The BBC must be guaranteed a greater level of live Olympics coverage in order to “capture the imagination of future Olympians”.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who announced on Tuesday her intention to stand again as chair of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) select committee, said she understood viewers’ frustrations around the corporation’s limited coverage.
The BBC can only show two simultaneous live streams under the current broadcasting deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with Warner Bros Discovery the primary rights holder.
While the BBC did manage to capture a flurry of medals in diving, triathlon and rowing across its two live streams on Wednesday morning, Dinenage hopes this issue will be addressed by the Government.
“I understand the frustration, it does feel like in these huge sporting moments, with breathtaking and iconic performances around every corner, the coverage is not broad enough,” Dinenage told the PA news agency.
“If we want to capture the imagination of our future Olympians we need higher minimum levels for our national broadcasters.”
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The BBC announced in January that every Games up to and including the Brisbane event in 2032 would be available on free to air, under the same restrictions as have existed since the last summer Games in Tokyo three years ago.
The Media Act 2024 has modernised the listed events regime, which means that the regime will now protect live coverage on public service broadcasters’ internet-based streaming services.
The Act has also added the requirement that Ofcom be satisfied that there is ‘adequate live’ coverage on PSBs of multisport events like the Olympics.
As part of implementation, Ofcom is required to define ‘adequate live coverage’, and they have recently launched a call for evidence on this issue. Interested parties have been encouraged to submit their responses.
