Football The BBC shares the rights to the
FIFA World Cup and the
UEFA European Championship with
ITV. 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 which is hosted by
Kelly Cates,
Mark Chapman, and
Gabby Logan.
Match of the Day 2 and
Match of the Day 2 Extra, are presented by Mark Chapman.
Alex Scott hosts
Football Focus every Saturday lunchtime before
Jason Mohammad presents
Final Score every Saturday afternoon. Pundits for
Match of the Day as well as co-commentators include
Alan 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 and
Tony Pulis while commentators include
Guy 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. The BBC also broadcasts live coverage of the
FA Cup and will do so until 2026.
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 has rights to highlights of all
England's home Tests, ODIs and T20Is until 2028. They also have live broadcasts of eight men's and eight women's matches from
The Hundred.
Today At The Test, the BBC's Test cricket highlights programme is presented by
Isa Guha alongside commentators,
Michael Vaughan,
Phil Tufnell,
Ebony Rainford-Brent,
Alastair Cook and
James Anderson.
Jonathan Agnew and
Alison 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. 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 and the
Queen'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. BBC Wimbledon coverage features a host of former ex-professional players including
John McEnroe,
Martina Navratilova,
Tracy Austin and
Tim 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-running
Today at Wimbledon, presented by
Clare Balding, who replaced
John 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. Following the trial which commenced with
2018 World Cup, the BBC broadcast all
Centre Court 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,
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 and
Mel South.
Lee McKenzie,
Rishi Persad, John Inverdale and Simon Mundie were the reporters. Regular tournament weather updates are provided by
Carol Kirkwood. The BBC also broadcasts two traditional Grass warm up events in the fortnight before the Wimbledon Championships. First is the
AEGON Championships 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. 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 and
US Open - on
BBC Radio 5 Live and
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. For most recent Wimbledon tournament in 2021,
Gigi Salmon and
Tony 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 and
Jeff 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 few
ATP Tour Masters 1000 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 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. Coverage of these games is complemented by an interactive service on
BBC Red Button and Radio commentary on all matches. The BBC held the live rights to the Autumn Internationals for the
Scottish and
Welsh sides as well as highlights of the
English team.
Gabby Logan leads the BBC's rugby coverage.
Martin Johnson,
Sam Warburton,
Jonathan Davies,
John Barclay,
Jamie Heaslip,
Andy Nicol,
Chris Paterson and
Thomas Castaignède are the main pundits and co-commentators. The BBC's main commentator is
Andrew Cotter.
Sonja McLaughlan and
Lee McKenzie are the reporters.
Rugby league Currently, the BBC shows live coverage from the
Super League and the
Challenge Cup, as well as most
England International fixtures and the
World Club Challenge. Coverage is typically hosted by
Mark Chapman,
Tanya Arnold and
Robbie Hunter Paul with commentary from Matt Newsum,
Jonathan Davies and
Brian Noble. As of the 2024 season, the BBC broadcasts 10 live Super League matches on its terrestrial channels, with an additional 5 matches on the iPlayer. The BBC also broadcasts two Challenge Cup Quarter Finals, both Semi Finals, and the Cup Final on its terrestrial channels, the latter of which is an
OFCOM Category A event, which must be broadcast on a free-to-air channel. They also broadcast the Wheelchair and Women's finals. Some earlier round matches of the Challenge Cup are also broadcast by the BBC on its online platforms. The BBC also provides audio commentary across BBC Sounds, via local radio and BBC Radio 5 Live, for all Super League matches. Historically, the BBC has shown the
Four Nations and the
Rugby League World Cup, and the highlights programme the
Super League Show, which featured weekly highlights of the
Super League,
Magic Weekend,
Super 8s and the
Grand Final. From 2026 onwards, the BBC has rights to the Olympics as part of the joint deal between
European Broadcasting Union and
Warner Bros. Discovery.
Commonwealth Games The BBC has shown coverage of the Commonwealth Games since 1954, and has aired extensive live coverage since 1970 which was when technology had developed sufficiently to make this possible. However, in December 2025 it was announced that
TNT Sports had outbid the BBC to be the broadcaster of the
2026 Commonwealth Games. However it remains possible that the BBC may offer limited coverage due to the Games being listed on the
Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events as a Category B event which requires highlights to be available on free-to-air television.
Athletics The BBC covers events such as the
Commonwealth Games, the
World Athletics Championships, the
European Athletics Championships, domestic British athletics and mass-participation events such as the
London Marathon and the
Great North Run. The BBC has the rights to show coverage of each
Diamond 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 and
Denise Lewis the studio pundits.
Steve Cram and
Andrew Cotter commentate on track events alongside,
Colin Jackson and
Paula Radcliffe, with
Steve Backley commentating on field events alongside
Toni Minichiello.
Jeanette Kwakye and
Radzi Chinyanganya are the main interviewers.
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 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. For
2017, they also showed all four days of the
PGA Championship 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 has exclusive UK rights to
The Open with the BBC showing a two-hour highlights programme every night. The BBC also shows highlights of two other
European Tour events held in Britain - the BMW PGA Championship and the
Scottish Open. It also covers the
Women's British Open. Eilidh Barbour is the lead presenter with commentary from,
Andrew Cotter,
Ken Brown,
Paul Azinger,
Maureen Madill and
Wayne Grady.
Rishi Persad 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 programme
Pot Black 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 and
Dennis 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. The
World Snooker Championship, the
Masters, and the
UK Championship 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 service. Snooker coverage is regularly hosted by
Hazel Irvine,
Jason Mohammad or
Seema Jaswal. Pundits and commentators on the coverage include
Steve Davis,
John Parrott,
Stephen Hendry,
Ken Doherty,
Alan McManus,
John Virgo,
Dennis Taylor and
Joe Perry. The World Championships have featured guest commentators such as
Judd Trump,
Jack Lisowski, Mark Allen,
Peter Ebdon and
Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson.
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
PDC Champions League of Darts. As a consequence the BBC would no longer show the
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 from 1999 to 2000,
Ray Stubbs from 2001 to 2009,
Colin Murray and Rob Walker from 2010 to 2016 and
Jason Mohammad 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 (2016–present) and
Mark Webster (2016–present). Former commentators are
Sid 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 and
John Rawling 2014–2016.
American football On 9 September 2015, the BBC announced that the
NFL would return to its screens in an initial 2-year deal that includes the rights to show the
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 alongside
Osi Umenyiora and
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 . Following the success of the
England national netball team at the
2018 Commonwealth Games, 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 banner; and briefly covers sports such as
road and
track cycling,
sailing,
badminton,
table tennis,
squash,
equestrianism,
gymnastics and other minority sports. Presenters for these sports include
Jill Douglas and
Phil Jones who often report for other areas of BBC Sport. BBC Sport also holds the rights to the
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
Rishi Persad 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 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 Races: 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: 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 Sports Extra 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 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, overlaid with live scorecards. While television coverage of the
London 2012 Paralympic Games was held by
Channel 4, 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.
BBC Radio 5 Live and its sister station
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra continue to cover Formula One World Championship as of
2023 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. ==Previous coverage==