TELEVISION COVERAGE OF CRICKET WORLD CUP

Motion Text

That this House notes that the Cricket World Cup starts on Saturday, 8th February 2003 and that all previous tournaments have been available in live or highlights form on terrestrial television; further notes that the Cricket World Cup is a Group B listed event which means that terrestrial channels must have an opportunity to show highlights at a fair and reasonable price; regrets the fact that neither BBC or Channel 4, public service channels with a history of covering cricket, have shown any interest in covering the tournament; believes that cricket lovers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds will want to watch the tournament; and urges Greg Dyke of the BBC and Mark Thompson of Channel 4 to reconsider their position and the Minister of Sport to remind them of their public service responsibilities.