Ofcom is seeking evidence around TV’s Crown Jewels as it prepares to implement changes to the rules around their broadcast under the Media Act 2024.
The so-called Crown Jewels are Listed Events of sporting or national interest with the objective of making them available for free to the widest possible audience. They include the Olympic Games, the men’s and women’s World Cup, and the FA Cup Final.
Currently, rights to live coverage of listed events are offered to Qualifying Services which meet certain criteria – specifically that they are free-to-view and received by 95% of the population, but changes will include the Public Service Broadcasters’ (PSBs) on-demand players, global media platforms and other internet-based streaming services.
The Act also changes the definition of qualifying services to include only services provided by PSBs. All other services will be defined as non-qualifying.
“The regime aims to make sure that, where rights to a listed event are being sold, they are offered to both a qualifying and non-qualifying service,” explained an Ofcom statement.
As part of implementing these changes, Ofcom is required to define a number of terms used in the regime – specifically ‘live coverage,’ ‘adequate live coverage,’ and ‘adequate alternative coverage.’
A case might be the upcoming Olympic Games where rights are held by Warner Bros Discovery with the BBC broadcasting a number of events free-to-air and on the BBC iPlayer. At the Tokyo Olympics the BBC received a significant number of complaints about its coverage from viewers who were largely unaware that the International Olympic Committee had sold most of rights to Discovery.
Ofcom is inviting submissions by 5pm on 26 September 2024, and plans to consult on its proposals in 2025.
