MP Calls For Government To Step In As TV Football Row Continues

A Labour MP has asked the government to step in as the football row continues between Setanta and the free to air broadcasters today.

MP John Grogan said the culture secretary should put football in the category of listed events to guarantee football highlights on free to air television, following doubts over whether England’s World Cup qualifier against Croatia will be shown.

Grogan said: “I call upon Lord Triesman, chairman of the Football Association, to make his views known. I also ask Andy Burnham to immediately put all football World Cup qualifiers in the category of listed events.”

Events such as the World Cup, the FA Cup and the Olympics are currently on the protected list of events that must be shown live on free to air television, while other events such as home Test matches and the Commonwealth Games have guaranteed highlights.

Setanta currently has the exclusive rights to all of England’s away qualifiers, following a deal with relevant football authorities as away games are negotiated on a match by match basis.

An average of just 887,000 viewers tuned in to see the England v Andorra match on Setanta Sports 1 on Saturday evening, giving it a 4.7% share of multi-channel homes.

The BBC and ITV accused Setanta of placing an unrealistic value on the rights, which meant they failed to reach a deal to show match highlights (see 887,000 Tune In For England v Andorra On Setanta).

However, despite the controversy and plea from Grogan, the department for culture, media and sport said there was no chance of the review of listed events being brought forward.

The review by the government is expected to take place following Ofcom’s public service broadcasting review next spring.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com