It wasn’t too long ago that any sports fan would initially turn to terrestrial television, and usually the BBC, to view sports coverage of both major and minor events.
The advent of Sky Sports, and subsequently BT sports (now TNT), Premier Sports, Amazon, Now TV and other streaming services has made watching sports both complicated and expensive. At the same time, for sports enthusiasts in particular, the cost of the BBC licence fee coupled with the ever-dwindling coverage of sports, reignites the debate about value for money of the fee, and this debate is likely to get more heated this year.
We start 2026 with news that two more long standing sports events will not be televised on the BBC. The annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race, which the BBC has televised almost continuously since it was first broadcast in 1938, will now switch to Channel 4. Significantly, the Channel 4 agreement will include two historic milestones for the event with the bicentenary of the Men’s Boat Race in 2029, and the centenary of the Women’s Boat Race in 2027.
While the Boat Race can legitimately be described as a niche sport, last April’s coverage attracted 2.8 million viewers, with the women’s race being the most-watched female sporting event of 2025 at that time.
Probably more damaging to the BBC is the loss of rights to this year’s Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow. The Corporation has broadcast the Games since 1954 and was one of the contenders for this year’s event but was outbid by TNT Sports (as it was by Channel 4 for the Boat Race).
These developments continue an ongoing shift in British sports coverage, with the BBC continuing to lose iconic events. It still retains its ‘jewel in the crown’ of Wimbledon, and its agreement with the All England Club is the longest partnership in sports broadcasting history, with 2027 marking 100 years of radio coverage of the event and 90 years of TV coverage. But the current contract is set to expire after the 2027 tournament, and TNT Sports has already shown its appetite for tennis coverage by securing the rights to broadcast highlights in the UK of Wimbledon, which started last year.
Were the BBC to lose Wimbledon, it would sound the death knell of sports broadcasting by the Corporation. It would highly likely trigger a change in direction for the BBC, with it admitting defeat in the sports battle and turning its attention elsewhere.
Would that really matter? While everyone accepts that sport is a business and individual governing bodies need to make money to compete, and the majority of that money comes in from broadcasting rights, there is a wider point about the future customer base for sports. Free to air coverage enables everyone, especially children to be introduced to different sports and, with some, begin a lifetime interest. Depriving that exposure without paying for it will mean that sports, such as rowing or tennis, which millions would have no knowledge of or understanding without the BBC coverage, may struggle to convert armchair viewers into active participants or enthusiastic supporters, willing to pay to watch events.
This then goes into a wider debate around inactivity and obesity, with many arguing that the state should be investing in free to air sports coverage to keep the nation’s interest in sports and activity. It’s a much broader, more complicated discussion, with other sports channels inevitably complaining about state intervention via the BBC in the marketplace, but the argument certainly has some merits as we witness more sports leaving the ever-diminishing BBC sports portfolio.
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David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial
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The above is accurate as at 1* December 2025.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
