by a Category A broadcaster and we do not see this changing over the next decade. Therefore, in practice, moving the Commonwealth Games from the B to the A list will have an insignificant market impact, and is justified by the strong public value case. A2.3.6 Rugby in Wales As a result of our proposals the Welsh Rugby Union Six Nations and Autumn Internationals will be added to the A list. We anticipate that there will be no significant impact as these events in Wales are currently shown on FTA and if our proposals are adopted will continue to be shown on FTA. Potentially, listing could result in some reduction in the value of rights for this event once it has to be offered to FTA broadcasters. However, this appears unlikely. The Six Nations has a history of being sold to Category A broadcasters in its entirety.

73

Annex A3 – Football World Cup 2006, Euro 2004 and Euro 2008 Audience Figures World Cup 2006Day Date Chan On Off Round Match Aud (m) Peak Share %Fri 09/06/2006 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Germany v Costa Rica 5.6 6.3 42.4Fri 09/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Poland v Ecuador 5.7 6.8 28.7Sat 10/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group England v Paraguay 12.0 12.8 83.8Sat 10/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Trinidad and Tobago v Sweden 4.7 5.4 37.7Sat 10/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Argentina v Ivory Coast 5.4 5.8 28.5Sun 11/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group Serbia and Mont. v Netherlands 4.2 4.6 46.1Sun 11/06/2006 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Mexico v Iran 4.4 5.0 34.8Sun 11/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Angola v Portugal 6.0 6.4 27.9Mon 12/06/2006 ITV1 14:00 15:55 Group Australia v Japan 2.3 2.7 33.5Mon 12/06/2006 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group USA v Czech Republic 4.2 4.9 31.2Mon 12/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Italy v Ghana 6.7 7.6 30.7Tue 13/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group South Korea v Togo 2.2 2.5 35.3Tue 13/06/2006 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group France v Switzerland 5.2 6.4 35.7Tue 13/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Brazil v Croatia 9.6 10.0 39.7Wed 14/06/2006 ITV1 14:00 15:55 Group Spain v Ukraine 1.9 2.1 29.2Wed 14/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Tunisia v Saudi Arabia 3.3 4.6 24.7Wed 14/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Germany v Poland 8.1 9.0 35.7Thu 15/06/2006 ITV1 14:00 15:55 Group Ecuador v Costa Rica 1.8 2.1 29.8Thu 15/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group England v Trinidad and Tobago 14.2 16.5 73.3Thu 15/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Sweden v Paraguay 6.5 7.7 30.6Fri 16/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group Argentina v Serbia and Montenegro 2.0 2.4 32.2Fri 16/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Netherlands v Ivory Coast 4.1 5.1 31.3Fri 16/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Mexico v Angola 4.1 4.9 19.7Sat 17/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group Portugal v Iran 3.2 3.8 39.9Sat 17/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Czech Republic v Ghana 3.9 5.0 31.7Sat 17/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Italy v USA 5.7 6.6 30.4Sun 18/06/2006 ITV1 14:00 15:55 Group Japan v Croatia 3.5 4.1 34.9Sun 18/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Brazil v Australia : 8.0 9.3 50.6Sun 18/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group France v South Korea 6.2 7.2 26.5Mon 19/06/2006 BBC1 14:00 15:55 Group Togo v Switzerland 2.4 2.6 35.8Mon 19/06/2006 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Saudi Arabia v Ukraine 3.6 4.4 24.3Mon 19/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Spain v Tunisia 7.2 7.7 31.7Tue 20/06/2006 ITV1 15:00 16:55 Group Ecuador v Germany 2.7 3.0 31.5Tue 20/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Sweden v England 18.6 20.0 67.7Wed 21/06/2006 ITV1 15:00 16:55 Group Portugal v Mexico 2.3 2.9 27.4Wed 21/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 Group Netherlands v Argentina 8.6 9.4 38.9Thu 22/06/2006 BBC1 15:00 16:55 Group Czech Republic v Italy 2.4 2.9 28.0Thu 22/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Japan v Brazil 7.8 8.4 34.4Fri 23/06/2006 BBC1 15:00 16:55 Group Ukraine v Tunisia 1.9 2.1 25.7Fri 23/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 Group Togo v France 5.8 6.4 28.5Sat 24/06/2006 BBC1 16:00 17:55 R2 Germany v Sweden 5.5 6.1 48.9Sat 24/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 22:30 R2 Argentina v Mexico 8.4 10.5 42.3Sun 25/06/2006 BBC1 16:00 17:55 R2 England v Ecuador 16.3 18.2 79.8Sun 25/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 R2 Portugal v Netherlands 9.3 10.4 39.1Mon 26/06/2006 ITV1 16:00 17:55 R2 Italy v Australia 4.9 6.8 39.3Mon 26/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 22:40 R2 Switzerland v Ukraine 7.5 8.9 33.5Tue 27/06/2006 ITV1 16:00 17:55 R2 Brazil v Ghana 4.0 5.4 34.6Tue 27/06/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:55 R2 Spain v France 8.9 10.1 39.1Fri 30/06/2006 ITV1 16:00 18:45 QF Germany v Argentina 6.6 9.7 49.1Fri 30/06/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 QF Italy v Ukraine 5.9 6.8 30.0Sat 01/07/2006 BBC1 16:00 18:45 QF England v Portugal 16.2 19.0 82.2Sat 01/07/2006 ITV1 20:00 21:50 QF Brazil v France 6.1 7.3 33.0Tue 04/07/2006 ITV1 20:00 22:35 SF Germany v Italy 9.4 11.7 42.2Wed 05/07/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 SF France v Portugal 10.3 11.6 44.5Sat 08/07/2006 BBC1 20:00 21:55 3rd/4th Germany v Portugal 7.0 7.8 34.7Sun 09/07/2006 BBC1 19:00 21:40 Final Italy v France 13.9 17.0 56.2Sun 09/07/2006 ITV1 19:00 21:40 Final Italy v France 2.8 3.6 11.4

Average overall 6.6Average excluding final, opening game and England 5.4

74

Euro 2008Day Date Chan On Off Round Match Aud (m) Peak Share %Sat 07/06/2008 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Switzerland v Czech Republic 3.8 4.4 28.0Sat 07/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Portugal v Turkey 4.7 5.0 23.8Sun 08/06/2008 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Austria v Croatia 3.2 3.4 24.0Sun 08/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Group Germany v Poland 5.0 5.5 23.1Mon 09/06/2008 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Romania v France 3.2 4.1 24.1Mon 09/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Holland v Italy 6.1 7.1 29.7Tue 10/06/2008 BBC1 17:00 18:55 Group Spain v Russia 3.5 4.5 25.5Tue 10/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Greece v Sweden 4.5 5.3 22.0Wed 11/06/2008 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Czech Republic v Portugal 4.0 5.1 27.3Wed 11/06/2008 BBC2 19:45 21:40 Group Switzerland v Turkey 4.1 4.7 18.0Thu 12/06/2008 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Croatia v Germany 3.7 4.9 26.1Thu 12/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Group Austria v Poland 4.7 5.3 22.3Fri 13/06/2008 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Italy v Romania 3.8 4.6 25.9Fri 13/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Group France v Holland 6.0 7.1 28.2Sat 14/06/2008 ITV1 17:00 18:55 Group Sweden v Spain 4.5 5.2 31.8Sat 14/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Greece v Russia 3.8 4.2 18.6Sun 15/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Turkey v Czech Republic 4.7 5.8 20.8Mon 16/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Group Austria v Germany 4.9 5.4 22.3Tue 17/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Group France v Italy 6.8 7.3 30.1Wed 18/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 Group Russia v Sweden 4.6 5.3 20.1Thu 19/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 QF Portugal v Germany 7.4 8.3 33.4Fri 20/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 22:30 QF Croatia v Turkey 5.9 8.0 27.7Sat 21/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 22:15 QF Holland v Russia 7.6 8.9 35.3Sun 22/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 22:30 QF Spain v Italy 7.5 9.3 30.7Wed 25/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 SF Germany v Turkey 7.5 8.9 34.5Thu 26/06/2008 ITV1 19:45 21:40 SF Russia v Spain 7.2 8.3 32.4Sun 29/06/2008 BBC1 19:45 21:40 Final Final: Spain v Germany 10.6 12.1 41.6

Average overall 5.4Average excluding final and opening game 5.2

Euro 2004Day Date Chan On Off Round Match Aud (m) Peak Share %Sat 12/06/2004 BBC1 17:00 18:45 Group Portugal v Greece 6.1 6.9 44.2Sat 12/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Spain v Russia 6.3 6.7 34.3Sun 13/06/2004 BBC1 17:00 18:45 Group Switzerland v Coatia 4.1 5.3 29.9Sun 13/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group France v England 17.5 19.5 66.2Mon 14/06/2004 ITV1 17:00 18:45 Group Denmark v Italy 3.8 4.8 28.7Mon 14/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group Sweden v Bulgaria 5.6 6.9 27.8Tues 15/06/2004 ITV1 17:00 18:45 Group Czech Republic v Latvia 3.5 4.4 25.3Tues 15/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Germany v Netherlands 7.9 8.7 36.9Wed 16/06/2004 BBC1 17:00 18:45 Group Greece v Spain 4.0 5.4 31.4Wed 16/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group Russia v Portugal 6.4 7.8 30.8Thu 17/06/2004 ITV1 17:00 18:45 Group England v Switzerland 14.1 16.7 68.3Thu 17/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Croatia v France 7.3 9.8 32.8Fri 18/06/2004 BBC1 17:00 18:45 Group Bulgaria v Denmark 4.1 5.0 30.1Fri 18/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group Italy v Sweden 5.6 6.2 26.6Sat 19/06/2004 ITV1 17:00 18:45 Group Latvia v Germany 4.9 6.0 34.6Sat 19/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Netherlands v Czech Republic 6.6 7.5 33.4Sun 20/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Spain v Portugal 8.7 9.7 36.7Mon 21/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 Group Croatia v England 18.1 20.4 68.6Tues 22/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group Italy v Bulgaria 5.8 7.8 25.4Wed 23/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 Group Germany v Czech Republic 8.1 9.3 34.9Thu 24/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 22:30 QF Portugal v England 20.7 23.9 73.5Fri 25/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:30 QF Greece v France 5.4 7.3 27.8Sat 26/06/2004 ITV1 19:45 22:30 QF Holland v Sweden 6.9 9.4 32.5Sun 27/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 QF Czech Republic v Denmark 6.7 7.3 29.0Wed 30/06/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:30 SF Portugal v Netherlands 8.0 10.2 36.8Thu 01/07/2004 ITV1 19:45 22:00 SF Czech Republic v Greece 8.1 9.6 37.0Sun 04/07/2004 BBC1 19:45 21:45 Final Portugal v Greece 10.9 12.7 45.7Sun 04/07/2004 ITV1 19:45 21:45 Final Portugal v Greece 3.4 3.8 14.3

Average overall 8.4Average excluding final, opening game and England 6.1

75