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by Our Sports Desk
CULTURE Secretary John Whittingdale is “forcing sport off the BBC,” Labour said yesterday amid concerns over the level of free-to-air Olympics and Six Nations coverage.
Eurosport and parent company Discovery have secured a rights deal for the Olympics from 2022, with the BBC stating it would seek talks to secure the free-to-air rights.
The BBC and ITV have teamed up in a bid to keep the Six Nations rugby union tournament on terrestrial television.
Whittingdale assured MPs that the Olympics will be shown free-to-air due to existing legislation, although he said it was a matter for the BBC and Discovery on whether they can reach a deal.
But shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant warned that the government’s deal with the BBC, which includes the broadcaster taking on the cost of fully funding TV licences for over-75s from 2020-21, would make it harder for it to compete as prices for sports rights soar.
Speaking in the Commons, Bryant asked for a guarantee that the Olympics will remain solely on the BBC and the Six Nations will be free-to-air.
Whittingdale, a Thatcherite who voted against same-sex marriage, dismissively replied that the Olympics was one of the events that must be shown on free-to-air channels so there was no reason to worry.
“Whether or not the BBC reaches a deal with Discovery over those rights is something for the BBC and Discovery,” he said.
But Bryant pointed out that the government’s attack on the BBC’s budget meant it may not be able to afford the rights.
He said: “I’m not sure you’re right about that because the (Office for Budget Responsibility) says that the shabby little behind-the-stairs deal that you cooked up this week for the licence fee represents another 20 per cent cut in real terms to the BBC.
“That’s not a cold bath, it’s a prolonged period in the deep freeze.
“Isn’t it the case, when sports rights inflation is running into double digits, this BBC settlement means you are effectively forcing sport off the BBC?
“Don’t you realise that sport belongs to the fans, not to BSkyB, to BT or Discovery, and the fans will be furious if the BBC can no longer compete for these important sports rights?”
