The BBC plans to broadcast 1,000 extra hours of live sport a year online as it attempts to “reinvent free-to-air sports broadcasting”.
More than 30 additional sports or sporting events – including Women’s Super League football, the British Basketball League, and wheelchair tennis – will be streamed live via iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
There will also be more coverage of early rounds of the FA Cup.
“We’re giving people more of what they love by working in partnership with the sports industry and making the most of digital technology,” said BBC Director General Tony Hall.
“This shows how we’re reinventing the BBC for a new generation.”
“We’ve seen the nation get behind by a whole host of sports in recent years, especially at major events,” added BBC Head of Sport Barbara Slater.
“We want to use BBC Sport’s live streaming service to showcase more of those moments that inspire people to take part.”
The BBC will have live coverage in 2018 of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as well as the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the FA Cup and the Wimbledon Championships.
The advent and massive adoption of streaming among the general public on phones and other devices has dramatically shifted the idea of content and sport with it’s easy to understand narrative and existing infrastructure has proven to be a real winner for broadcasters looking to maintain their relevance for new more fractured audiences.
RTÉ Sport and TG4 have both shown a willingness to reach further than traditional linear TV scheduling with sport and this is likely to be a continuing trend over the coming months and years.
Branded content ‘behind the scenes’ and in support of live material is also reaching significant audiences with over 14 million engagements for AIB on their GAA coverage to date in 2017.
