UK Olympics TV viewers could miss out on exciting live moments from the Games if several key events happen at the same time, the BBC’s head of Olympic coverage has warned.
The BBC is limited to showing live broadcasts on one linear channel and one digital channel because the main Olympic broadcast rights have been owned by the US pay-TV giant since 2018, meaning viewers would be spoiled if Team GB’s three big moments happened at the same time. May wait for a replay.
At Tokyo 2021, the first Summer Olympics where the current deal is in place, the BBC has received numerous complaints about a lack of live coverage on its channels, as viewers were unaware that the IOC had sold the majority of Discovery’s UK TV coverage right.
Ron Chakraborty, director of major events and comprehensive sports at the BBC, said that even though the BBC had 24 live broadcasts at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics, more than 90% came from the BBC’s two main live broadcasts.
“The vast majority of people only watch the first two channels because despite all the planning we have around it, I don’t think the majority of the public has a huge spreadsheet,” he said. “They said to us ‘I’m going to hand you my remote control. You tell me what I should watch. I believe that if I watch BBC One, keep up with live text or listen to Five Live, I can make every major The story goes on.
BBC1 will have live coverage of the entire Olympics from 8am, with broadcasts from different events, showcasing Britain’s best hopes and medal action as well as the best action throughout the day – when the news is on BBC1, retweet to BBC2.
Schedulers have been in contact with Team GB to manage expectations for event coverage, which is unlikely to take place in full for longer format events such as road cycling, tennis and group sports such as hockey. “We’ve done a lot of work with Team GB and I’ve spoken to various communications heads across the sport to say we will be there for their medal moments but we can’t show every minute of every athlete,” he said.
Asked whether the BBC had not taken steps to avoid a repeat of the BBC Sport Twitter account declaring a Briton in the kickboxing final before delayed TV coverage had concluded, Chakraborty said it was probably unavoidable.
“The last time we had an incident like this in 16 days, it was the semifinals, not the gold medal,” he said. “If we do have a ‘three-in-one moment,’ we’ll be a little late [the coverage], one thing we won’t do is tell our social media team to delay. If anyone has experienced it, it’s on the radio and everywhere else. I think all we can do is [tell the viewer] It’s happening and we’ll show it as soon as possible.
Newsletter Promotion Post
Chakraborty added that “pivotal moments” are rare for viewers, adding that organizers “don’t want to have a lot of big moments happening at once.” He added that if Team GB’s medal tally reached 2021’s 64 medals, UK spectators could expect around four to five medals a day.
“If you have two channels, you’re definitely in a good place to cover everything,” he said. “We see ourselves as a conduit for people across the country to come together for big medal moments. If you’re really a fan of an individual sport, you can still use it, but it’s paid.
