.svg) | |
| Company type | Department of theBBC |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Genre | Sport |
| Founded | 17 February 1988; 37 years ago (1988-02-17) |
| Headquarters | MediaCityUK,, United Kingdom |
Area served | Specific services for the United Kingdom and rest of world |
Key people | Alex Kay-Jelski (Director) |
| Services | Television broadcasts Radio broadcasts Online presence |
| Parent | BBC |
| Website | bbc.co.uk/sport |
BBC Sport is the sports division of theBBC, providing national sports coverage for BBCtelevision,radio andonline. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analysis programmes such asMatch of the Day,Test Match Special,Ski Sunday andToday at Wimbledon. Results, analysis and coverage is also added to theBBC Sport website and through theBBC Red Button interactive television service.
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 the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, by introducing the programme with a short animation of a globe circumnavigated by four coloured rings.[1] This practice continued throughout the next two decades. Upon the launch of theBBC News website 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 inSalford.[2] The new development atMediaCityUK 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.[3]
In 2017, BBC Sport launched a new on-air identity, becoming the first BBC property to implement the broadcaster's new corporate typeface.[4][5]
The BBC shares the rights to theFIFA World Cup and theUEFA European Championship withITV. 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 the2018 World Cup in4KUHD andVR to a limited number of viewers subject to bandwidth.[6]
The BBC shows highlights of the Premier League onMatch of the Day which is hosted byKelly Cates,Mark Chapman, andGabby Logan.Match of the Day 2 andMatch of the Day 2 Extra, are presented by Mark Chapman.Alex Scott hostsFootball Focus every Saturday lunchtime beforeJason Mohammad presentsFinal Score every Saturday afternoon. Pundits forMatch of the Day as well as co-commentators includeAlan Shearer,Robbie Savage,Chris Sutton,Don Hutchison,Mark Lawrenson,Danny Murphy,Kevin Kilbane,Jermaine Jenas,Martin Keown,Stephen Warnock,Rio Ferdinand,Matthew Upson,Alex Scott,Faye White,Sue Smith,Lucy Ward,Chris Waddle,Cese Fabregas,Ian Wright andTony Pulis while commentators includeGuy Mowbray,Steve Wilson,Jonathan Pearce,Simon Brotherton,Steve Bower,Dave Woods,Vicki Sparks,Jacqui Oatley,Alistair Mann,Conor McNamara,Dan O'Hagan, Mark Tompkins, Martin Fisher, Gary Bloom, John Roder, Mark Scott, Chris Wise,Robyn Cowen, Tom Gayle,Steven Wyeth and Pien Muelensteen.[citation needed]
The BBC also broadcasts live coverage of theFA Cup and will do so until 2026.[7]
On 30 June 2017 it was announced that live cricket would be returning to BBC TV for the first time in 21 years.[8] The BBC has rights to highlights of allEngland's home Tests, ODIs and T20Is until 2028.[9] They also have live broadcasts of eight men's and eight women's matches fromThe Hundred.Today At The Test, the BBC's Test cricket highlights programme is presented byIsa Guha alongside commentators,Michael Vaughan,Phil Tufnell,Ebony Rainford-Brent,Alastair Cook andJames Anderson.Jonathan Agnew andAlison Mitchell also contributed to commentary as well as, presenter, Isa Guha. Regularly, a guest co-commentator will join the team from the touring side. Between 2020 and 2024, the BBC showed live coverage of two England men's and two England women's T20 internationals on an annual basis.[10] On 30 August 2020, the BBC broadcast the second England vs Pakistan Twenty20 International, its first live cricket broadcast for 21 years.[11]
BBC Sport currently holds the rights to broadcast theWimbledon Tennis Championships and theQueen's Club Championships 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.[12] BBC Wimbledon coverage features a host of former ex-professional players includingJohn McEnroe,Martina Navratilova,Tracy Austin andTim Henman. 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-runningToday at Wimbledon, presented byClare Balding, who replacedJohn Inverdale 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.[13]
Following the trial which commenced with2018 World Cup, the BBC broadcast allCentre Court matches from the2018 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,David Law, Nick Lester,Dan Lobb,Alison Mitchell, Ronald McIntosh,Nick Mullins, Pete Odgers,Mark Petchey, Simon Reed,Sam Smith and Andy Stevenson. Co-commentators included, Tracy Austin,Marion Bartoli, Boris Becker, Pat Cash,Annabel Croft,Colin Fleming,Peter Fleming, Tim Henman,Anne Keothavong,John Lloyd,Miles Maclagan, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova,Arvind Parmar,Louise Pleming,Chanda Rubin,Liz Smylie andMel South.Lee McKenzie,Rishi Persad, John Inverdale and Simon Mundie were the reporters. Regular tournament weather updates are provided byCarol Kirkwood.[citation needed]
The BBC also broadcasts two traditional Grass warm up events in the fortnight before the Wimbledon Championships. First is theAEGON Championships fromQueen'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.[14] The following week is theWTA AEGON International event fromEastbourne. 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,[15][16][17][18] 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 - theAustralian Open,French Open,Wimbledon andUS Open - onBBC Radio 5 Live andBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. For most recent Wimbledon tournament in 2021,Gigi Salmon andTony Livesey hosted full coverage on Radio 5 Live, with expert analysis from Marion Bartoli,Pat Cash,Laura Robson,Leon Smith, Chanda Rubin, Annabel Croft, Miles Maclagan,Mark Woodforde andJeff Tarango. The team of commentators is led by the BBC's tennis correspondent,Russell Fuller, along with Gigi Salmon, David Law,Naomi Cavaday,Jonathan Overend, 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 fewATP Tour Masters 1000 events that BBC Radio cover, Russell Fuller is usually the sole commentator.
The BBC holds joint rights to theSix Nations championship in the UK withITV Sport until 2029. The BBC show all Scotland and Wales home matches (except those against England) plus 1 further match from either France, Ireland or Italy which features either Scotland or Wales live.[19] Coverage of these games is complemented by an interactive service onBBC Red Button and Radio commentary on all matches. The BBC held the live rights to the Autumn Internationals for theScottish andWelsh sides as well as highlights of theEnglish team.
Gabby Logan leads the BBC's rugby coverage.Martin Johnson,Sam Warburton,Jonathan Davies,John Barclay,Jamie Heaslip,Andy Nicol,Chris Paterson andThomas Castaignède are the main pundits and co-commentators. The BBC's main commentator isAndrew Cotter.Sonja McLaughlan andLee McKenzie are the reporters.
The BBC shows live coverage of theChallenge Cup including both semi-finals and the final, theFour Nations and theRugby League World Cup.[20] Coverage is hosted byMark Chapman andTanya Arnold with commentary fromDave Woods,Jonathan Davies andBrian Noble. The BBC'sSuper League Show shows weekly highlights of theSuper League,Magic Weekend,Super 8s and theGrand Final.[20]
Also, for the first time, theBBC will show 12 Super League matches live, as well as theWorld Club Challenge, beatingChannel 4. It will show this coverage for the next three seasons.[21]
The BBC holds the exclusive terrestrial rights to showSummer Olympic Games andWinter Olympic Games and has shown live coverage of every Summer Olympics since1960. For the2012 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 the2032 Summer Olympics. Beginning at the2018 Winter Olympics, the BBC entered into sub-licensing agreements withDiscovery Communications, 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.[22] From 2026 onwards, the BBC has rights to the Olympics as part of the joint deal betweenEuropean Broadcasting Union andWarner Bros. Discovery.[23]
The BBC showed the2014 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.
The BBC covers events such as theCommonwealth Games, theWorld Athletics Championships, theEuropean Athletics Championships, domestic British athletics and mass-participation events such as theLondon Marathon and theGreat North Run. The BBC has the rights to show coverage of eachDiamond League meeting on the red button, with the two British rounds and final two meetings live on BBC Two and selected meetings on BBC Three.
Gabby Logan is the main host of the athletics coverage with,Michael Johnson andDenise Lewis the studio pundits.Steve Cram andAndrew Cotter commentate on track events alongside,Colin Jackson andPaula Radcliffe, withSteve Backley commentating on field events alongsideToni Minichiello.Jeanette Kwakye andRadzi Chinyanganya are the main interviewers.
The BBC no longer holds rights to live coverage of golf. Until 2019, live coverage of Saturday and Sunday's play in theUS Masters, and highlights of Thursday and Friday's play were broadcast, withSky Sports showing all four days of The Masters live.
From 2020,Sky Sports have exclusive live coverage of all four rounds. Daily highlights aired on BBC TWO up to and including 2022.
For2017, they also showed all four days of thePGA Championship live.[24]
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 has exclusive UK rights toThe Open with the BBC showing a two-hour highlights programme every night.[25] The BBC also shows highlights of two otherEuropean Tour events held in Britain - the BMW PGA Championship and theScottish Open. It also covers theWomen's British Open. Eilidh Barbour is the lead presenter with commentary from,Andrew Cotter,Ken Brown,Paul Azinger,Maureen Madill andWayne Grady.Rishi Persad is the reporter.
The BBC also shows highlights of theRyder Cup and has done so since 1997. The corporation had held the live rights from 1981 until 1993.
TheBBC Two programmePot Black was arguably the starting point for the great popularity ofsnooker over the last 50 years. The sport always produces large viewing figures for the BBC; the1985 World Snooker Championship final betweenSteve Davis andDennis Taylor 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. TheWorld Snooker Championship, theMasters, and theUK Championship are shown annually on BBC Two.[26] The BBC also broadcasts theWelsh Open snooker tournament, which is available to watch onBBC Two Wales or via theBBC Red Button service.
Snooker coverage is regularly hosted byHazel Irvine,Jason Mohammad orSeema Jaswal. Pundits and commentators on the coverage includeSteve Davis,John Parrott,Stephen Hendry,Ken Doherty,Alan McManus,John Virgo,Dennis Taylor andJoe Perry. The World Championships have featured guest commentators such asJudd Trump,Jack Lisowski, Mark Allen,Peter Ebdon andShaun Murphy and Neil Robertson.Rob Walker appears in the role of Master of Ceremonies at the major snooker tournaments televised by the BBC.[citation needed]
In February 2016, it was announced that the BBC would cover the inauguralPDCChampions League of Darts. As a consequence the BBC would no longer show theBDO World Darts Championships, a tournament that the BBC had shown since its inception in 1978.[27]
Darts presenters on the BBC have includedDavid 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 from 1999 to 2000,Ray Stubbs from 2001 to 2009,Colin Murray and Rob Walker from 2010 to 2016 andJason Mohammad from 2016 to present.Bobby George has presented as well from 2000 to 2016. The current commentators areVassos Alexander (2011–present), Dan Dawson (2016–present),Alan Warriner-Little (2016–present),Paul Nicholson (2016–present) andMark Webster (2016–present). Former commentators areSid Waddell 1978–1994,David Croft 2003–2012,John Part 1995–2007,Tony Green 1978–2010 and 2012–2016,Jim Proudfoot 2013–2016,Scott Mitchell 2014–2016 andJohn Rawling 2014–2016.
On 9 September 2015, the BBC announced that theNFL would return to its screens in an initial 2-year deal that includes the rights to show theNFL 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 theSuper Bowl alongside Sky Sports.[28] The London Games were presented byNat Coombs,Mike Carlson andOsi Umenyiora with Ore Oduba as sideline reporter. The BBC highlights show is presented byDan Walker alongsideOsi Umenyiora andJason 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 .[29]Jake Humphrey presented their play-off highlights show for the first 2 years withMatt Roberts taking over duties in 2010. The studio pundits includedMike Carlson,Rod Woodson andJerry Rice. Since 2012, the BBC aired live weekly radio coverage of the NFL onBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and air the Super Bowl on BBC TV andBBC Radio 5 Live in 2012 but Jake Humphrey stepped down and was replaced by Mark Chapman. For the 2012–13 season, the BBC broadcastMonday Night Football on the iPlayer and viaBBC 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.[citation needed]
The BBC currently holds no motorsport broadcasting rights.
In 2018, the BBC signed a deal to split the TV rights withSky Sports for the2019 Netball World Cup.[30] Following the success of theEngland national netball team at the2018 Commonwealth Games, the BBC's coverage of the sport has increased.
As well as all of this, the BBC broadcasts winter sports, including theAlpine Skiing World Cup, under itsSki Sunday banner; and briefly covers sports such asroad andtrack cycling,sailing,badminton,table tennis,squash,equestrianism,gymnastics and other minority sports. Presenters for these sports includeJill Douglas andPhil Jones who often report for other areas of BBC Sport.
BBC Sport also holds the rights to theInvictus Games which is presented by Clare Balding, Ade Adepitan, Johnathan Edwards.
The BBC also has rights to highlights of Equestrianism fromBadminton Horse Trials andBurghley Horse Trials. The coverage is hosted byClare Balding and if she is unavailableRishi Persad hosts with commentary by Mike Tucker. The BBC also shows theWorld Indoor Bowls Championships. Currently this is presented by Persad with commentary byDavid Corkill and analysis from current players such asGreg Harlow andAndy Thompson. Former bowls presenters include David Icke and Dougie Donnelly.
BBC Sport had monopolised thesports commentary market on British radio since the BBC's conception but since 2000, has lost coverage of some sporting events to competitors includingTalksport. The majority of BBC Sport's radio coverage is broadcast onBBC Radio 5 Live andBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra however coverage is also broadcast onBBC Radio 4'slongwave frequencies,BBC Local Radio and theBBC World Service. Highlights are also reported on theBBC Radio 1 andBBC 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 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 theBBC Red Button, overlaid with live scorecards. While television coverage of theLondon 2012 Paralympic Games was held byChannel 4,[31] 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 Sports Extra.[32]BBC Radio 5 Live and its sister stationBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra continue to cover Formula One World Championship as of2023 season. On 13 March 2025, the BBC announced it had signed a new exclusive audio rights to continue covering Formula One for a further three seasons on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra covering the 2025-2027 period.[33]
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.[34] The BBC had lost many tracks over the years such as theCheltenham Festival and otherCheltenham meetings went to Channel 4 in 1995, meetings fromNewbury moved to Channel 4 in 2002 and after 50 yearsGlorious Goodwood and otherGoodwood meetings were lost to Channel 4 in 2007. Also, in 2007 theIrish Derby, which had been included inGrandstand and laterSunday Grandstand for decades, was only shown onAt the Races.
TheGrand National used to be one of the biggest attractions onGrandstand with audiences around or often in excess of 10 million for the race on a Saturday afternoon. Coverage of other events such asRoyal Ascot andThe Derby were also broadcast. The Derby was won back after many years in 2001, when the BBC also gained rights toThe Oaks, which had only ever previously been shown byITV andChannel 4 (until 2001, the commercial broadcasters had always held theEpsom 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 wasPeter 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 had presented the BBC's horse racing coverage from 1966 to 1997.Clare Balding took over presenting duties following Wilson's retirement.
Prior to 1999, the BBC had shown live cricket coverage for many decades. Coverage had been fronted byPeter West and later byTony 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 homeTest 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 onSky Sports.
The BBC did broadcast highlights of the 2007ICC Cricket World Cup,2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. These were hosted bySonali Shah,Rishi Persad andManish 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.[35]
The BBC covered theWorld Rally Championship until 2001, when Channel 4 bought the rights. WRC is now shown on ITV4. The BBC gave up the rights to theBritish Touring Car Championship at the end of 2001, with the rights eventually being picked up by ITV.
BBC have had live coverage of allFormula E races since the beginning of the2018–19 Formula E season. Commentary comes from the world feed with its lead F1 commentator Jack Nicholls andDario Franchitti, withNicki Shields acting as pit lane reporter. While the three races shown on BBC Two are presented byJennie Gow. This is now on Channel 4.[36]
The BBC coveredFormula 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 theBritish Grand Prix and the final race live. Coverage was presented byJake Humphrey from 2009 to 2012 andSuzi Perry from 2013 to 2015, withDavid Coulthard,Eddie Jordan andAllan McNish providing analysis during the races.Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson acted as pitlane reporters. The main commentators wereJonathan Legard in 2009 and 2010,Martin Brundle in 2011 andBen 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 withJennie Gow as pit reporter though they also appeared on BBC TV. McKenzie presentedInside F1 forBBC News.Murray Walker contributed to coverage across the BBC for over sixty years and triple world champion and Mercedes driverLewis Hamilton has a blog on BBC's website.
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 theITV 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 theMotoGP World Championship. After a successful first season fronted bySuzi Perry, coverage was expanded with more live races and the contract was extended to the end of the 2013 season. The BBC showed allMotoGP 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.[37]Jennie Gow replaced Perry for 2010,[38] but from 2011 former pitlane reporterMatt Roberts became host, alongside the original and unchanged commentary team ofCharlie Cox andSteve Parrish.[39] 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 toBT Sport, in a five-year deal starting in 2014.[40] None of the BBC Team were recruited by BT Sport for the 2014 season.
However BBC Sport still gives comprehensive coverage of theIrish Road Racing Championship, theInternational North West 200 and theUlster Grand Prix together with other Road Racing meetings within Ireland together with theSouthern 100 Motorcycle Races on theIsle of Man. These programmes are produced by BBC Northern Ireland.[41]
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 the2008 Paralympic Games. The BBC then lost the TV rights to the event to Channel 4 after they made a £10 million bid.
The BBC covered theBDO World Championships from its inception in 1978 until 2016. In February 2016, it was announced that the BBC would cover the inauguralProfessional Darts Corporation-sanctionedChampions League of Darts and as a consequence, its 38-year association with theBritish 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.
The BBC broadcast theFrench 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.[42]
The BBC has a joint deal with Eurosport to show all of Britain's Davis Cup matches for three years to 2017, with coverage predominantly broadcast on BBC Two and the Red Button but after theITF launch the new Davis Cup format in 2019, the BBC lost the FTA rights to Eurosport.[43] The BBC had held these rights since the late 1990s.
The BBC has occasionally shown theFIFA Club World Cup. In 2000 it showed Manchester United's campaign in what was theinaugural tournament[44] and the BBC broadcast the 2019 and 2020 tournaments withLiverpool matches live onOne (final) andTwo (semi final) respectively in 2019.
With the exception of between 2005 and 2009, when the coverage was on ITV, the BBC has shown the event since 1938. Previously shown as part ofGrandstand, when the BBC regained the rights coverage was aired within a special Boat Race programme withClare Balding hosted the coverage and, apart from in 2012, Andrew Cotter was the commentator. The race is also broadcast onBBC World News. Former commentators were Harry Carpenter and after his retirement, Barry Davies who described the action until the BBC lost the rights after the 2004 event.
In October 2025 it was announced that coverage from the 2026 event will move to Channel 4.[45]
* Where live rights are jointly held, commercial broadcast partner is listed:
| Event | Broadcast details |
|---|---|
| FIFA World Cup Finals | All 2018 and 2022 matches live on either BBC Sport or ITV Sport |
| European Championship Finals | All matches live on BBC or ITV with final live on both broadcasters until Euro 2028[46] |
| Premier League | Highlights until 2029[47] |
| FA Community Shield | Highlights on BBC Sport until 2025 |
| FA Cup | BBC Sport (16 live matches from round 1 to final including replays featuring one exclusive semi-final and shared final per season and highlights onMatch of the Day) andITV Sport (25 live matches including one semi-final and shared final per season) until 2025; up to one additional match per round involving Welsh clubs onS4C orBBC Wales |
| Scottish Professional Football League | Highlights of Scottish Premiership matches on BBC One Scotland and BBC Scotland; 27 live SPFL Championship on BBC Scotland; 38 delayed SPFL Premiership matches and six live Scottish Championship or Scottish League One matches on BBC ALBA until 2024–25 |
| Scottish Cup | 11 live matches including final until 2024 plus highlights |
| Scottish Challenge Cup | Live onBBC Alba |
| Scottish Junior Cup | Final live |
| NIFL Premiership | Ten live Friday night matches on BBC Two NI and up to 55 matches streamed on BBC Sport NI website & iplayer,[48] highlights onIrish League Show on BBC iPlayer & BBC Two NI on Monday nights |
| Irish Cup Final | Live coverage of one quarter-final, one semi-final and the final live onBBC Two NI, other matches streamed on BBC Sport NI website & iplayer[49] highlights onIrish League Show on BBC iPlayer/BBC Two NI from Monday nights |
| Northern Ireland Football League Cup Final | Live on Sky Sports Football, Highlights on Irish League Show on BBC iPlayer |
| Northern Ireland Milk Cup | 16 live matches throughout the week on BBC Sport NI website including with live coverage of finals night on BBC NI |
| Northern Ireland National Team | Highlights of all qualifiers and nation league games on BBC NI |
| Wales National Team | Highlights of all qualifiers and nation league games on BBC Wales, selected friendly games live |
| Scotland National Team | Highlights of all games on BBC Scotland, selected friendly games live |
| FA Women's Cup | Selected live matches on BBC TV and BBC Red Button with final live on BBC One |
| FA Women's Super League | 22 Live Matches on BBC One, BBC Two or BBC Red Button with weekly highlights onBBC[50] |
| FIFA Women's World Cup | All games live onBBC[51] |
| UEFA Women's Championship | Live coverage across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Red Button |
| CONMEBOL Libertadores | Semi-final and Final |
| Radio station | Events |
|---|---|
| BBC Radio 5 Live andBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra | 128 live Premier League commentaries per season (shared withTalksport);[52] live commentaries from the FA Cup (shared with Talksport), League Cup (shared with Talksport), Scottish Premiership, UEFA Champions League (shared with Talksport), international qualifiers and friendlies involving England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales plus 16 live FA Women's Super League games and FA Women's Cup Final. |
| BBC World Service | 5 Live commentary onSportsworld on approximately 50 Premier League matches per season plus commentary on selected FA Cup matches, League Cup Final and UEFA Champions League final |
| BBC Local Radio | Local commentaries on Premier League, Championship, FA Cup and League Cup matches |
| BBC Radio Scotland | Live commentary from all Scottish Premiership matches plus Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and Scotland international matches |
| BBC Radio Wales andBBC Radio Cymru | Commentary on allSwansea City,Cardiff City matches with reports or commentary onNewport County andWrexham matches, with commentary on Wales international matches, and reports or commentary on selectWelsh Premier League matches |
| BBC Radio Ulster | Live commentary and reports on Irish League, Irish Cup, Irish League Cup, County Antrim Shield and Northern Ireland International matches. |
| BBC Radio Foyle | Live commentary and reports on Irish League, Irish Cup, Irish League Cup, County Antrim Shield and Northern Ireland International matches and live commentary on Derry City matches. |
Test Match Special Live commentary on all England home Test, ODI and T20 matches until 2028
Commentaries on England overseas tours and World Cup matches
Reports every 15 minutes plus wicket flashes on England Test, ODI and T20 matches
Commentary on all County Championship matches onBBC Sport website. Selected matches onBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
Commentary onWimbledon,US Open,French Open,Australian Open,ATP World Tour Finals,Queens Club Championships plusDavis Cup and selectedATP World Tour Masters 1000 events including theBNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Commentary onWimbledon men's and women's singles finals
Commentary on The Open Championship, US Open, US Masters, PGA Championships and the Ryder Cup
Commentary on the Scottish Open on 810 MW
National commentary on theNational Hockey League,Elite Ice Hockey League,Champions Hockey League and theIIHF World Championships
Local commentary on theElite Ice Hockey League
Commentary onThe Boat Race
Tour de France reports onFive Live; commentary onBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sport website
UCI Road World Championships andWorld Track Championships: Live onBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
GAA live coverage of the Ulster Club and Ulster Senior Football Championships and games in the National League, qualifiers and All-Ireland Championship involving Ulster counties
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BBC Sport operates a sub-site ofBBC Online which supplements the television and radio services of the department. The website features scores and analysis from a variety of sports including those not broadcast by the BBC. The site also includes news stories related to teams or particular sports and live broadcast coverage of some sports.
The website launchedc. 2000 and was relaunched in 2003 to accommodate bigger screen sizes, with a sidebar to incorporate more sport and to parallel the relaunchedBBC News website.[67] The current look was implemented in February 2012, featuring the bold colour scheme of the logo, the new horizontal navigation bar across the whole of the site and design characteristics being implemented across theBBC website. The new look gave more prominence to live sports, programmes and events as well as news on the individual teams.[68] In January 2013, the BBC Sport app was launched on the iOS app store. An Android version was launched in February that year.[69] An app for Smart TV's was released in 2012: the app will be retired in 2020, with most video content moved to the iPlayer Smart TV app.
Until 2011, the BBC Sport website hosted an online sports forum entitled606, named after the original start-time of the radio programme – six minutes past six. It covered a large variety of topics which includedcricket,football,rugby (league and union),tennis,athletics,motorsport and many more. Sporting teams usually had their own individual pages where members could post and comment on any news or topics relating to that team. Users accessed through an account system and could comment and rate their opinions. The forum was moderated by the BBC.
As part of the reduction in BBC Online's budget of 25%, all non-essential services that did not focus around core products were closed. As all posts had to be post moderated and as conversations were increasingly being done throughsocial media websites that BBC Sport were a part of, the site was closed on 31 May 2011.[70]
BBC Sport also offers a service on theBBC Red Button interactive television service. The service offers a sports multi-screen service covering sports news stories in addition to five streams that can broadcast sport through the red button. This is often used for uninterrupted coverage and scores over a commentary, or for an alternative sport event unable to be covered on the main BBC TV or radio services.[71] A key example is of the broadcasts of theWimbledon Tennis Championships as matches on other courts may be displayed through the red button while a higher ranking match on a main court is taking place on the main TV service.[72]
BBC Sport also award several awards in recognition of the sports community. The mainstay of this is theBBC Sports Personality of the Year award, created in 1954 and awarded in a high-profile ceremony in December of each year.[73] There are several other awards given around the same time that focus on different areas of the sports industry, for example youth performers and coaches and trainers.[73]
The awards also include the BBC Nations and Regions, who often present awards at local ceremonies for similar reasons; the winners of these local awards are therefore frequently put forward for the national awards themselves allowing all areas of the country to be represented at the national awards.
