Ashes cricket stays on satellite TV as Minister rejects changes

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson stopped short of axing proposals drawn up by an independent review before the general election which would have added home Ashes tests to the sporting events that must be shown on terrestrial television.

But he said any decision on changing the list has been deferred until 2013, by which time the switchover to digital television will be complete and another review will take place.

His decision will please cricket clubs and authorities who had warned protecting Ashes tests would cost them significant sums of money they receive through an exclusive 260m deal with Sky. Yorkshire Cricket Club claimed it could lose up to 1m a year.

It will also be welcomed by rugby league enthusiasts who faced seeing the Challenge Cup final struck off the protected list as part of the changes, raising the prospect of the sport's set-piece event being screened on a satellite channel.

But it will disappoint fans who hoped last year's review, headed by former Football Association executive director David Davies, would lead to them being able to watch test cricket for free again.

Shadow Sports Minister and Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe said: "We said we accepted there was a need for a financial feasibility approach but there's no way it should take to 2012. In between time contracts will be signed.

"I think he's shying away from difficult decisions and bowing to the sports too much."

Former Selby MP John Grogan, who campaigned for Ashes tests to be added to the list of protected sporting events, said he had feared the Davies review recommendations would be dropped altogether, so was upbeat that it had only been deferred.

"I'm disappointed he's not endorsed Davies because I thought that was a good compromise – once every four years the Ashes would be both on Sky and free-to-air, and I think that would have helped sponsorship of the sport as well," he said. "But I'm quite pleased he hasn't ruled it out altogether – it's actually a better result than I thought would happen after the general election."

The cricketing authorities had led the campaign against endorsement of the Davies proposals, which would also have seen qualifying matches for football's World Cup and European Championships and the Open Golf championship added to the protected lists. Meanwhile a "B" list – events where highlights must be available on free television – would be scrapped altogether.

Yorkshire Country Cricket Club's chief executive Stewart Regan had warned the club could struggle to meet loan repayments if satellite broadcasters were prevented from bidding for the rights. The England and Wales Cricket Board forecast the sport would lose 100m over a four-year period.

Mr Davies said in November 2009 the review "unashamedly put the viewing public first" while the report's supporters also point to the fact that 7.4m people tuned in to watch the final Ashes Test at the Oval in 2005 when it was screened on Channel 4 compared with just 2m who watched the climax of the 2009 series on Sky.

Before the election, Mr Robertson had sparked fears he might challenge the idea of the listed events system altogether but yesterday said he "fully supported the principle".

He cited the increase in free channels after the digital switchover, a BBC strategy review and a review by Ofcom into pay TV as reasons for delaying.

The announcement means the current list – drawn up in 1998 – remains in use.