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BBC Sport is the sports division of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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, providing national sports coverage for BBC
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
,
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...
. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analysis programmes such as ''
Match of the Day
''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...
'', ''
Test Match Special
''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...
'', ''
Ski Sunday
''Ski Sunday'' is the BBC Sports weekly magazine-style television show covering winter sports, broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays in a late afternoon or an early evening time-slot. It began in 1978, and is currently presented by Ed Leigh ...
'', ''
Today at Wimbledon
''Today at Wimbledon'' is a BBC TV show, showing highlights and discussion from the day's play at the Wimbledon Championships currently hosted by Clare Balding. The show lasts for 60 minutes and is broadcast on BBC Two at 8:30 pm.
Origins
...
'' and previously ''
Grandstand''. Results, analysis and coverage is also added to the
BBC Sport website and through the
BBC Red Button
BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to c ...
interactive television service.
History
The BBC has broadcast sport for several decades under individual programme names and coverage titles. ''
Grandstand'' was one of the more notable sport programmes, broadcasting sport for almost 50 years. The BBC first began to brand sport coverage as 'BBC Sport' in 1988 for the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, by introducing the programme with a short animation of a globe circumnavigated by four coloured rings. This practice continued throughout the next two decades. Upon the launch of the
BBC News website
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...
in 1997, sport was included in the BBC's online presence for the first time.
In May 2007, the BBC Trust approved plans for several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to be moved to a new development in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
. The new development at
MediaCityUK marks a major decentralisation of BBC departments from London and a key investment in the north of England where BBC spending in the region had previously been low. The department moved into Quay House, MediaCityUK gradually in late 2011 and early 2012 with the first Sports bulletins being broadcast from the new BBC Sport Centre on 5 March 2012.
In 2017, BBC Sport launched a new on-air identity, becoming the first BBC property to implement the broadcaster's new corporate typeface.
Summary of programming
Football
The BBC shares the rights to the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
and the
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
with
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. A near equal split of group stage and knockout stage games are shown, including a semi-final and the final is shown on both networks. The BBC aired all its matches from the
2018 World Cup in
4K UHD and
VR to a limited number of viewers subject to bandwidth.
The BBC shows highlights of the Premier League on ''
Match of the Day
''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...
'' which has been hosted by
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...
since 1999. ''
Match of the Day 2
''Match of the Day 2'' is a Premier League football highlights programme. It is a companion show to Match of the Day, usually broadcast on BBC One on Sunday evenings, thus facilitating coverage of the respective week's PL matches that were playe ...
'' and ''Match of the Day 2 Extra'', are presented by
Mark Chapman.
Alex Scott hosts ''
Football Focus
''Football Focus'' is a BBC television magazine programme launched in 1974 covering football, normally broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes during the football season. From the 2009–10 season to the 2020–21 season Football Focus ...
'' every Saturday lunchtime before
Jason Mohammad
Jason Mohammad (born 17 September 1973) is a Welsh radio and television presenter currently working for the BBC. He is the current host of ''Final Score'' on BBC One on Saturday afternoons.
Personal life
Mohammad was born and brought up in Ca ...
presents ''
Final Score
''Final Score'' is a BBC Television football news and results programme produced by BBC Sport. The programme is broadcast on late Saturday afternoons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, usually on BBC One. BBC Northern Ireland opts away dur ...
'' every Saturday afternoon. Pundits for ''Match of the Day'' as well as co-commentators include
Alan Shearer,
Robbie Savage
Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, now a football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield.
During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, ...
,
Chris Sutton
Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...
,
Don Hutchison
Donald Hutchison (born 9 May 1971) is a former professional footballer. Hutchison is a football television pundit and commentator for Talksport and ESPN FC.
As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpoo ...
,
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internet pun ...
,
Danny Murphy,
Kevin Kilbane
Kevin Daniel Kilbane (; born 1 February 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger or full back. Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team, fourth behind only Robbie Keane, Shay Given and John O ...
,
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Ho ...
,
Martin Keown
Martin Raymond Keown (; born 24 July 1966) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club a ...
,
Stephen Warnock,
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...
,
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup.
Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...
,
Alex Scott,
Faye White
Faye Deborah White, (born 2 February 1978) is an English former footballer who captained Arsenal Women in the FA Women's Super League and is the longest-serving female captain of England to date. Her Lionesses career spanned 15 years and five ...
,
Sue Smith Sue Smith may refer to:
* Sue Smith (politician) (born 1951), member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council
* Sue Smith (footballer) (born 1979), English footballer
* Sue Smith (trainer) (born 1948), British horse trainer
* Sue Smith (writer), Austra ...
,
Lucy Ward,
Chris Waddle,
Cese Fabregas,
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
and
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
while commentators include
Guy Mowbray
Guy Nicholas Mowbray (born 16 February 1972) is an English football commentator, who primarily appears on the BBC and BT Sport. While working for Eurosport at the 1998 World Cup, he became the youngest ever television commentator on a World Cup ...
,
Steve Wilson,
Jonathan Pearce,
Simon Brotherton
Simon Charles Brotherton is a sports commentator for the BBC, appearing on Match of the Day and BBC Radio Five Live, as well as BT Sport television.
Brotherton was still at school when he began his career with BBC Local Radio and developed furth ...
,
Steve Bower,
Dave Woods,
Vicki Sparks
Vicki Sparks is a British sports journalist and football commentator for BBC Sport and BT Sport. She has reported for ''Final Score'' and BBC Radio 5 Live. She also regularly covers women's football for the BBC.
In March 2017, after a post-match ...
,
Jacqui Oatley
Jacqueline Anne Oatley (born 28 December 1974) is a leading English broadcaster.
She is a football commentator for Sky Sports, calling Premier League and FA Women's Super League matches. She is a sports presenter on Quest TV channel, covering ...
,
Alistair Mann
Alistair Mann is a freelance football commentator and TV sports presenter.
He was born in Salford and attended Manchester Grammar School. He trained as a journalist at the department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Central ...
,
Conor McNamara
Conor McNamara is an Irish sports commentator. He works for BBC Radio 5 Live, ''Match of the Day'', BBC, Amazon Prime Video and Sky Sports.
McNamara was born in Limerick, in the Republic of Ireland, where he attended the Jesuit Rugby School ...
,
Dan O'Hagan
Daniel O'Hagan is a freelance football commentator and TV presenter as well as covering the UEFA Champions League for SBS in Australia and BT Sport in England. Formerly he was the voice of the world feed for the French Football League. He is best ...
, Mark Tompkins, Martin Fisher, Gary Bloom, John Roder, Mark Scott, Chris Wise,
Robyn Cowen
Robyn Cowen is a British journalist and football commentator. Cowen is best known as being the lead play by play commentator on BBC One during the England women's national football team matches during UEFA Women's Euro 2022, hosted and won by E ...
, Tom Gayle,
Steven Wyeth and Pien Muelensteen.
The BBC also broadcasts live coverage of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and will do so until 2025.
Cricket
On 30 June 2017 it was announced that live cricket would be returning to BBC TV for the first time in 21 years. The BBC regained rights to highlights of all
England's home Tests, ODIs and T20Is. They also have live broadcasts of two home T20 matches per season, plus 10 matches from
The Hundred. Coverage also includes
England Women for whom they will broadcast one home T20 and 8 matches from The Hundred. ''Today At The Test'', the BBC's test cricket highlights programme is presented by
Isa Guha
Isa Tara Guha (born 21 May 1985) is an English cricket commentator, television and radio cricket broadcaster, and a former England cricketer who played in the 2005 World Cup and the 2009 World Cup.[Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 200 ...]
,
Phil Tufnell
Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell (born 29 April 1966) is a former English international cricketer and current television and radio personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played in 42 Test matches and 20 One Day Internationals for ...
,
Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent (born 31 December 1983) is an English former cricketer who is now a commentator and Director of Women's Cricket at Surrey. She was the first black woman to play for England. She was also ca ...
,
Mark Ramprakash
Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21. A gifted, and one of the heaviest-scoring, English b ...
and
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to:
Arts
*James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor
*James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer
*James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor
* James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
.
Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Philip Agnew, (born 4 April 1960) is an English cricket broadcaster and a former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro" †...
and
Alison Mitchell
Alison Mitchell (born 17 January) is an English-Australian cricket commentator and sports broadcaster, working for the BBC, Australia's Channel 7 and the Australian Open among others. She was the first woman to become a regular commentator on the ...
also contributed to commentary as well as, presenter, Isa Guha. Regularly, a guest co-commentator will join the team from the touring side. On 30 August 2020, the BBC broadcast the second England vs Pakistan Twenty20 International, its first live cricket broadcast for 21 years.
Tennis
BBC Sport currently holds the rights to broadcast the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
and the
Queen's Club Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
live on its television platforms. The Wimbledon contract has been held by the BBC since 1927 and the current contract lasts until 2024 making it the longest such contract in the world. The BBC produce over 900 hours of footage that is distributed to broadcasters in 159 countries. BBC Wimbledon coverage is presented by former British number one and 1976 French Open Champion
Sue Barker alongside a whole host of former ex-professional players including
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...
,
Martina Navratilova,
Boris Becker,
Billie Jean King,
Tracy Austin
Tracy Ann Austin Holt (born December 12, 1962) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. She won three Grand Slam titles: the women's singles titles at the 1979 and 1981 US Opens, and the mixed doubles title at the 1980 Wimbledon ...
and
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in th ...
. Matches are broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Two, the Red Button, or Online via the BBC Sport website. Highlights are also shown on the long-running
Today at Wimbledon
''Today at Wimbledon'' is a BBC TV show, showing highlights and discussion from the day's play at the Wimbledon Championships currently hosted by Clare Balding. The show lasts for 60 minutes and is broadcast on BBC Two at 8:30 pm.
Origins
...
, presented by
Clare Balding, who replaced
John Inverdale
John Inverdale (born 27 September 1957) is an English broadcaster who works for both the BBC and ITV.
During his radio career, he has presented coverage of many major sporting events including the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the Grand Nationa ...
in 2015. The same year, the programme was renamed "Wimbledon 2day", with a new lighthearted magazine format, but after only one year, the format was abandoned for 2016.
Following the trial which commenced with
2018 World Cup, the BBC broadcast all
Centre Court
Centre Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in The Championships at Wimbledon, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is co ...
matches from the
2018 Wimbledon Championships in 4K UHD via iPlayer.
For the most recent tournament in 2021, the commentators included, Chris Bradnam, James Burridge,
Andrew Castle,
Matt Chilton,
Andrew Cotter, Katherine Downes,
Paul Hand,
John Inverdale
John Inverdale (born 27 September 1957) is an English broadcaster who works for both the BBC and ITV.
During his radio career, he has presented coverage of many major sporting events including the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the Grand Nationa ...
,
David Law, Nick Lester,
Dan Lobb
Daniel Jonathon Lobb (born 7 January 1972) is a British retired tennis player and television presenter, best known for co-presenting the ITV Breakfast programme '' Daybreak'' from 2010 until 2012. Since 2015, he co-presents ''Cowboy Builders'' ...
,
Alison Mitchell
Alison Mitchell (born 17 January) is an English-Australian cricket commentator and sports broadcaster, working for the BBC, Australia's Channel 7 and the Australian Open among others. She was the first woman to become a regular commentator on the ...
, Ronald McIntosh,
Nick Mullins, Pete Odgers,
Mark Petchey, Simon Reed,
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
and Andy Stevenson. Co-commentators included, Tracy Austin,
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She also ...
, Boris Becker, Pat Cash,
Annabel Croft
Annabel Nicola Croft (born 12 July 1966) is a former professional British female tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain i ...
,
Colin Fleming
Colin Fleming (born 13 August 1984) is a British retired professional tennis player who specialised in doubles.
As part of the Davis Cup team, he won eight successive doubles matches to help Great Britain into the World Group. He also won his ...
,
Peter Fleming, Tim Henman,
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong (born 16 September 1983) is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won a total of 28 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 48 (achieved on 23 Febru ...
,
John Lloyd,
Miles Maclagan
Miles Maclagan (born 23 September 1974) is a Zambia born British tennis coach and former professional tennis player. He formerly coached British No.1s Laura Robson and Andy Murray.
Maclagan partnered Tim Henman successfully in the Davis Cup ...
, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova,
Arvind Parmar
Arvind Parmar (born 1978 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is a former British professional tennis player whose career ran from 1997 to 2006. After retiring, he coached British junior No. 1, Ahmed El Menshawy. and also coached another British junior, ...
,
Louise Pleming,
Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world- ...
,
Liz Smylie
Elizabeth Smylie (née Sayers, born 11 April 1963), sometimes known as Liz Smylie, is a retired Australian tennis player. During her career, she won four Grand Slam titles, one of them in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. She also wo ...
and
Mel South.
Lee McKenzie
Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...
,
Rishi Persad
Rishi Persad (born May 25, 1974) is an Indian, UK based sports television presenter.
Early life
Persad grew up in the 1980s on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean a keen cricket and horse racing fan. His parents were Indian, his mother w ...
, John Inverdale and Simon Mundie were the reporters. Regular tournament weather updates are provided by
Carol Kirkwood
Carol Kirkwood (née MacKellaig) (born 29 May 1962) is a Scottish weather presenter, trained by the Met Office, and employed by the BBC, on '' BBC Breakfast''. In 2015, she participated in the 13th series of BBC One's '' Strictly Come Dancing' ...
.
The BBC also broadcasts two traditional Grass warm up events in the fortnight before the Wimbledon Championships. First is the
AEGON Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
from
Queen's Club, which takes place two weeks before Wimbledon. The BBC has covered the tournament since 1979 and has a contract in place until 2024. The following week is the
WTA AEGON International event from
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
. Both events are primarily shown on BBC Two.
The BBC holds rights to show daily TV highlights from the Australian Open. Coverage is presented by Sue Barker with commentary from Andrew Castle and John Lloyd.
The BBC has exclusive free to air TV rights for 8 singles matches from the ATP World Tour Finals which includes the semi final and the final. The BBC covered the event originally between 2009 and 2011, followed by an extension for 2012 and 2013. This was extended again in 2013 through to 2015. It was extended again in 2016 for another 2 years before another deal was announced in 2017 and will run until 2020, with Sky Sports, showing one afternoon match per day including one semi-final and the final which are usually shown on BBC Two.
BBC Radio covers the four Grand Slam tournaments - the
Australian Open,
French Open,
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
and
US Open - on
BBC Radio 5 Live and
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
. For most recent Wimbledon tournament in 2021, Gigi Salmon and
Tony Livesey
Anthony Livesey (born 11 January 1964, Burnley, Lancashire) is a British journalist and broadcaster who presents 'Drive' for BBC Radio 5 Live.
Early life
Livesey was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and lived in nearby Nelson during the early part ...
hosted full coverage on Radio 5 Live, with expert analysis from Marion Bartoli,
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning ...
,
Laura Robson
Laura Robson (born 21 January 1994) is a British former professional tennis player. She debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2007, and a year later won the Junior Wimbledon championships at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached t ...
,
Leon Smith, Chanda Rubin, Annabel Croft, Miles Maclagan,
Mark Woodforde
Mark Raymond Woodforde, OAM (born 23 September 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of " The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge.
Woodforde was born in Adelaide, and joine ...
and
Jeff Tarango
Jeffrey Gail Tarango (born November 20, 1968) is a retired American tennis player. He was a top-ten doubles player and a runner-up at the 1999 French Open men's doubles tournament. He is now the Director of Tennis at the Jack Kramer Club, which ...
. The team of commentators is led by the BBC's tennis correspondent,
Russell Fuller
Russell Fuller is a British sports broadcaster. He was one of the three main presenters of Sportsworld (radio) which can be heard Saturday and Sunday on BBC World Service, and a regular presenter on BBC Radio Five Live. The average weekly audie ...
, along with Gigi Salmon, David Law,
Naomi Cavaday
Naomi Kathleen Cavaday (born 24 April 1989) is a British former professional tennis player from Sidcup, Kent. She retired in April 2011 to take up a coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association. At the time of her retirement, she was the Br ...
,
Jonathan Overend
Jonathan Overend is an English presenter, commentator and reporter working for ITV Sport, BBC Sport, Times Radio, ATP Media and Premier League Productions. He also runs his own production company, NinetyFour19 Ltd.
Overend began his radio career ...
, Iain Carter, Alison Mitchell and Sara Orchard. For other grand slam tournaments, Russell Fuller, David Law and Gigi Salmon are the commentators. For the select few
ATP Tour Masters 1000
The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since th ...
events that BBC Radio cover, Russell Fuller is usually the sole commentator.
Rugby union
The BBC holds joint rights to the
Six Nations championship in the UK with
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.[BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...](_blank)
or
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. Coverage of these games is complemented by an interactive service on
BBC Red Button
BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to c ...
and Radio commentary on all matches. The BBC held the live rights to the Autumn Internationals for the
Scottish and
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
sides as well as highlights of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
team.
Gabby Logan
Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh presenter and a former international rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. She hosted '' Final Score'' for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She has also ...
leads the BBC's rugby coverage.
Martin Johnson,
Sam Warburton,
Jonathan Davies,
John Barclay,
Jamie Heaslip
James Peter Richard Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish rugby union former player who played for Leinster and Ireland. He played as a number 8. Heaslip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, makin ...
,
Andy Nicol
Andrew Douglas Nicol (born 12 March 1971), is a former Scotland international rugby union player. A scrum-half, Nicol won 23 caps for Scotland and had brief spells as a replacement on two British & Irish Lions tours.
Rugby Union career
Amate ...
,
Chris Paterson
Christopher Douglas Paterson, MBE (born 30 March 1978) is an ambassador and specialist coach for the Scotland and Edinburgh rugby union teams. He is a former professional rugby union player who played for Scotland and, for the most part of h ...
and
Thomas Castaignede are the main pundits and co-commentators. The BBC's main commentators are
Eddie Butler and
Andrew Cotter.
Sonja McLaughlan and
Lee McKenzie
Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...
are the reporters.
Rugby league
The BBC shows live coverage of the
Challenge Cup including both semi-finals and the final, the
Four Nations and the
Rugby League World Cup.
Coverage is hosted by
Mark Chapman and
Tanya Arnold with commentary from
Dave Woods,
Jonathan Davies and
Brian Noble. The BBC's
Super League Show
The ''Super League Show'' is the BBC's principal rugby league programme, shown on BBC One in the North of England on Monday evenings, repeated nationally on BBC Two on Tuesday lunchtimes and also on BBC iPlayer. The programme, produced by PDI ...
shows weekly highlights of the
Super League,
Magic Weekend
The Magic Weekend (known as the Dacia Magic Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is an annual event organised by the Rugby Football League in which an entire round of Super League matches is played over a weekend at a single stadium to promote the ...
,
Super 8's and the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
.
Olympics
The BBC holds the exclusive terrestrial rights to show
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
and
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
and has shown live coverage of every Summer Olympics since
1960. For the
2012 Olympics in London the BBC had three stations showing live coverage of the games. BBC One showed main coverage, BBC Three with special extended coverage and BBC Two aired when BBC One was broadcasting news bulletins.
The BBC's current rights deal lasts through the
2020 Summer Olympics. Beginning at the
2018 Winter Olympics, the BBC entered into sub-licensing agreements with
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...
, the pan-European rightsholder of the Olympics for 2018 through 2024. Discovery will sub-license exclusive pay television rights to the Games from the BBC in 2018 and 2021, and will then, in turn, sub-license terrestrial rights to the Games to the BBC in 2022 and 2024. The deal is intended to maintain the BBC's tradition of Olympic broadcasting, although the BBC's coverage will be reduced as a result; the BBC and Discovery have had a historic relationship in regards to co-production of factual and nature programming.
Commonwealth Games
The BBC showed the
2014 Commonwealth Games with more coverage than ever before. Coverage was similar to their coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. Live coverage was shown from 9.00 am to 10.30 pm on BBC One with coverage switching to BBC Two during news bulletins (1.00 pm to 1.45 pm, 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm and 10.00 pm to 10.30 pm). BBC Three broadcast alternative coverage from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm.
Athletics
The BBC covers events such as the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
, the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for men ...
, domestic British athletics and mass-participation events such as the
London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...
and the
Great North Run
The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...
. The BBC have the rights to show coverage of each
Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
meeting on the red button, with the two British rounds and final two meetings live on BBC Two and selected meetings on BBC Three. In July 2013, The BBC announced that they had extended their deal to broadcast British athletic events such as the British Championships/World or European Championship Trials and the upcoming Anniversary Games through to 2020.
The BBC lost the rights to the 2011 and 2013
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
to
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. However, in November 2011 it was announced that the BBC has obtained the TV, radio and online rights to the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Athletics events,
It was also announced Channel 4 decided to hand the rights to the 2013 Championships to the BBC. This was down to Channel 4 saying they wanted to focus on Paralympic Sports.
Gabby Logan
Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh presenter and a former international rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. She hosted '' Final Score'' for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She has also ...
is the main host of the athletics coverage with,
Michael Johnson and
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis (born 27 August 1972) is a British sports presenter and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was twice Commonwealth Games champion, ...
the studio pundits.
Steve Cram and
Andrew Cotter commentate on track events alongside,
Colin Jackson
Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became wo ...
and
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...
, with
Steve Backley
Stephen James Backley, OBE (born 12 February 1969) is a retired British track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a ...
commentating on field events alongside
Toni Minichiello.
Jeanette Kwakye
Jeanette Boahemaa Kwakye (pronounced ''kwah-chee''; born 20 March 1983) is a sports broadcaster and retired British sprinter.
Athletics career
Kwakye won a bronze medal in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2002 World Junior Championships, with ...
and
Radzi Chinyanganya
Munyaradzi Thomas Kingsley "Radzi" Chinyanganya (born 12 September 1986) is a British presenter and broadcaster. He co-presented the BBC children's TV programme ''Blue Peter'' from 2013 until 2019, and the ITV game show ''Cannonball'' in 2017 ...
are the main interviewers.
Jessica Ennis-Hill
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (born 28 January 1986) is a British retired track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, ...
provided commentary and analysis across track and field events at the 2017 IAAF World Championships alongside the regular presenting team.
Golf
The BBC no longer holds rights to live coverage of golf. Until 2019, live coverage of Saturday and Sunday's play in the
US Masters, and highlights of Thursday and Friday's play were broadcast, with
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
showing all four days of The Masters live.
From 2020,
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
have exclusive live coverage of all four rounds, with daily highlights on BBC TWO.
For
2017, they also showed all four days of the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
live.
Until 2015, the BBC's coverage of The Open Championships was extensive with coverage broadcast live and uninterrupted on BBC Two between 9 am and 8 pm on Thursday and Friday and on BBC One on Saturday and Sunday. Since 2016,
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
has exclusive UK rights to
The Open
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
with the BBC showing a two-hour highlights programme every night. The BBC also shows highlights of two other
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...
events held in Britain - the BMW PGA Championship and the
Scottish Open. It also covers the
Women's British Open
The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...
. Eilidh Barbour is the lead presenter with commentary from,
Andrew Cotter,
Ken Brown,
Paul Azinger
Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won twelve times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official ...
,
Maureen Madill
Maureen Elizabeth Jane Madill (born 1 February 1958) is a professional golfer, coach and broadcaster. Her married name is Garner.
Madill was born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Golf career
Madill won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Champions ...
and
Wayne Grady
Wayne Desmond Grady (born 26 July 1957) is an Australian professional golfer.
Early life
Born in Brisbane, Grady turned professional in 1978.
Professional career
Grady began his career on the PGA Tour of Australia. He had much early suc ...
.
Rishi Persad
Rishi Persad (born May 25, 1974) is an Indian, UK based sports television presenter.
Early life
Persad grew up in the 1980s on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean a keen cricket and horse racing fan. His parents were Indian, his mother w ...
is the reporter.
The BBC also shows highlights of the
Ryder Cup and has done so since 1997. The corporation had held the live rights from 1981 until 1993.
Snooker
The
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
programme ''
Pot Black
''Pot Black'' was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC. Each match was contested over a single , where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points, but played a large part in t ...
'' was arguably the starting point for the great popularity of
snooker over the last 50 years. The sport always produces large viewing figures for the BBC; the
1985 World Snooker Championship final between
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
and
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...
attracted the largest-ever audience for a BBC Two programme, pulling in 18.5 million viewers at the climax of the match shortly after midnight on 29 April 1985. The
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...
, the
Masters, and the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
are shown annually on BBC Two. The BBC also broadcasts the
Welsh Open snooker tournament, which is available to watch on
BBC Two Wales or via the
BBC Red Button
BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to c ...
service.
Snooker coverage is regularly hosted by
Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine (born 24 May 1965) is a Scottish sports presenter.
Early life
Irvine was born in St Andrews, Scotland. Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an MA in History of Art at the University of St. Andrews, and comp ...
,
Jason Mohammad
Jason Mohammad (born 17 September 1973) is a Welsh radio and television presenter currently working for the BBC. He is the current host of ''Final Score'' on BBC One on Saturday afternoons.
Personal life
Mohammad was born and brought up in Ca ...
or
Seema Jaswal
Seema Jaswal is a British television and radio presenter from West London.
Jaswal hosts the Premier League's worldwide coverage for Premier League Productions which includes flagship shows ''Kick Off'' and ''Fanzone''. Jaswal also presents BBC ...
. Pundits and commentators on the coverage include
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
,
John Parrott
John Stephen Parrott, (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained withi ...
,
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
, Ken Doherty, Alan McManus, John Virgo,
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...
and Joe Perry (snooker player), Joe Perry. The World Championships have featured guest commentators such as Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski, Peter Ebdon and Shaun Murphy. Rob Walker (sports announcer), Rob Walker appears in the role of Master of Ceremonies at the major snooker tournaments televised by the BBC.
Darts
In February 2016, it was announced that the BBC would cover the inaugural Professional Darts Corporation, PDC Champions League of Darts. As a consequence the BBC would no longer show the British Darts Organisation, BDO World Darts Championships, a tournament that the BBC had shown since its inception in 1978.
Darts presenters on the BBC have included David Vine in 1978, Peter Purves from 1979 to 1984, Tony Gubba from 1985 to 1990, Eamonn Holmes from 1991 to 1993, Dougie Donnelly from 1994 to 1998,
John Inverdale
John Inverdale (born 27 September 1957) is an English broadcaster who works for both the BBC and ITV.
During his radio career, he has presented coverage of many major sporting events including the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the Grand Nationa ...
from 1999 to 2000, Ray Stubbs from 2001 to 2009, Colin Murray & Rob Walker from 2010 to 2016 and
Jason Mohammad
Jason Mohammad (born 17 September 1973) is a Welsh radio and television presenter currently working for the BBC. He is the current host of ''Final Score'' on BBC One on Saturday afternoons.
Personal life
Mohammad was born and brought up in Ca ...
from 2016 to present. Bobby George has presented as well from 2000 to 2016. The current commentators are Vassos Alexander (2011–present), Dan Dawson (2016–present), Alan Warriner-Little (2016–present), Paul Nicholson (darts player), Paul Nicholson (2016–present) and Mark Webster (darts player), Mark Webster (2016–present). Former commentators are Sid Waddell 1978–1994, David Croft (broadcaster), David Croft 2003–2012, John Part 1995–2007, Tony Green 1978–2010 and 2012–2016, Jim Proudfoot 2013–2016, Scott Mitchell (darts player), Scott Mitchell 2014–2016 and John Rawling 2014–2016.
American football
On 9 September 2015, the BBC announced that the National Football League, NFL would return to its screens in an initial 2-year deal that includes the rights to show the NFL International Series, NFL London Games live with at least one match being exclusively live. The BBC also show weekly highlights and magazine shows, which started in November 2015. The deal included live television, radio and online rights to screen the Super Bowl alongside Sky Sports. The London Games were presented by Nat Coombs, Mike Carlson and Osi Umenyiora with Ore Oduba as sideline reporter. The BBC highlights show is presented by Dan Walker (broadcaster), Dan Walker alongside Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell (American football), Jason Bell. Both the live coverage and highlights use coverage and commentators from American TV.
The BBC previously held the rights to live coverage, highlights (primarily broadcast on its web site) and live radio coverage of the NFL from 2007 to 2013 . Jake Humphrey presented their play-off highlights show for the first 2 years with Matt Roberts taking over duties in 2010. The studio pundits included Mike Carlson, Rod Woodson and Jerry Rice. Since 2012, the BBC aired live weekly radio coverage of the NFL on
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
and air the Super Bowl on BBC TV and
BBC Radio 5 Live in 2012 but Jake Humphrey stepped down and was replaced by Mark Chapman. For the 2012–13 season, the BBC broadcast Monday Night Football on the iPlayer and via BBC HD (commencing with the Giants at Redskins game on 4 December 2012; prior to this the broadcast was only available through the Red Button or online). Channel 4 then took over as the terrestrial home of NFL on British TV showing a Sunday Night game, the two London games and their first Super Bowl in 16 years in 2014 after last covering the Super Bowl in 1998. Absolute Radio took over the BBC Radio rights.
Motorsport
Netball
In 2018, the BBC signed a deal to split the TV rights with Sky Sports for the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. Following the success of the Vitality England Roses Squad at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, the BBC's coverage of the sport has increased.
Other sports
As well as all of this, the BBC broadcasts winter sports, including the Alpine Skiing World Cup, under its ''
Ski Sunday
''Ski Sunday'' is the BBC Sports weekly magazine-style television show covering winter sports, broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays in a late afternoon or an early evening time-slot. It began in 1978, and is currently presented by Ed Leigh ...
'' banner; and briefly covers sports such as Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, sailing (sport), sailing, badminton, table tennis, Squash (sport), squash, equestrianism, gymnastics and other minority sports. Presenters for these sports include Jill Douglas and Phil Jones (journalist), Phil Jones who often report for other areas of BBC Sport.
BBC Sport regained coverage of the Boat Race from
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.[Clare Balding hosts this and commentary came from Andrew Cotter from 2010 to 2011, 2013–present and from Jonathan Legard in 2012. The race is also broadcast on BBC World News. Former presenters for this were Harry Carpenter who also commentated and Steve Rider while Barry Davies also commentated on this from the 1990s to 2004.
BBC Sport also holds the rights to the Invictus Games (multi-sport event), Invictus Games which is presented by Clare Balding, Ade Adepitan, Johnathan Edwards.
The BBC also has rights to highlights of Equestrianism from Badminton Horse Trials and Burghley Horse Trials. The coverage is hosted by Clare Balding and if she is unavailable ](_blank)Rishi Persad
Rishi Persad (born May 25, 1974) is an Indian, UK based sports television presenter.
Early life
Persad grew up in the 1980s on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean a keen cricket and horse racing fan. His parents were Indian, his mother w ...
hosts with commentary by Mike Tucker. The BBC also shows the World Indoor Bowls Championships. Currently this is presented by Persad with commentary by David Corkill and analysis from current players such as Greg Harlow and Andy Thomson (bowls), Andy Thompson. Former bowls presenters include David Icke and Dougie Donnelly.
Worldwide rights
*North West 200: Live of practice, qualifying, races on BBC Sport Online
*The Boat Race's: Live on BBC World News
*IPC Athletics World Championships Live audio commentary on BBC World Service
*Premier League: commentary on approximately 50 Premier League matches
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: selected matches live on BBC World Service per season
Radio sports rights
BBC Sport had monopolised the sports commentary market on British radio since the BBC's conception but since 2000, has lost coverage of some sporting events to competitors including TalkSPORT. The majority of BBC Sport's radio coverage is broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
however coverage is also broadcast on BBC Radio 4's longwave frequencies, BBC Local Radio and the BBC World Service. Highlights are also reported on the BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 news bulletins. Although cricket is not covered on television, the sport is fully covered by the BBC on its radio platforms, primarily BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra but also on Local Radio and BBC Radio 4 Longwave. This commentary is repeated and expanded on the BBC Sports website and on the BBC Red Button
BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to c ...
, overlaid with live scorecards. While television coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics, London 2012 Paralympic Games was held by Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, the BBC retained the radio rights to the event and plans to broadcast events on radio stations BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
.
Previous coverage
Horse racing
Horse racing coverage on the BBC had declined in recent years and finished altogether at the end of 2012 when Channel 4 won the rights to the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby. The BBC had lost many tracks over the years such as the Cheltenham Festival and other Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham meetings went to Channel 4 in 1995, meetings from Newbury Racecourse, Newbury moved to Channel 4 in 2002 and after 50 years Glorious Goodwood and other Goodwood Racecourse, Goodwood meetings were lost to Channel 4 in 2007. Also, in 2007 the Irish Derby, which had been included in ''Grandstand'' and later ''Sunday Grandstand'' for decades, was only shown on ''At the Races''.
The Grand National used to be one of the biggest attractions on ''Grandstand'' with audiences around or often in excess of 10 million for the race on a Saturday afternoon. Coverage of other events such as Royal Ascot and Epsom Derby, The Derby were also broadcast. The Derby was won back after many years in 2001, when the BBC also gained rights to Epsom Oaks, The Oaks, which had only ever previously been shown by ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
(until 2001, the commercial broadcasters had always held the Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom contract, but from 1960 to 1974, in 1977 and in 1979 the BBC had shown the Derby simultaneously with ITV, because it was a protected event which could not be exclusive to either channel).
The most famous BBC TV racing broadcaster was Peter O'Sullevan, who became one of the first ever TV sports commentators in the immediate post-war years and stayed with the BBC until 1997. Julian Wilson (commentator), Julian Wilson had presented the BBC's horse racing coverage from 1966 to 1997. Clare Balding took over presenting duties following Wilson's retirement.
Cricket
Prior to 1999, the BBC had shown live cricket coverage for many decades. Coverage had been fronted by Peter West and later by Tony Lewis. Richie Benaud was a commentator for the BBC for more than 30 years. In 1999, the BBC lost coverage of England home matches to Channel 4 and subsequently, one of the major criticisms of BBC Sport was that it did not show any live cricket and this was further enhanced when the BBC did not subsequently bid for the rights to show home Test cricket, Test matches. Due to this the popularity of cricket in UK (primarily England) has fallen sharply since cricket left terrestrial television in 2005 since being broadcast on Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
.
The BBC did broadcast highlights of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. These were hosted by Sonali Shah, Rishi Persad
Rishi Persad (born May 25, 1974) is an Indian, UK based sports television presenter.
Early life
Persad grew up in the 1980s on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean a keen cricket and horse racing fan. His parents were Indian, his mother w ...
and Manish Bhasin. They also had highlights of the 2006–07 Ashes Series with Manish Bhasin. The BBC took the world feed for these tournaments which all broadcasters take including Sky Sports and this comprises commentators from broadcasters all over the world, examples of which are Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and David Lloyd from Sky Sports as well as Mark Nicholas and Michael Vaughan from Channel 5 / Channel 9.
However, 21 years after last showing live cricket, the BBC returned to live coverage of the sport in 2020.
Motorsport
The BBC covered the World Rally Championship until 2001, when Channel 4 bought the rights. WRC is now shown on ITV4. The BBC gave up the rights to the British Touring Car Championship at the end of 2001, with the rights eventually being picked up by ITV.
Formula E
BBC have had live coverage of all Formula E races since the beginning of the 2018–19 Formula E season. Commentary comes from the world feed with its lead F1 commentator Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti, with Nicki Shields acting as pit lane reporter. While the three races shown on BBC Two are presented by Jennie Gow. This is now on Channel 4
Formula One
The BBC covered Formula One from 1978 until 1996 and from 2009 to 2015. The BBC provided live coverage of all races from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2009 to 2011, but from 2012 to 2015 the BBC showed 10 races live each season and highlights of all the races including the ones shown live. The BBC always showed the British Grand Prix and the final race live. Coverage was presented by Jake Humphrey from 2009 to 2012 and Suzi Perry from 2013 to 2015, with David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Allan McNish providing analysis during the races. Lee McKenzie
Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...
and Tom Clarkson acted as pitlane reporters. The main commentators were Jonathan Legard in 2009 and 2010, Martin Brundle in 2011 and Ben Edwards (commentator), Ben Edwards from 2012 to 2015. Brundle acted as co-commentator in 2009 and 2010 and David Coulthard from 2011 to 2015. James Allen, Allan McNish and Jack Nicholls provide radio coverage with Jennie Gow as pit reporter though they also appeared on BBC TV. McKenzie presented ''Inside F1'' for BBC News. Murray Walker contributed to coverage across the BBC for over sixty years and triple world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has a blog on BBC's website.
Motorcycling
BBC Sport had coverage of the British and World Superbikes for a few years—often showing the World Championship version live. It lost the BSB rights to Premium TV at the end of 2001. Premium TV did not have a channel of its own, so sub-leased the rights first to the ITV Sport Channel, then British Eurosport. After acquiring the rights to the MotoGP World Championship in 2003 coverage of the World Superbikes was dropped.
In 2003, the BBC won the rights to the MotoGP, MotoGP World Championship. After a successful first season fronted by Suzi Perry, coverage was expanded with more live races and the contract was extended to the end of the 2013 season. The BBC showed all Grand Prix motorcycle racing, MotoGP races, with all qualifying sessions live via the BBC Red Button. From the 2009 season, more coverage became available on qualifying and race days again through the use of the Red Button service. Jennie Gow replaced Perry for 2010, but from 2011 former pitlane reporter Matt Roberts became host, alongside the original and unchanged commentary team of Charlie Cox (racing), Charlie Cox and Steve Parrish. Azi Farni replaced Roberts as pitlane reporter. From 2013, Qualifying moved from BBC Red Button to BBC Two. In May 2013, it was announced that the rights to MotoGP coverage had been awarded to BT Sport, in a five-year deal starting in 2014. None of the BBC Team were recruited by BT Sport for the 2014 season.
However BBC Sport still gives comprehensive coverage of the List of motorsport championships#Road racing, Irish Road Racing Championship, the North West 200, International North West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix together with other Road Racing meetings within Ireland together with the Southern 100, Southern 100 Motorcycle Races on the Isle of Man. These programmes are produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Paralympic Games
The BBC had shown coverage of the Paralympics since the 1980s with the amount of coverage increasing in the 2000s to include some live coverage of the 2008 Paralympic Games. The BBC then lost the TV rights to the event to Channel 4 after they made a £10 million bid.
Darts
The BBC covered the BDO World Championships from its inception in 1978 until 2016. In February 2016, it was announced that the BBC would cover the inaugural Professional Darts Corporation-sanctioned Champions League of Darts and as a consequence, its 38-year association with the British Darts Organisation came to an end. The BBC also covered the BDO Winmau World Masters from 2001 to 2010 but this coverage was lost to ESPN.
Tennis
The BBC broadcast the French Open for many decades until it lost the rights to the tournament to ITV in 2012. The BBC had only shown very limited coverage of the event, often only showing the finals and then sometimes only as highlights.
The BBC has a joint deal with Eurosport to show all of Britain's Davis Cup matches for three years to 2017, with coverage predominately broadcast on BBC Two and the Red Button but after the International Tennis Federation, ITF launch the new Davis Cup format in 2019, the BBC lost the FTA rights to Eurosport. The BBC had held these rights since the late 1990s.
List of sporting rights held
''* Where live rights are jointly held, commercial broadcast partner is listed:''
Football
Television
Radio
American football
Television
*National Football League: Live coverage of Super Bowl, Live coverage of NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium in London and weekly highlights from the NFL Season (live and highlights on BBC Sport, also on Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
and Channel 5)
Radio
* Super Bowl, AFC Championship game, NFC Championship game and Super Bowl: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
and BBC Radio 5 Live
Rugby Union
Television
*Six Nations Championship: Live coverage and highlights on BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
Sport, ITV Sport and S4C to 2025. Wales & Scotland live on BBC One. England, Ireland, France and Italy home matches live on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. Wales Home matches live on S4C (Wales only)
*Women's Six Nations Championship: Live coverage and highlights of all games on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
Sport and S4C to 2025. Wales only live on S4C (Wales only)