The BBC have not yet committed to televising Glasgow 2026 next year – with fears growing that the Commonwealth Games will not be shown on the national broadcaster for the first time since 1954.
The Beeb have been the main broadcaster of the competition since it hit our screens over 70 years ago, but have so far kept their cards close to their chest with regards to next year’s scaled-down event.
On Wednesday morning, however, as organisers were unveiling their new mascot to commemorate a year to go until the Games begin, the BBC broke the news themselves online that a broadcasting deal had still to be agreed.
Pointedly, an article on their news website also stated that previous deals for both the 2014 Glasgow Games and the 2022 Birmingham Games had been signed well in advance of the current timescale.
The article also claimed that ‘sources within the corporation’ had ‘suggested a waning appetite’ for the event.
Scottish track star Eilish McColgan helped launch the Games’ new mascot, Finnie
Former Judoka Sarah Adlington wasn’t taking any nonsense from mascot Finnie the Unicorn
Glasgow 2026 CEO Phil Batty said organisers were speaking to a number of different parties over broadcasting and that discussions were ‘ongoing’, but Mail Sport understands there is a reluctance by the BBC to commit – despite their long history with the Games.
The Games have been troubled from the outset. Glasgow stepped in after Australia pulled out, with £100million of funding coming from the state of Victoria who were the original hosts. The Games have been reduced in size, with organisers hoping they will set a workable precedent to save the Games in future.
Scottish runner Eilish McColgan, who won gold in the 10,000m at Birmingham 2022, said it was vital the BBC picked up the mantle so that people across the UK could continue to be inspired by athletes on mainstream TV.
‘I think it’s really important,’ she told Mail Sport. ‘You’ll have kids from all corners of Scotland, not even just Scotland, across the whole of the UK, that will see athletes from their local town, their local club, and think, yes, I want to do that.
‘When we had 2014, we had a huge influx of young kids join the Hawks, to the point where we still have a waiting list to this day.
I have no doubt that’s happening elsewhere. It gives smaller nations the chance to showcase their top talents.
‘If you’re from Guernsey, Isle of Man, if you’re from a small African nation, Lesotho, wherever you’re from, it’s giving you a chance to shine on the global stage, which is really important.
‘It just creates a legacy that, if it’s not on TV, if it’s not broadcast, then you can’t see it, you can’t believe it, you can’t become it.’
Former basketball star Kieran Achara is an ambassador for the Glasgow Games
Batty told Mail Sport the Games organisers were ‘talking to all the UK rights holders, to make sure we can broadcast the Games here at home’, but would not confirm how talks with the BBC were progressing.
‘The excitement of a multi-sport event is that it brings ten sports and six para-sports together on equal footing to be broadcast to the world,’ he said.
‘We’ve already announced that Australia and Channel 7 have taken the rights, Sky New Zealand TV have taken the New Zealand and Pacific Island rights, and we’re also in talks with other countries and other broadcasters, so I’m really confident this will be a Games that’s seen worldwide.
‘We’re definitely talking to all the UK rights holders to make sure we can broadcast the Games here at home.
‘We know there’s huge enthusiasm from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England to see these Games, so we’ll be announcing more details about a UK rights holder in the next coming months.’
When pressed again on where talks stood with the BBC, Batty told Mail Sport: ‘We’ve spoken to all UK broadcasters to tell them how epic and exciting these Games will be.
‘We’ve got ten days of competition and 200 medal events, so I’m hoping every broadcaster sees how fantastic this edition of the Commonwealth Games will be.
‘We’re delivering at record pace, so we’d like to have all of our broadcasters in place over the course of this year.
‘That allows us to work really collegiately together over the first six months of next year to make sure we can get the most out of all these venues and there isn’t a second of sport that gets missed.’
Double-Commonwealth gold medallist Sarah Adlington told Mail Sport it was critical for minority sports to gain a platform on mainstream television.
‘For sports like judo, these opportunities don’t come around very often so, for our audience, getting people into the sport and seeing how fantastic it is, it’s so important we are on mainstream TV in this country,’ she said.
Olympic basketball player Kieran Achara, now an ambassador for Glasgow 2026, said having national exposure was vital in terms of exposing others to the sport.
‘There’s nothing like the entertainment value of being there,’ said Achara, ‘but (mainstream TV) just creates the reach a bit better. I’m hopeful someone will step in, because it’s the Commonwealth Games, everyone wants to watch.
‘From a basketball perspective, I love the sport, seeing it in person there’s nothing like it, but actually getting to witness it, being introduced to it through television or other means is also really important.’
The BBC told Mail Sport: ‘We don’t comment on sports rights discussions.’
The scaled-back version of the Games will feature ten sports and six para-sports across four different venues, with 74 nations and territories taking part.
More than 3,000 athletes are expected to compete next July, with over 200 medals awarded during the 11-day event.
