Top sporting events such as the Heineken Cup and the annual Cheltenham festival may be officially protected to make them freely available for all television viewers under a Government plan announced today.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said he will use Irish legislation and an EU directive to designate certain events, primarily sporting events, as free-to-air.
Events currently available on a free-to-air basis include the Summer Olympics, the All-Ireland senior inter-county football and hurling finals, Ireland's home and away qualifying games in the European Championship and the World Cup, Ireland's games in the European Championship finals and World Cup finals.
They also include the opening games, the semi-finals and final of the European Championship Finals and the World Cup, Ireland's games in the Rugby World Cup finals, the Irish Grand National and the Irish Derby, the Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show.
Mr Ryan plans to add to the list: the provincial finals, quarter-finals and semi-finals in the All-Ireland senior football and hurling championships, Ireland's games in the Six Nations, the European Rugby Cup games and the Cheltenham Festival.
The Minister sought the views of the public more than a year ago on what events should be so designated. He will now open a wider consultation process and advertisements are to appear in the media in the coming days.
Speaking this morning, Mr Ryan said that as a Leinster rugby supporter, he could not watch a recent match with his children because it was only available on paid channels at night and he did not want to bring them to a pub.
He said certain events were “an important part of our identity, part of our culture”.
“I think when they are that, it’s all the stronger when everyone has a chance to actually share the viewing experience.
“I remember Dawn Run coming back from behind to win the Gold Cup and it just says something to me…it says something about courage and perseverance and it’s part of what we are.”
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Ryan said designating certain events would protect them to make sure the viewing public gets to see events that are important, not just for the country, but also in a local context.
“Where something is part of the cultural, social fabric, then we all have to be able to see it,” he said.
Asked about potential criticism from commercial operators and sporting organisations, including those who owned the rights to the events, Mr Ryan said the legislation and the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) allowed for such a measure.
“Obviously we have to do this within the proper legislative process. We have to make sure Brussels and Europe are signed off on it as well. I think sometimes governments can actually say there is a cultural importance here that we have to protect and develop and that’s what I’m intending to do,” he said.
Mr Ryan said the legislation required the organisers or broadcasters to pay a fair market price for events.
“So it’s not as if the sporting organisations get nothing.”
He said he expected to introduce the measures by next year once the statutory consultation process had concluded on June 4th.
Under article 14 of the directive, EU member states notify the Commission of the measures they take, or intend to take, concerning the exercise of exclusive broadcasting rights to events of major importance for society.