Well the BBC has very little money with which to outbid Sky for things, and what little they have they waste going round the world to [strike]oil barons' back gardens[/strike] historical racetracks to broadcast follow-the-leader every other week.
There's a lot of talk of the 'crown jewels' of TV sport, which have a 'wider cultural relevance' and therefore must be broadcast on free-to-air TV (BBC, ITV, C4, C5). If I were the government, I'd codify the following to come under this law:
RU:
- all home internationals involving the Home Nations (broadcast regionally if necessary).
- all 6N games
- all RWC games
- one Heineken Cup game per round
- weekly highlights of Aviva Premiership/ Magners League (depending on location), and of Heineken Cup
RL (in England and Wales):
- home internationals of Home Nations
- RWC games involving Home Nations (both done regionally if necessary).
- Challenge Cup quarter finals and beyond
- weekly highlights of Super League and Challenge Cup
Football:
- all home games of Home Nations (again, regionally)
- all European Championship and World Cup matches
- one Champions League game per round of matches (the arrangement ITV have currently).
- FA Cup/ Scottish Cup quarter finals and beyond (done regionally obviously)
- weekly highlights of English & Scottish Premiership and of Champions League (regionally)
Cricket:
- all England home Test Matches
Tennis:
- Wimbledon
- Davis Cup
Golf:
- The Open
- Ryder Cup
Horse Racing:
- Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup, King George VI
- the Classics @ Newmarket, Epsom & St. Leger
Athletics:
- World Championships
- London Marathon
Other:
- Olympic Games
- Camanachd Cup Final (Scotland)
- All-Ireland Football Final (Northern Ireland)
- All-Ireland Hurling Final (Northern Ireland)
sports like Snooker, Darts, Boxing and Formula 1 can go to the highest bidder. No matter how popular they are, they have none of the cultural significance of the above, at least as spectator sports.