§ Mr. GroganTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the absence of terrestrial television coverage of the British Lions tour of South Africa; and if this represents a breakdown of the unbundling agreement between the satellite and terrestrial television broadcasters. [7153]
§ Mr. FisherI understand that the South African Rugby Union own the television rights to the British Lions tour of South Africa. Consequently those rights were not covered by the voluntary code of conduct for the broadcasting of sports events which a number of UK sports organisations have adopted. However, rights to show highlights of the matches were acquired by S4C. The review of listed events will need to assess the effectiveness of the voluntary arrangements for unbundling the various types of broadcasting rights as a substitute form of access to some events.