Commonwealth Games chiefs defend move from BBC to TNT Sports
Commonwealth Games chiefs have defended the multi-sport event’s move to TNT Sports, which ended a 70-year partnership with the BBC as chief broadcaster.
The state broadcaster had held the rights to the coverage since the 1954 edition, then known as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, in Vancouver.
But the BBC’s 18-Games run will come to an end this summer when the competition is taken behind a paywall on TNT Sports.
“The way that sports fans consume sport is changing,” Glasgow 2026 chief executive Phil Batty told the DCMS select committee on major events yesterday. “Not just in terms of subscription versus linear, but also [like in the Women’s Rugby World Cup] with how much content is consumed by social media and the storytelling of athletes.
“We’ve had a great commitment from [TNT owner] Warner Bros Discovery to broaden the amount of sport that was visible to more people over the course of the 11 days of the Games.
“Historically it might only have been two sessions or three sessions that were available. What moving to this new solution allows us to do is see more sports on air more of the time through that streaming solution.”
Commonwealth Games to TNT Sports
There will be an element of free-to-air coverage of the Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the quadrennial event, because it is a protected Category B event, as listed by the government.
Category B events do not require full coverage on terrestrial channels but an element of it, and the BBC said in December that it would talk to Glasgow 2026 about whether it would be the free partner.
“We’ve got a responsibility as event organisers to make sure there are as many ways to access the games as possible,” added Batty.
“Clearly that free-to-air element is still a fundamental part, and we’re lucky that as a Category B event we’ve got that protection to be able to make sure that is still safeguarded.”