Part of Prayers – in the House of Commons at 12:59 pm on 28 October 1998.
Mr Brian White
Labour, North East Milton Keynes
12:59,
28 October 1998
My hon. Friend has obviously read my speech, because I was about to make that point. He is right to say that, in the United States, NFL games are not allowed to be shown live unless the ground is full. There are also deals whereby merchandising and television rights are shared between clubs. Pay-per-view would therefore be an additional choice there.
If you wanted to watch Charlton, that would be reasonable as an additional choice. My fear is that the economics of pay-per-view would mean that, although you might get your way on that issue, the choice for everybody else would be diminished. That is the kind of regulation that I am looking for. You also mentioned—