Sports broadcasting contracts in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, sporting events are broadcast on several national television networks, as well as radio. Many of the sporting events are listed online or in different kind of apps. These apps are mainly designed by sport fans who want to have an easy way to find when a certain game or match is played, as well as when a race starts or which channel is broadcasting the olympic games etc.

Certain sporting events are protected by the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events and must be broadcast live and free-to-air on terrestrial television in the UK.

Presently, free-to-air means a TV channel which is free and covers 98% of the population. According to Ofcom regulations, qualifying free-to-air channels are BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

BBC Radio 5 Live / Talksport

 * Premier League: Live commentaries until 2024/25
 * Package 1: 1st Pick Saturday 15:00 matches on 5 Live.
 * Package 2: 2nd Pick Saturday 15:00 matches on Talksport.
 * Package 3: 12:30 Saturday matches on Talksport.
 * Package 4: Saturday 17:30 matches on 5 Live.
 * Package 5: Sunday 14:00 matches on 5 Live.
 * Package 6: Sunday 16:30 matches on 5 Live.
 * Package 7: 20:00 Friday matches on Talksport and 20:00 Monday matches on Talksport.
 * All matches from two midweek match rounds live on 5 Live/5 Sports Extra and BBC Sport website and app.
 * All Live commentaries on all rearranged midweek matches on Talksport.
 * All Boxing Day matches and one further midweek match round live via Talksport.


 * Live commentary of all England international matches.
 * Live commentary on selected Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland international matches
 * Live commentary on selected UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League matches, involving British clubs
 * Live commentary on WSL and Women's FA Cup matches
 * Live commentary on all FIFA World Cup Finals matches until 2026
 * Live commentary on all UEFA European Championship Finals matches until 2028
 * Live commentary on FA Cup and EFL Cup matches and FA Community Shield


 * Live commentary on EFL and EFL Trophy matches on Talksport; reports on BBC 5 Live


 * Live commentary on selected SPFL matches including all Old Firm derbies on BBC 5 Live

BBC World Service

 * Over 50 live Premier League commentaries per season via BBC Radio 5 Live
 * 15:00 Saturday and 16:30 Sunday matches
 * 11 live FA Cup matches via BBC Radio 5 Live including Final
 * Live commentary of EFL Cup Final via BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio Scotland

 * Commentary on Scottish Premiership matches with split coverage on MW/DAB and FM frequencies
 * Commentary on Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup matches
 * Commentary on Scotland international matches

BBC Radio Wales

 * Live commentary on all Cardiff City matches on 103.9 FM
 * Live commentary on all Swansea City matches on 93.9 FM
 * Live commentary on all Newport County matches on 95.9 FM
 * Live commentary on all Wrexham matches on 95.4/91.1 FM


 * Commentary on Wales international matches until 2026

BBC Radio Ulster

 * Reports and commentary on Irish League football with some split coverage on BBC Radio Foyle Digital
 * Commentary on Northern Ireland international matches

BBC Radio Foyle

 * Commentary on Derry City matches in the League of Ireland

BBC Local Radio

 * Local Premiership, EFL and FA Cup commentaries via BBC Local Radio with some split frequency coverage

Clyde 1

 * Preview, half-time and full-time reports from Scottish Premiership matches during weekend Superscoreboard programming

Independent Radio News (for UK commercial radio network)

 * Reports and goalflashes from every Premier League match including live updates in networked IRN hourly news bulletins
 * Reports and goalflashes from selected FA Cup matches including semi-finals and final
 * Reports and goalflashes from EFL Cup Final and Championship play-off final
 * Reports and goalflashes from England home matches

Television
20 live streamed matches from Challenge Cup, League 1, Women's Super League and Wheelchair Rugby League via The Sportsman

Radio
Live Super League and Challenge Cup matches with reports on BBC Radio 5 Live; Super League Grand Final on 5 Live Live State of Origin via ABC Radio on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
 * BBC Radio 5 Sport Extra

Commentaries on Super League, Championship and Challenge Cup matches
 * BBC Local Radio

Commentaries on approx 80 Super League matches live per season with Grand Final on Talksport
 * Talksport 2

Reports from Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final
 * Independent Radio News (for UK commercial radio network)

Radio
BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
 * Live commentary of Six Nations Championship matches until 2025
 * Live commentary on Premiership Rugby
 * Live commentary on European Rugby Champions Cup
 * Live commentary of 2023 Rugby World Cup

Talksport and Talksport2
 * Commentary on all Autumn International Series matches until 2024
 * Live commentary on Premiership Rugby
 * Reports from Six Nations Championship matches

BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru
 * All Wales Six Nations matches live; Autumn internationals live on BBC Radio Cymru

BBC Radio Ulster
 * Live commentary on all Ulster European Rugby Champions Cup matches and selected Ulster URC matches
 * Commentary on all Ireland Six Nations matches
 * Commentary on Ireland Autumn International matches

BBC Radio Scotland
 * Commentary on all Scotland Six Nations matches

Independent Radio News (for UK commercial radio network)
 * Reports from Six Nations Championship matches

Television

 * In-play video highlights clips of ICC events on BBC Sport and Sky Sports websites
 * In-play video highlights clips of England international and The Hundred matches on BBC Sport website
 * Clips also available for free on Sky Sports and England and Wales Cricket Board websites
 * Live free streaming coverage of selected County matches via county cricket club websites and YouTube channels

Radio
BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra:
 * Live Test Match Special commentary on all England home Test, ODI & T20 matches until 2028
 * Live commentary on all The Hundred matches on BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sport website until 2028
 * ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy & ICC World Twenty20 live matches
 * Sports Extra commentary on Cricket Australia international matches via ABC Radio Grandstand, plus selected Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League matches
 * Sports Extra commentary on Indian Premier League matches in 2023
 * Live commentary on selected England away series (Test, ODI & T20)

BBC Local Radio (including BBC Radio Wales):
 * Commentary on all First Class county, List A and T20 Blast matches on BBC Sport website until 2024
 * Selected matches on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Talksport
 * Live reports from England home international cricket matches

Talksport 2
 * Live commentary on England Test, ODI and T20 tours in India, New Zealand and West Indies

Radio

 * BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Sports Extra: Commentary on all four Grand Slam tournaments plus selected other tournaments including the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and the Queens Club Championships
 * BBC World Service: Commentary on Wimbledon men's and women's singles finals
 * Talksport: Live reports from Wimbledon
 * Independent Radio News (for UK commercial radio network): Hourly reports from Wimbledon including live updates in networked IRN hourly news bulletins
 * LBC News: Twice-hourly live reports from Wimbledon

Golf
Live featured groups coverage of all British DP Tour events via YouTube

Live coverage of LIV Golf events via YouTube

Radio
Live commentary on the US Open, US Masters and US PGA Championships on Sports Extra with final round on 5 Live
 * BBC Radio 5 Live / Radio 5 Sports Extra:

Live commentary of The Open Championship and Ryder Cup on 5 Live

Live commentary of Women's British Open on Sports Extra

Live commentary on The Open Championship via Open Golf Radio and Ryder Cup via Ryder Cup Radio
 * Talksport2:

Live commentary on US PGA Tour events from PGA Tour Radio

Boxing

 * Matchroom Boxing: DAZN - 16 nights of boxing per year live until 2025
 * Golden Boy: Live on DAZN
 * Queensberry Promotions: Live on TNT Sports and TNT Sports Box Office
 * Top Rank: Live on Sky Sports until 2025
 * Boxxer: Live on Sky Sports until 2025 and BBC Sport (Wales viewers only during event for Welsh boxers)
 * Dream Boxing: Live on DAZN until October 2025
 * Premier Boxing Champions: Live on Prime Video (June 2024-present) and Triller TV

Radio
Commentary on major fights involving British boxers
 * BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport

Mixed martial arts

 * Bellator: Live on DAZN (2024-present)
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship: Live on TNT Sports and TNT Sports Box Office
 * One Championship: Sky Sports and Sky Sports Box Office (from 2024)
 * Professional Fighters League: DAZN

Kickboxing

 * King of Kings: DAZN: October 2022 to October 2025, all fights

Television

 * World Wrestling Entertainment: Live on TNT Sports and TNT Sports Box Office
 * All Elite Wrestling: ITV, ITV4

Radio

 * Olympic Games: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live (until 2032) Live on TalkSport in 2024
 * Paralympic Games: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live
 * European Championships (multi-sport event): Live on BBC Radio 5 Live

Television

 * British Athletics major events: Live on BBC in 2024
 * London Marathon: Live on BBC until 2026; Live on Eurosport
 * Great North Run: Live on BBC
 * Great Manchester Run: Live on BBC
 * Big London Half: Live on BBC Red Button until 2026
 * Vitality London 10000: Live on BBC Red Button until 2026
 * Vitality Westminster Mile: Live on BBC Red Button until 2026
 * World Athletics Championships: Live on BBC until 2025; live on Eurosport in 2023
 * Diamond League: Live on BBC until 2024
 * World Athletics Continental Tour Gold: Live on Premier Sports to 2029
 * World Athletics Indoor Championships: Live on BBC until 2027
 * World Athletics Cross Country Championships: Live on BBC until 2025
 * World Athletics Road Running Championships: Live on BBC until 2025
 * World Athletics Relays: Live on BBC until 2025
 * European Athletics Championships: Live on BBC until 2026
 * European Athletics Indoor Championships: Live on BBC until 2027
 * European Cross Country Championships: Live on BBC until 2027
 * World Junior Athletics Championships: Live on Eurosport
 * Paris Marathon: Live on Eurosport
 * Boston Marathon: Live on Eurosport
 * New York Marathon: Live on Eurosport and BBC Red Button

World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver and Bronze meetings in Europe live via European Athletics YouTube channel

Manchester Marathon live on Manchester Marathon YouTube channel

Radio
Commentary from World Championships, European Athletics Championships, Diamond League and UK Athletics major events
 * BBC Radio 5 Live

Television

 * Sky Sports Racing
 * Live coverage from 25 UK courses including Ascot, Chepstow, Chester, Doncaster and Lingfield.
 * Over 200 fixtures from France (including Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe), Hong Kong, United States (including Breeders' Cup and Triple Crown), Australia (including Melbourne Cup) and South Africa.
 * Racing TV
 * Live coverage from 35 UK courses including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom, Goodwood, Haydock, Kempton, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown and York.
 * Irish racing.

Radio
Commentary on all major races with full coverage of The Cheltenham Festival, The Grand National, Royal Ascot and The Epsom Derby BBC Radio 5 Live commentary on The Grand National Commentary on all major races at The Cheltenham Festival, The Grand National, Royal Ascot and The Epsom Derby, plus daily racing commentaries on Talksport 2.
 * BBC Radio 5 Live
 * BBC World Service
 * Talksport

Radio

 * World Championship, World Matchplay and other major PDC tournaments: Live on Talksport 2

Radio

 * World Championships: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Television

 * ITU World Series: Live on BBC
 * Super League Triathlon: Live on BBC and Eurosport

Television

 * European Gymnastics Championship: Live on BBC and Eurosport
 * World Gymnastics Championship: Live on BBC
 * Gymnastics World Cup (UK): Live on BBC

Television
National Football League Sky Sports: Five regular season games each week plus play-offs and Super Bowl live until 2024/25 ITV Sport: Two London Games and Super Bowl live plus weekly highlights until 2024/25

NCAA College Football Three games a week and all Bowl games plus College Gameday live on Sky Sports until 2024/25

Radio

 * Live commentary on one Sunday night match per week and Super Bowl on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
 * Live commentary from over 40 matches per season and Super Bowl on Talksport 2

Television

 * National Hockey League: Live on Premier Sports until 2027
 * IIHF World Championships: Live on Premier Sports from 2024 to 2028
 * Kontinental Hockey League: Live on Premier Sports

Television

 * Men's and Women's Pro Leagues: Live on TNT Sports
 * Men's and Women's EuroHockey Championships: Live on BBC and EuroHockey TV
 * Euro Hockey League: Live on TNT Sports and EuroHockey TV
 * Men's England Hockey League: Semi-finals and finals live on YouTube.
 * Women's England Hockey League: Semi-finals and finals live on YouTube.

Television

 * British Basketball League: one live match per week of the season on Sky Sports, including BBL Trophy Final,and BBL Playoffs until 2024. all other games live on YouTube
 * Women's British Basketball League: WBBL Trophy and WBBL Play-Off Finals live on Sky Sports until 2024
 * National Basketball Association: Live on TNT Sports with more than 250 games shown each season
 * Women's National Basketball Association: Live on TNT Sports with at least 16 regular season games and select games from the WNBA Playoffs and WNBA Finals.
 * College Basketball Three games a week plus March Madness live on Sky Sports until 2024
 * EuroLeague:Euroleague TV
 * EuroCup Basketball: London Lions games on TNT Sports; all games on Euroleague TV
 * National Basketball League: YouTube

Television

 * Major League Baseball: Live on TNT Sports; MLB London Series live on BBC until 2026

Television

 * Winter Olympics: Live on Eurosport and BBC until 2030
 * Winter Paralympics: Live on Channel 4 until 2022
 * Alpine Skiing World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26; highlights on Premier Sports and highlights of selected European races on BBC Sport
 * Cross-Country Skiing World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26
 * Freestyle Skiing World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26
 * Nordic Combined World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26
 * Ski Jumping World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26
 * Snowboard World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2025-26
 * Alpine Skiing World Championships: Live on BBC Red Button; Live on Eurosport until 2025
 * Nordic Skiing World Championships: Live on Eurosport until 2025
 * World Figure Skating Championships: Live on BBC Sport until 2024; live on Premier Sports from 2024 to 2028
 * European Figure Skating Championships: Live on Eurosport

Television

 * America's Cup: Live on Sky Sports

Television

 * GAA: All Ireland football and hurling semi-finals and final live on BBC Northern Ireland, with one All-Ireland Final live on BBC TWO network television until 2027
 * Ulster Senior Football Championship: Eight live games on BBC Northern Ireland including Ulster Football Final until 2027
 * Allianz National Football League: 10 live games via BBC iPlayer until 2027

Radio
Live coverage of all games in the Ulster Senior Football Championships
 * BBC Radio Ulster

Television

 * Live coverage of Premier Division matches plus Camanachd Cup Final, Macaulay Cup Final and Scotland v Ireland shinty–hurling international on BBC

Television

 * Netball Superleague: Live on Sky Sports
 * ANZ Premiership: Live on Sky Sports
 * Netball World Cup: Live on Sky Sports and BBC

Television

 * BWF World Tour: Live on TNT Sports
 * BWF World Championships: Live on TNT Sports
 * All England Badminton Championships: Live on BBC Red Button and TNT Sports in 2023

Television

 * World Squash Championships: Live on TNT Sports
 * PSA World Series: Live on TNT Sports

Television

 * World Indoor Bowls Championships: Live on BBC Sport
 * Scottish International Open Bowls: Live on BBC iPlayer

Television

 * World Table Tennis Championships: Live on Eurosport until 2020
 * Table Tennis World Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2020
 * ITTF World Tour (including Grand Finals): Live on Eurosport until 2020
 * European Table Tennis Championships: Live on Eurosport until 2020
 * Europe Top 16 Cup: Live on Eurosport until 2020

Television

 * Australian Football League: Live on TNT Sports

Television

 * FA National Futsal League: Live on TNT Sports
 * FIFA Futsal World Cup: FIFA + (2024)
 * UEFA Futsal Champions League: Live on YouTube (Final four only)

Television

 * World Archery Championships: Live on World Archery's YouTube channel
 * Archery World Cup: Live on World Archery's YouTube channel

Television

 * CEV Challenge Cup: Live on EuroVolley TV
 * CEV Women's Challenge Cup: Live on EuroVolley TV