HC Deb 18 May 1966 vol 728 cc249-50W
60. Sir W. Teeling

asked the Postmaster-General why it is not possible for the General Post Office to give a line from London to Brighton for showing the Cassius Clay-Henry Cooper fight on closed-circuit television; why there are not enough cables; which other towns will be able to see the fight by this means; why the Brighton Post Office had not prepared for this demand; and whether there is still time to provide a cable.

Mr. Benn

Special plant is needed for long-distance TV transmission. It would not be economic to provide it everywhere on a permanent basis nor can it be provided at short notice to a multitude of places simultaneously. We hope to get circuits ready as requested to Birmingham, Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham and Southampton, but it is not possible to include Brighton unless some other circuits are given up.