Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the (a) cultural, (b) economic and (c) community value of free-to-air coverage of the Six Nations Championship.

The Government believes that the current list of events works well and that it strikes an appropriate balance between access to sporting events and allowing sports to maximise broadcasting revenue. Therefore, the Government has no plans to review the list at this time.

It is right that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Six Nations Rugby take a considered and balanced approach: recognising the need to achieve reach with existing and new fans, the importance that the Six Nations has for the cultural pride of each of the Home Nations, all the while maximising broadcast revenue.