SNP BACK CALL FOR FREE-TO-AIR SCOTLAND GAMES

SNP BACK CALL FOR FREE-TO-AIR SCOTLAND GAMES

NATIONAL EVENTS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

SNP Culture, Media and Sport Spokesperson, Pete Wishart MP has backed calls by the BBC Trust for all of Scotland's home and away qualifiers for the football World Cup and European Championships to be given protected free-to-view status within the BBC. Similar protection is also recommended for the Commonwealth Games.

The Broadcasting Act (1996) requires a list of sporting and other events of national importance reserved for transmission by public service broadcasters with the aim of giving them the widest possible coverage. The list was last revised in 1998 and is now under review by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The BBC Trust today (Thursday) published their recommendations.

Commenting, Mr Wishart said:

“The SNP have long campaigned for a revision of this list to include major Scottish sporting events and I wholeheartedly back this call by the BBC Trust.

“For many supporters paying for subscription services or taking children to a pub to watch the match is neither affordable nor desirable. Similarly many pubs face crippling satellite costs to broadcast these events.

“These are national events in every sense of the word and fans should be able to enjoy them from the comfort of their own homes.”