Channel 4 has announced they have secured the television broadcasting rights to the annual Boat Race, upending a 98-year-old relationship with the BBC.
The new five-year deal, reached for an undisclosed sum, will give Channel 4 the rights to broadcast the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Boat Race in 2027 and the 200th Men’s Boat Race in 2029. The BBC will retain the radio broadcasting rights.
Although rowing as a sport does not usually draw large television audiences, The Boat Race drew a peak audience of 2.82 million viewers this year, making it the most watched sporting event in the UK across free-to-air and pay-TV channels on the weekend in question.
Speaking to BBC R4’s The Media Show, the Boat Race Committee Chair, Siobhan Cassidy said: “We looked at the offers on the table and we’ve gone with the one that’s best for us…based on the commercial terms and also a bit more broadly on what Channel 4’s enthusiasm was going to bring to The Boat Race.”
Sources close to the talks have told The Daily Telegraph that Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC Director of Sport, “showed very little enthusiasm, believing that a showcase for London, the UK and two of our top universities is elitist”.
Channel 4 has developed a reputation for landing unexpected sports broadcasting deals, securing Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open victory and England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final win in 2022, at a time when the BBC is working under tight budget constraints.
Pete Andrews, Head of Sport at Channel 4, rebuffed any charges of elitism, telling the Broadcast Sport website: “The viewing figures show that it’s for everyone…We don’t look at it as elitist. Lots of people feel involved, and they’ve grown up with it.”
The BBC have publicly responded by stating that they have been proud to broadcast the Boat Race over many years, and that this decision reflects the difficult choices they have to make under current budget limitations. Cassidy said: “The BBC have done a fantastic job over nearly 100 years… but it was just time for change.”
