Channel 4 snares TV coverage of Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race from the BBC

Cambridge’s women rowers celebrate victory over Oxford in the 2025 Boat Race on the Thames. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Channel 4 has poached the television rights to the annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities, ending a decades-long relationship with the BBC.

The broadcaster has struck a five-year deal to air the high-profile annual race on the Thames until 2030 in a surprise shift away from the BBC.