The review panel, lead by former English Football Association executive director David Davies, recommended last Friday that Ashes Test matches, home and away international football qualifiers, the Open Championship, the whole of Wimbledon, the entire Rugby World Cup and Welsh Six Nations should be added to the current list.
A Sky spokesperson said: “As the Advisory Panel has rightly acknowledged, sports bodies are best placed to know what is right for their sport’s future. If you remove their choice on how to assign their rights it could have a disastrous impact on their long-term health. That would be a sad sporting legacy.
“These rights holders should be free to decide how to balance the investment, exposure and depth of coverage that broadcasters can offer. And they should be trusted to sell their rights and invest in their sport so they can develop, plan for success and encourage participation at all levels.
“It is disappointing that the panel did not fully consider the financial implications, the true costs, of listing sports events. For the future health of sport, the Secretary of State has to.”
All the sports affected will now launch a lobbying campaign to persuade culture secretary Ben Bradshaw against adopting the panel’s recommendations.
