England cricket Tests and Six Nations on free-to-air TV under MP plan

John Spellar wants cricket and rugby events added to list of ‘crown jewels’ that must be broadcast to widest audience

A Labour MP has proposed a law change that would see England’s home Test matches shown live on free-to-air television.
Ofcom rules require that full coverage of certain major sporting events is offered to free-to-air broadcasters if they are in the regulator’s “group A” top tier of protected events, known as the ‘crown jewels’.
Group A includes, for instance, all matches at men’s and women’s football World Cups, the summer and winter Olympics, the Rugby World Cup final and Wimbledon men’s and women’s finals, but no cricket.
Former Labour minister John Spellar, MP for Warley, has asked for a bill to be considered on March 22 next year that would expand the list to include home Test matches as well as the Six Nations games involving England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Spellar told the PA news agency: “The big international games should be free-to-air, should be available for everyone, because we want those to encourage people, and particularly youngsters, to participate in sport, and also as part of national cohesion of supporting.”
The Six Nations is currently broadcast on the BBC and ITV. However, the BBC’s outgoing director of sport Barbara Slater admitted last month that the broadcaster faces a battle to hold onto the rights to the tournament.
“The Six Nations, like anything, we will have to assess the affordability at the time,” she said. “Because it is very difficult for the BBC, on that trajectory of income, to continue to afford everything that we have. But that’s not a decision that’s being made at this moment in time.”
All home international cricket has been broadcast on Sky since 2006, the year after Channel 4 showed an unforgettable Ashes series. Sky have a deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board that runs until the end of 2028 worth more than £220 million a year.
Since 2020, the ECB have had a deal with the BBC to broadcast a couple of men’s and women’s T20 Internationals live, as well as eight days live in the Hundred men’s and women’s competitions. That deal runs out at the end of next summer, and will go out to tender in the early part of next year.
A spokesperson from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport told PA: “Our goal is to ensure events of national interest are free-to-air wherever possible, while protecting competition organisers’ ability to raise income from the sale of broadcast rights to invest in their sports,” she said.
“We believe the current list strikes an appropriate balance, with protections in place for highlights of cricket Test matches played in England, and the Six Nations tournament matches involving home countries. Therefore we have no plans to amend the regime.”