The need to designate a limited number of major sporting events for free-to-air viewing was acknowledged yesterday by Mr John Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council.
Speaking at a public forum in Dublin Castle, Mr Treacy said that a balance had to be found between facilitating the widest possible audience for sporting events and the need for sporting organisations to maximise their income. A possible compromise could be the "limiting of a number of events" for free-to-air viewing, he said.
The forum was organised by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, as a result of the FAI's decision to sell the broadcasting rights for home Irish soccer internationals to Sky Sports.
Mr Treacy said that it might appear that the FAI, GAA and IRFU were being "punished economically" for their success. The more successful an event was, the more likely it was that its broadcasting rights would be restricted, he said. But if the organisations did not continuously pump resources into the game, then the potential of the sport would never be realised.
Meanwhile, Mr Ahern said that the depth of people's pockets should have nothing to do with their enjoyment of major sporting events. He was determined to ensure, as far as was practicable, that "participation in our major events will not depend on an ability to pay for subscription or pay-per-view TV services".
Chairing the forum, Mr Raymond Snoddy, media editor of the London Times, asked why the Government was only acting now when it had had the power to designate events since 1999.
Mr Ahern said that officials had been attempting to put such a framework in place, but their efforts had "come to nought". It was quite possible that the designations could be applied retrospectively, but he could not comment on this, as any such move could be subject to legal challenge.
Mr Mark Deering, Sky's director in Ireland, refused to be drawn on whether the company would launch a legal challenge if its deal with the FAI collapsed. The FAI had offered the broadcasting rights for home soccer internationals to Sky, but he refused to say if the FAI or Sky had made the first approach.
Sky accepted the Government's right to intervene as it deemed appropriate, Mr Deering said. However, it felt that the objectives of the Broadcasting Act were satisfied by the showing of matches on TV3 one hour after the live events.
Mr Cathal Goan, RTÉ director of television, said that the sale of broadcasting rights for Ireland's home international soccer matches was a "retrograde step" and would deprive the majority of people of the right to participate in major sporting events.
Asked by Mr Snoddy if RTÉ had been "badly wrong-footed" by the move, he said: "I think we were, yes."
Soccer fans were very critical of the FAI/Sky deal, with Mr Alan Hunter, of the Irish Football Supporters' Association, describing it as "absolutely reprehensible".
Mr Michael Nugent, of Irish Fans United, said the FAI was trying to have it both ways. On the one hand, it was saying that home qualifying matches were not of major importance to society, yet it was also saying that it needed the money generated from broadcasting these games.
The decision of the three main sporting organisations to stay away from the forum was criticised by a number of the speakers.
The three organisations will tomorrow meet Mr Ahern to discuss the Government's proposed list of events to be protected for free-to-air viewing. The list includes the All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals; Ireland's home and away qualifying games in the European Football Championships and the World Cup and the finals of both events; and Ireland's games in the Six Nations' Championship and Rugby World Cup.
Mr Ahern told the forum that he would present the final list of designated sports to the Government in early September.
In a show of hands, more than half the forum audience indicated that they wished to see certain sports designated. The remainder abstained from the vote.
