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Why the BBC can't show full live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics
- open-source-ux 5y agoSummary: - The BBC provided full live coverage of all events for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, but not this time. - US broadcasting Discovery won the pan-European rights up until the 2024 Olympics in Paris after out-bidding the BBC. - the BBC later agreed a deal with Discovery in 2016 to sub-license the rights but has dramatically less coverage than normal, only allowed to show two live sports simultaneously in addition to highlights. - Facing questions over its coverage, a BBC presenter tweeted: "...the BBC is only allowed to show two sports at the same time. It is an issue about TV rights and not an editorial choice." The above may seem perfectly normal for folks outside the UK (bigger bid wins), but the limited coverage is a surprise to some UK viewers expecting full Olympics coverage. The BBC's full (ad-free) coverage of the 2012 and 2016 Olympics included live streaming of every event as well as catch-up (on-demand) availability too. This year is a big downgrade to what people were expecting.