The Winter Olympics looks set to be dropped from free-to-air coverage following a recommendation to the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

While a number of high profile events, most notably the Ashes, have been recommended for addition to the current list of crown jewels’ — the sporting events protected for free-to-air broadcasting — the review panel made a clear distinction between the Summer and Winter Games.

The panel, led by former FA executive director David Davies, included the Summer Olympics on their recommended list, while the previous list did not make the distinction between the two events, and simply protected the Olympic Games’.

It is a decision that has not gone down well at the British Olympic Association with chief executive Andy Hunt pointing to the approximately six million viewers, who tuned into the BBC to watch Great Britain’s female curlers capture gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

“We believe it is imperative that Winter Olympic sportsmen and women have the same opportunity as their summer sport counterparts,” said Hunt.

“Take the success of Great Britain’s female curlers at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics, which attracted a late-night audience of approximately six million free-to-air television viewers in the UK.

“We believe that the Winter Olympics are a pre-eminent international sport event, and, as the curlers proved in 2002, capable of commanding a large television audience which is just of significance to those who ordinarily follow the relevant sport.”

The previous list was split into two categories — events which had their full live coverage protected and those that had only highlights on free-to-air broadcast channels protected.

The panel recommended that the B list be scrapped however, ensuring the Commonwealth Games and the World Athletics Championships would receive no protection.

The entire Wimbledon fortnight has been recommended for full free-to-air coverage, whereas previously, only the finals were on the A list, while the Epsom Derby and the Rugby League Challenge Cup final also look set to be removed from the list.

The next Winter Olympics is scheduled for next February in Vancouver, with approximately 40–50 British athletes expected to attend.

Last time out, at Turin 2006 — which was broadcast on the BBC — Great Britain captured a solitary silver medal, courtesy of skeleton slider Shelley Rudman.

But a clear distinction has been made between the Summer and Winter Games, after then DCMS secretary of state Andy Burnham ordered a review of the crown jewels list in December 2008, after the success of the Beijing Olympics.

He said: “The broadcast of big sports events get young people inspired by sport, driving sports participation and the creation of the next generation of sports stars.

“The sale of TV rights helps fund grassroots sport, so we need to get the balance right.”

In 1984, more than 24 million free-to-air television viewers tuned in to watch Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean clinch Olympic figure skating gold in Sarajevo.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/ski_sunday/default.stm