BBC Sport Staff Express Concerns for Future as Wimbledon and Six Nations Broadcasting Rights Slip Away

BBC employees are worried that they are facing the axe after losing the rights to show TWO major sporting events.

The broadcaster suffered a serious blow when they were outbid in the race to televise this summer’s Commonwealth Games and the Boat Race.

BBC employees are worried about facing job cutsCredit: Getty The broadcaster lost the rights to show the Boat Race and this summer’s Commonwealth GamesCredit: Times Media Ltd

And there are fears that the BBC will see the right to cover other huge competitions snapped up by rivals.

The Daily Mail report that staff working on the corporation’s coverage are particularly concerned about their future.

And those worries have extended to whether the BBC could be in danger of Wimbledon moving onto another channel.

The Times suggested the All England Club raised questions about how the presentation of the historic tournament compares with that of other Grand Slams.

An industry source said: “John McEnroe is great, although he can split opinion.

“But some of the other presenters and pundits at Wimbledon seem out of touch and not really up to date with a lot of the players.”

chiefs have been pushed to give their coverage of the tennis competition a makeover even though traditional elements still appeal to some viewers.

The broadcaster has been providing radio commentary of Wimbledon for close to 100 years.

And the annual tournament has also been on free-to-air television since 1937.

But the BBC’s agreement to continue showing expires next year.

Staff covering the Six Nations are particularly concerned about their futureCredit: Shutterstock Editorial The BBC are also at risk of having their Wimbledon partnership endedCredit: Alamy

And TNT Sports are already broadcasting both singles finals and highlights.

There are genuine fears that the BBC will jeopardise their chances of bagging a new contract if they refuse to make major alterations to their coverage.

TNT Sports in Glasgow.

The corporation, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery, outbid the BBC last year.

And it has ended a broadcasting relationship which lasted more than 70 years.

Channel 4 acquired the rights in another significant setback for the BBC.

The 2025 edition of the showdown between Oxford and Cambridge attracted a whopping 2.6 MILLION viewers.