BBC Free To Air Sports Shake Up

The BBC have announce plans to shake up Free To Air sport coverage across the Broadcasters suite of channels. Seeing a major increase in live sports broadcasting. Over 1,000 hours of live sport is to be made available via BBC Sport and the BBC iPlayer over the coming years. The BBC are working with sporting organisations across Britian to proved live coverage to sporting events at both national and european level. It means that audiences can expect to see more matches from the early rounds of the FA Cup, Rugby League Challenge Cup, Women’s Super League Football, the British Basketball League and Wheelchair Tennis.

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, says: “This shows how we’re reinventing the BBC for a new generation. We’re giving people more of what they love by working in partnership with the sports industry and making the most of digital technology.”

The extra coverage has been made possible by low-cost streaming technology developed by the BBC. Since London 2012, the BBC has evolved how it streams live events - from Olympic Games and World Cups, to Glastonbury and national elections. The technology can now be used to cover hundreds more hours of live coverage, and a wider range of events, every single day.

Barbara Slater, Head of BBC Sport, says: “We’ve seen the nation get behind a whole host of sports in recent years, especially at major events. We want to use BBC Sport’s live streaming service to showcase more of those moments that inspire people to take part. Put simply, it’s a huge expansion in the availability of free-to-air sport in the UK.”