UK public-service broadcaster the BBC will cut its sports-rights budget by £35m (€49m/$53m) in 2016-17 as part of wider savings of £150m, it was announced today (Wednesday).
“Meeting this [sports-rights] savings target will be tough, particularly given the high levels of inflation in the market,” the BBC said. “We therefore anticipate this will lead to the loss of some existing rights and events.”
The BBC added that it had already made “some tough choices which have contributed to the savings,” citing the corporation’s deal with Sky to hand over live coverage of golf’s Open Championship to the UK pay-television in 2016, a year earlier than planned.
“We have also recently secured a series of important rights – including Wimbledon, Premier League highlights, live coverage of Euro 2016 and 2020 football championships and Six Nations rugby shared with [commercial broadcaster] ITV,” the BBC said.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper said the BBC will “lose” its coverage of the Formula One motor-racing world championship, darts and snooker through the cuts.
The BBC said a “shortfall in funding” had brought about the need for the cuts and added that a further £550m of savings would need to be identified by 2021-22, with details set to be confirmed in spring 2016.
In July, the BBC announced that licence fee income in 2016-17 was forecast to be £150m less than it was expected to be in 2011.