Interests of organisations at odds with those of fans

CATHERINE MARTIN, the Government minister responsible for the media, is expected to decide soon whether any new events should be added to the list of Ireland’s crown jewels.

This is the list of sporting events which must be shown on free-to-air TV, and it has proven a controversial one.

A recent report revealed submissions made to the minister by sports organisations and broadcasters.

Philip Browne, recently retired as

CEO of the IRFU, wrote a letter to

Martin jointly with his counterpart in the Six Nations.

Rugby’s opposition to the

Six Nations being designated free to air is longstanding, but a joint submission with the Six Nations chief comes a year after a 14 per cent share of the tournament was sold to a private equity firm, CVC.

Such organisations are in the business of profit, and seeing the market for its product in one country drastically reduced by dint of such a designation would militate against maximising the value of the product.

One bright point for sports fans battered by so many cost-of-living increases and the requirement to commit to a battery of different subscriptions in order to stay tuned to elite mainstream sports, is the imaginative deal brokered by RTÉ and Virgin Media to split coverage of the tournament, which covers this year and next in the Six Nations, and which should run up to 2025.