UK Sport, the body that oversees the investment of public and National Lottery money into British Olympic and Paralympic sport, has signed a live-streaming partnership with UK public-service broadcaster the BBC.
The partnership will lead to a range of Olympic and Paralympic sporting events being streamed free of charge via the BBC.
The BBC has offered to stream the key moments of all UK Sport-supported major events via its website, rights permitting.
BBC Sport will also provide technical and editorial support to sporting bodies to aid their delivery of events.
In addition, UK Sport is procuring live-streaming technology to facilitate the broadcasting of major events to a wider audience.
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “We have been covering Olympic and Paralympic Sports for decades and we are now taking that commitment to a completely different level. We are going to be streaming more live sport for more people, across mobile, computers, tablets and TV. We will be working closely with UK Sport to ensure the major events they support in the UK reach the biggest possible audience.”
UK Sport-supported major events include the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup, 2018 Boccia World Championships, 2019 Netball World Cup and 2019 World Road Cycling Championships. The organisation is also backing Liverpool’s bid for the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships.
Last month, the BBC said it would boost its live sports coverage by up to 1,000 hours per year as part of a wider strategy to transform its approach in the market.