BBC in danger of losing two more huge sports rights with 69-year-old show at risk

BBC in danger of losing two more huge sports rights with 69-year-old show at risk The BBC could face further losses of rights to sporting events The BBC’s long-standing monopoly on top-tier sports broadcasting is facing a fresh challenge from talkSPORT. Fresh off securing live coverage for England’s upcoming cricket tour of South Africa, the commercial broadcaster is turning its sights toward two of the BBC's most prized properties: Formula One and home England cricket coverage. With Test Match Special airing on the BBC since 1957 and live F1 coverage standard since 1994, talkSPORT's ambitious push - reported by The Telegraph - marks the latest threat to the corporation's sports line-up, following a string of recent rights losses ranging from the Commonwealth Games to the Boat Race. Liam Fisher, the head of talkSPORT, admitted that while football coverage remains the primary focus of the company, they are making a deliberate effort to tap into different audiences where they believe the returns will be substantial. He said: "Football still is our bread and butter... but we've definitely looked to extend it on the basic understanding that, even if football is your first, second and third sport, you are probably into something else as well. "So our strategy has been to pick off the events where we believe there is an audience potential that sits well with what we're providing, we'll cherry pick what we think are the key sports and events that we think you might be interested in." Fisher outlined the rationale behind talkSPORT's pursuit of F1, which has maintained an exclusive arrangement with BBC Radio for 32 years. He explained: "It's another brilliant set of rights. I wouldn't be doing my job if I wasn't actively exploring whether there's an opportunity. Make sure you don't miss sport's biggest stories and breaking news by making the Daily Mirror one of your Google preferred sources. "We think the audience goes quite well with the talkSPORT audience. We think there's an opportunity for us to deliver really good amplification for it as well." If the BBC loses the rights to the cricket coverage, it could mark the conclusion of its 69-year relationship with Test Match Special. Though this may not materialise after the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suggested the possibility of having multiple radio broadcasters for its home series starting from 2029. Fisher claimed that, considering the BBC's cost-cutting efforts to save £500million, talkSPORT's move into the cricket sphere represents "good business." He added: "It's something which we've been really keen on getting involved in more. Our tactic has been to just pick off some of the away series. I love cricket. We'd certainly love to do more in that space. And we believe, fundamentally, just as the Premier League have worked to have a couple of incumbents, it would work to the benefit of other organisations as well. "I think there is room to have two [audio] broadcasters delivering those rights. You're maximising probably the audience, you're maximising the money you're going to receive. And, ultimately, if what is being said about the BBC is to be believed, you are protecting; making sure that there is an audio platform willing to take the rights before the BBC potentially comes to you and says, 'Look, we just can't offer what we have historically.' "I just think it makes good business sense from their point of view to have that, depending on where the BBC sort of ends up over the next couple of years. From the BBC's point of view I would say they'll always back themselves. "Test Match Special has had a 60-plus years head start on whatever we do for home cricket. So they will always say, 'Look, we back the product that we have delivered really, really successfully for many, many years.'"