A huge proposed legislation change could protect how we watch the World Cup in the UK
The UK government has stepped in to try and stop World Cup fixtures and highlights being put behind a paywall for online viewers.
As part of the Broadcasting Act 1996, the ‘crown jewels’ sporting events – such as the Olympics, the FA Cup Final and Wimbledon – had to be available on terrestrial television. At that point in time, only 4% of UK households had access to the internet, compared to now, with many using the likes of YouTube to catch highlights, meaning the act does not currently cover online coverage.
The move comes as ministers aim to close a loophole in the current legislation that had meant the BBC and ITV were at risk of losing online rights to the World Cup and other top level sporting events. The UK government has now proposed legislation aimed at protecting live streaming of major sporting events online as well as online highlights.
The new plans will look to prevent streaming and catch-up rights on the aforementioned events from being put behind a paywall for UK viewers, however, the proposed ruling does not prevent on-demand rights being sold to a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, which would therefore charge subscribers for watching the sports at whatever time they desire. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy claims the move will allow families to watch iconic sporting moments for free as, currently, the live streaming and online highlights of such events are not protected.
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Other listed events that would have such digital rights added to the scope of the regime, as part of a media green paper being published this week, include the UEFA European Championships, Rugby World Cup Final and the Grand National, but would not include the Champions League Final, which was controversially put behind a paywall for the first time earlier this year.
Nandy said: “Due to the late-night kick-offs, so many families are currently following the World Cup by catching up on-demand in the mornings.
“With these changes we are protecting that for the future, ensuring streaming rights for the biggest sports events must be offered to our public service broadcasters.”
She added: “This will not only help those broadcasters compete, it will make sure that people never miss out on the history-making sporting moments that bring us together as a nation, for free and however and whenever they choose to watch.”
In 2022, a report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee suggested that the previous government “should review extending the protections currently offered under the listed events regime to digital and on-demand content”.
Ministers were also urged to add the Six Nations rugby championship to the ‘crown jewels’ events. Despite those calls, the government currently has no plans to expand the list.
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