22 Jan 2009Davies to head up free-to-air broadcasting review

Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

Former Football Association chief executive David Davies is set to lead a panel of experts as they conduct a review into which sporting events are shown on free-to-air television, it was confirmed yesterday (January 21st).

Davies will be joined by former Olympic 110m hurdler Colin Jackson, ex-England cricketer Angus Fraser and television presenters Eamonn Holmes and Dougie Donnelly for the process.

The current list - which is divided into 'A' and 'B' categories and includes the World Cup tournament, the European Championships, the FA Cup final and the Scottish Cup final - has not been reviewed for ten years.

Davies said: "I am delighted that we have secured such a range of expertise and I look forward to working with the panel as the review moves forward over the coming year."

The process is set to focus on three main areas, namely the principle of having a list, its content and the criteria required for events to be included.

England fans were left frustrated in September when talks between Setanta and terrestrial broadcasters to show free-to-air highlights of the vital World Cup qualifying clash with Croatia collapsed.

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