BBC Sport: Coverage Evolution and Major Developments in 2025
BBC Sport’s Changing Broadcasting Landscape
BBC Sport remains one of the United Kingdom’s most trusted sources for sports coverage, delivering comprehensive reporting across television, radio, and digital platforms. BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The broadcaster continues to evolve its offerings amidst an increasingly competitive media environment.
Major Broadcasting Rights Developments
In 2025, BBC Sport made significant strides in expanding its football coverage. BBC Sport has secured multi-year broadcasting rights for Bundesliga matches for the start of the 2025-26 season. As part of the new agreement, BBC Sport will stream one match a week starting on Friday 22 August when 2024-25 Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich face RB Leipzig. This marked an important addition to the corporation’s free-to-air football portfolio.
The broadcaster also secured its future Premier League coverage. The Premier League has concluded deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports for five UK live packages and with BBC Sport for the free-to-air highlights package. The agreement will see a continuation of the BBC’s Match of the Day highlights programme, with BBC Sport awarded highlights rights for all 380 Premier League matches each season, plus additional digital rights for the BBC’s online platforms.
Sports Personality of the Year 2025
December 2025 saw BBC Sport host its prestigious annual awards ceremony. The 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year was a sporting awards show which took place on 18 December 2025, broadcast live from MediaCity in Salford on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award was won by Rory McIlroy, with Ellie Kildunne in second place and Lando Norris in third. Rory McIlroy topped the public vote after a year that included completing golf’s career Grand Slam with his first Masters title, playing a leading role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win in the United States.
Challenges and Lost Rights
However, 2025 also brought setbacks for BBC Sport. The BBC lost the UK broadcast rights for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to TNT Sports. Additionally, The Boat Race will be broadcast exclusively on Channel 4 in the UK from 2026. These losses reflect broader challenges facing the corporation as the cost of TV broadcasting rights has risen dramatically in recent decades.
Significance for UK Sports Fans
Despite these challenges, BBC Sport remains crucial for providing accessible sports coverage to British audiences. The BBC Sport app brings you all the breaking news across the world of sport including football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, F1, tennis, golf, athletics and much more. The platform’s commitment to free-to-air broadcasting ensures millions can continue enjoying major sporting events without subscription costs, maintaining its role as a public service broadcaster in an increasingly commercial sports media landscape.