§ Kali MountfordTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made in his review of the sporting events listed for live television broadcasting purposes; and if he will make a statement. [8410]
§ Mr. FisherWe announced on 16 May that we would review the list of events which must be made available for general free to air broadcast under the 1996 Broadcasting Act, in line with our policy of ensuring that broadcasts of events of genuine national interest are available to the many not the few. As part of that review we are developing criteria to help decide which events fall into this category. We believe that an agreed set of criteria would make the listing process more consistent and more transparent; and would be helpful to broadcasters, sports bodies and viewers; and would assist my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in considering which events should be listed. My right hon. Friend wrote today to sports bodies, broadcasters and organisations representing viewers and listeners to seek their views on these listing criteria.