Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with broadcasters on the potential merits of free to view broadcast of international rugby matches involving (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales.
I refer to my previous answer of 19 November 2021 that the Department has discussions regularly with broadcasters on a range of matters including those related to the broadcasting of Sport.
The Listed Events regime is designed to ensure that sporting events of national significance are accessible to as wide an audience as possible by ensuring that coverage of certain sports are offered to free-to-air broadcasters. Currently, matches in the Rugby World Cup finals tournament and Six Nations Rugby matches involving home countries are designated on the listed events regime under Group B. This means that they are protected for delayed coverage and/or highlights packages on free-to-air television but it does not preclude these events from being broadcast live on free-to-air television.