Statement on Ofcom review of Pay TV market
By RFU Press Office - Peter Thomas
March 31 2010
Statement on Ofcom review of Pay TV market Wednesday March 31, 2010 Issued by Peter Thomas
Francis Baron, RFU CEO, said: "The RFU is incredibly disappointed that its concerns, and those of all other affected sports rights holders, have not been taken into account by Ofcom whose consultation process was inadequate and flawed. Ofcom set out to review Pay TV but in doing so have ended up interfering in the sports right market where they have no competence nor experience and their intervention will remove competition from the sports rights market.
"Ofcom's proposed approach effectively confiscates our rights and donates them to organisations who have consistently declined to invest in sports rights despite having balance sheets that dwarf Sky's. The role of a regulator is to increase competition in the market but in sports rights they are removing competition and disincentivising multi billion pound businesses from bidding for rights in the future. The result for all sports right holders is uniformly negative with the resulting reduction in rights values likely to force all of us to cut our grassroots' investments and compromising our ability to deliver against the government's participation targets.
"We will review this very seriously indeed to decide what our actions may be. Clearly we will be taking appropriate legal advice on this matter."
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The RFU remains of the view that Ofcom acted beyond its remit and that its actions will reduce the funding of grassroots sport and feels that it had to act in the best interests of its member clubs.
Francis Baron, RFU CEO, said: "Ofcom set out to review Pay TV but in doing so ended up ruling on the sports right market which is outside their area of responsibility. Ofcom's proposed approach effectively confiscates our rights and donates them to organisations who have consistently declined to invest in sports rights. The Ofcom decision will remove competition and disincentivise multi billion pound businesses from bidding for rights in the future. The result for all sports right holders would be a reduction in rights values likely to force all of us to cut our grassroots' investments and compromising our ability to deliver against the government's participation targets."