BBC yet to secure rights to show the European Athletics Championships NEXT WEEK… with Great Britain sending 72 athletes to Rome ahead of the Olympics
- The BBC does not have the rights to the European Athletics Championships
- Great Britain has 72 athletes in Rome next week, but it is not allowed to be shown
The BBC is yet to secure the rights to broadcast the European Athletics Championships, with less than a week to go before the event kicks off in Rome.
The biennial continental meeting is traditionally shown at the Beeb, which is also home to the Olympic Games, World Championships, British Championships and the Diamond League.
However, Mail Sport understands that the BBC is still involved in negotiations with the European Championships rights holders, the European Broadcasting Union, ahead of the start of the action on Friday, June 7.
Sources remain hopeful an 11th-hour deal can be struck to avoid a TV blackout of one of athletics’ flagship events.
But if the BBC fails to reach an agreement with the EBU it would be a major blow to sport in this country, which has just two months to go until the Paris Olympics.
The BBC does not yet have the rights to next week’s European Athletics Championships in Rome, which will feature 72 major British athletes, including Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Keely Hodgkinson is also taking part, but there are fears that the event in Great Britain will not go ahead
Great Britain has selected a strong squad of 72 athletes for the European Championships and has high hopes of securing multiple medals.
Current world medalists Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Keely Hodgkinson, Zharnel Hughes and Matthew Hudson-Smith will all be in action.
Dina Asher-Smith and Eilish McColgan are among the other household names competing in Italy.
The BBC has a packed sports schedule for the summer, with Euro 2024, Wimbledon and the Olympics all on their channels. But the European Championships end two days before the first match of the European Championship.
Even if the Beeb manages to secure a late deal to show the Athletics, it now seems likely they would have to host the event from a studio in Salford rather than the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
It is a worrying development at a time when cash-strapped British athletics is desperately trying to raise the profile of the sport and its stars.
Even if the Beeb secures a late deal, it is likely they will provide coverage from a studio in Salford
They have commissioned a new documentary about Britain’s top Olympic and Paralympic athletes, which will be broadcast on Channel 4 ahead of Paris 2024 after the BBC rejected it.
When contacted by Mail Sport, the BBC said they do not comment on sports rights negotiations.