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Timeline of BBC Sport facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Have you ever wondered how the BBC started showing sports on TV? This is a timeline of how BBC Sport grew over the years, bringing you exciting games and events from around the world!

The 1930s: BBC Sport Begins

  • 1936
    • 2 November – In 1936, the BBC launched the world's first regular high-quality TV service. It started from a place called Alexandra Palace.
  • 1937
  • 1938
    • 2 April – The famous Boat Race was shown by the BBC for the first time.
    • 30 April – The BBC also showed the FA Cup football match on TV for the first time.
  • 1939
    • 1 September – The BBC TV service stopped because World War II was about to begin.

The 1940s: TV Returns After the War

  • 1940 to 1945
    • No sports events were shown because TV was off during World War II.
  • 1946
    • 7 June – BBC Television started broadcasting again.
  • 1947
  • 1948
    • 1 May – The BBC showed the Rugby League Challenge Cup final for the first time. They didn't show it again until 1952, but then started showing it every year from 1958.
    • 29 July-14 August – The London Olympic Games were on TV. The BBC showed a lot of live coverage.
  • 1949
    • No events.

The 1950s: New Sports and Shows

  • 1950
    • No events.
  • 1951
    • The BBC showed horse racing for the first time. They broadcast races from Ascot.
  • 1952
    • No events.
  • 1953
    • No events.
  • 1954
    • 8 April – The first episode of Sportsview was shown.
    • 16 June - 4 July – The FIFA World Cup was shown by the BBC for the first time. Some matches were live.
    • 30 December – The first ever BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was given out.
  • 1955
    • 23 April – The 1955 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Clyde was the first Scottish final shown live on TV.
    • The BBC showed golf's Open Championship for the first time.
  • 1956
    • The BBC showed racing's Glorious Goodwood for the first time.
  • 1957
    • No events.
  • 1958
    • 21 May – The first ever BBC Sportsview Trophy took place. This brought greyhound racing to TV. The BBC showed this event every year until 1997.
    • 10 October – The first episode of Grandstand was shown. This was a Saturday afternoon TV show that covered many different sports.
  • 1959
    • No events.

The 1960s: Colour TV and New Programmes

  • 1960
    • 26 March – The BBC showed live coverage of The Grand National for the first time.
    • 1 June – Both ITV and the BBC showed The Derby. This was a "protected event" meaning no channel could show it by itself.
    • 25 August – The BBC showed live coverage of an Olympic Games from outside the UK for the first time.
  • 1961
    • No events.
  • 1962
    • No events.
  • 1963
    • No events.
  • 1964
    • 23 June – Wimbledon: Match of the Day was shown for the first time. It featured highlights of the best match of the day.
    • 22 August – The first episode of Match of the Day was broadcast. It was shown on the new BBC2 channel.
  • 1965
    • 2 May – Sunday Cricket was shown for the first time. This programme showed a full cricket match on BBC2.
    • 6 October – The first BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was shown. This brought rugby league to TV regularly. The competition was made just for TV.
  • 1966
  • 1967
    • 1 July – Regular colour television started on BBC2. The first event shown in colour was the Wimbledon tennis championships.
  • 1968
    • 12 September – Sportsnight replaced Sportsview.
  • 1969
    • 23 June – The BBC became the only channel to show the Wimbledon Championships again. Since 1955, the BBC had shared coverage with ITV.
    • 23 July – The Snooker tournament Pot Black started on BBC2. It was used to show off the new colour TV.

The 1970s: More Sports on Screen

  • 1970
    • No events.
  • 1971
    • No events.
  • 1972
    • No events.
  • 1973
    • Sportsnight moved from Thursdays to Wednesdays.
    • The BBC showed the World Snooker Championship for the first time, but only a little bit.
  • 1974
    • August – The lunchtime preview show Football Focus started. It was part of Grandstand.
    • The BBC showed darts for the first time. They covered that year's British Open.
  • 1975
    • 9 August – Sportscene was shown for the first time. It mainly showed highlights of Scottish football and other sports.
    • 16 August – The first Scoreboard was shown on BBC1 Scotland. It was a special part of Grandstand for Scottish football news.
  • 1976
    • No events.
  • 1977
    • 1 June – The BBC showed The Derby for the first time in three years.
  • 1978
    • Ski Sunday was shown for the first time. This brought skiing to UK TV outside of the Winter Olympic Games.
    • 6–10 February – The BBC showed live coverage of the first ever BDO World Darts Championship.
    • 17-29 April – The BBC showed daily coverage of the World Snooker Championship for the first time.
    • 7 May – The first episode of Grand Prix was shown. The BBC provided highlights of the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix.
    • London Weekend Television tried to get all league football coverage for ITV. The BBC had to let ITV take over the Saturday night slot every other season, starting in 1980.
  • 1979
    • 6 June – The BBC showed The Derby for the last time until 2000.
    • June – The BBC showed the AEGON Championships tennis tournament for the first time.
    • 18 December – The final BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was shown. The programme ended because of money cuts at the BBC.

The 1980s: Big Changes and New Events

  • 1980
    • The BBC showed daily live coverage of the World Snooker Championship for the first time.
    • Match of the Day moved to Sunday afternoons for some seasons.
  • 1981
    • 29 March – The BBC covered the first London Marathon. They didn't show it live and in full until 1984.
    • 17 May – Sunday Grandstand started. It was shown during the summer on BBC2.
    • 7 June – The BBC showed coverage of the French Open tennis for the first time. It was only for the finals weekend.
    • The BBC showed more darts, including the first British Professional Championship. They stopped showing most darts in 1988.
  • 1982
    • 3–9 October – As part of its 1982 Commonwealth Games coverage, the BBC had a two-hour morning show called Breakfast with Brisbane.
  • 1983
    • 28 October – The BBC showed the first of five live football matches from the 1983-84 season. This was part of a new deal with ITV to show live league football.
  • 1984
    • 28 July–12 August – BBC Television showed the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Because the Games were in Los Angeles, the BBC stayed on air late to show live events. The BBC was the only channel showing it.
  • 1985
    • ITV took over from the BBC for showing UK athletics meetings.
  • 1986
    • 12–13 April – The BBC showed live coverage of The Masters golf event for the first time. They showed the final two rounds.
    • Autumn – The BBC started regional versions of Rugby Special. This meant each country could see more games from their area.
    • 19 November – A new Wednesday afternoon sports show, Sports Afternoon, started on BBC2.
  • 1987
    • 22 May-20 June – The BBC showed mostly recorded coverage of the first Rugby World Cup. This was the only time the BBC has shown this competition.
    • 9 October – Sports Afternoon was renamed Sport on Friday. It moved to Fridays and was longer.
  • 1988
    • The BBC showed a live top-division football match for the last time. All coverage of the top division moved to ITV. So, Match of the Day stopped being a weekly show.
    • Summer – The BBC said it would stop showing all darts except the World Championships.
    • 17 September – The BBC started using a BBC Sport logo at the start of all sports coverage. This was first seen for the 1988 Olympic Games. This was also the first time the BBC showed the Olympics live and in full, with over 12 hours of live coverage each day.
    • The BBC became the only channel to show the FA Cup. Match of the Day was renamed Match of the Day: The Road to Wembley and only shown on Cup weekends.
  • 1989

The 1990s: Premier League and Lost Rights

  • 1990
    • 24 January–3 February – The BBC showed the 1990 Commonwealth Games. BBC1 stayed on air all night for live coverage. This was the first time BBC1 showed full live coverage of an overseas Commonwealth Games.
  • 1991
    • No events.
  • 1992
    • 28 July-9 August – The BBC became the only main TV channel to show the Summer Olympic Games again. They showed live coverage of the 1992 Olympics from morning until late evening.
    • 15 August – The start of the Premier League brought Match of the Day back weekly. The BBC got the highlights package for the new league.
  • 1993
    • The BBC showed more daily live coverage of Wimbledon, running until 8.30pm each night.
    • 24–26 September – The BBC showed live coverage of golf's Ryder Cup for the last time. From 1995, it moved to Sky Sports.
    • Autumn – The BBC started showing a score bug (a digital score on screen). It was first used for football and rugby, then other sports.
  • 1994
    • 15–17 March – The BBC showed The Cheltenham Festival for the last time.
    • 18 May – The BBC showed the 1994 European Cup Final. This ended the BBC's long history with football's top European club tournament.
    • 17 June–17 July – The BBC and ITV only showed live coverage of some group stage matches from the 1994 World Cup. Only the knockout stages were shown live and in full.
    • 18–28 August – The BBC showed coverage of the 1994 Commonwealth Games from Victoria, Canada. Only athletics was live; other sports were highlights the next day.
    • 30 October – Sportscene Rugby Special started on BBC Scotland for Scottish rugby union.
  • 1995
    • 15 May – The BBC launched a monthly cricket magazine show called Gower's Cricket Monthly.
    • 9 July – For the first time, the BBC showed live coverage of the men's singles final on BBC1. It used to be on BBC2.
    • 10 September – BBC Wales launched a new rugby union programme, Scrum V. It replaced Rugby Special Wales.
  • 1996
    • The BBC lost the rights to show the England national rugby union team matches to Sky Sports.
    • 13 October – The final episode of Grand Prix was shown. The programme returned in 2009.
  • 1997
    • March – ITV took over showing Formula One motor racing. ITV also got the FA Cup and England International football highlights from the BBC.
    • 21 March – The final episode of Sport on Friday was shown.
    • 9 April – The BBC showed greyhound racing's TV Trophy for the last time.
    • 14 May – After almost 30 years, the final episode of Sportsnight was shown on BBC1.
  • 1998
    • 25 January – Sunday Grandstand became a year-round programme.
    • February – For the first time, the BBC did not show England's matches in the Five Nations Championships. Sky Sports showed them live, and ITV showed highlights.
    • 22 September – The final episode of Gower's Cricket Monthly was shown. The BBC lost the rights to show English cricket.
  • 1999
    • 2 April – The BBC started showing full live coverage of Britain's matches in the Davis Cup tennis tournament.
    • May – Domestic athletics returned to the BBC after more than ten years.
    • 20 June – The BBC showed live cricket for the last time for over 20 years. It was the 1999 Cricket World Cup Final. This ended sixty years of continuous cricket coverage on the BBC.

The 2000s: Digital Era and New Rights Deals

  • 2000
    • 20 May – The BBC did not show Grandstand this week because ITV was showing the FA Cup Final. This was the first time Grandstand wasn't shown on a Saturday afternoon since 1958.
    • 15 June – ITV won the rights to the football's Premier League highlights package from the BBC for £183 million.
    • 18 November – The final episode of Sportscene Rugby Union was shown. The BBC lost the rights to Scottish rugby to ITV.
    • BBC Sport Online launched, bringing sports news and content to the internet.
  • 2001
    • 22 April – The BBC started showing professional boxing again. They showed the Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman fight.
    • 9 June – For the first time since 1979, the BBC showed The Derby.
    • 11 August – Football Focus and Final Score became their own programmes. Before, they were parts of Grandstand.
    • September – The rights to the FA Cup and the England football team returned to the BBC.
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
    • May – BBC Scotland stopped showing live Scottish Premier League matches.
    • 14 August – The BBC launched Score Interactive, an afternoon-long football scores service on the BBC Red Button.
    • 15 August – Match of the Day 2 launched on BBC Two to show highlights of Sunday Premier League matches.
    • 26 November – The BBC lost the rights to The Boat Race to ITV.
  • 2005
    • 4 March – The BBC ended its short return to live professional boxing.
    • After almost 40 years, Rugby Special ended.
  • 2006
    • 1–5 August – The BBC showed Glorious Goodwood horse racing for the last time.
    • The BBC showed cricket for the first time in over seven years. It was highlights of the 2006-07 Ashes series.
  • 2007
    • The BBC showed coverage of the NFL for the first time.
    • 28 January – The final episode of Grandstand was shown after almost 49 years.
    • 13 March-28 April – The BBC showed highlights of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
    • May – The BBC Trust approved plans to move several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to Salford.
  • 2008
    • The BBC lost the rights to show FA Cup and England football team matches to ITV.
    • 6–17 September – The BBC showed the Summer Paralympic Games for the final time. From 2012, the event moved to Channel 4.
  • 2009
    • 29 March – Grand Prix returned to the BBC after twelve seasons on ITV.
    • Live coverage of the Football League returned to main British TV. The BBC got ten live Championship games per season.
    • December – The BBC showed tennis' end-of-year ATP Finals for the first time.

The 2010s: More Online and New Sports

  • 2010
    • 18 January – The BBC launched a regional football show called Late Kick Off.
    • 3 April – The BBC became the broadcaster of The Boat Race again.
  • 2011
    • 8 January – The BBC launched a children's football magazine show Match of the Day Kickabout.
    • 28 October – The BBC lost the rights to tennis' French Open to ITV.
    • The BBC also lost the rights to the World Athletics Championships to Channel 4. However, the BBC won back the rights for the 2013 event.
  • 2012
    • 5 March – BBC Sport started broadcasting from MediaCityUK in Salford.
    • 27 July-12 August – The 2012 Summer Olympics took place. BBC One was almost entirely dedicated to live coverage. Viewers could also watch every sport live online for the first time. However, the BBC did not show the 2012 Paralympic Games, which were on Channel 4.
    • August – Match of the Day 2 moved to BBC One.
    • 27 December – BBC Sport showed horse racing for the final time.
    • The BBC lost the rights to live coverage of the Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship golf to Sky Sports.
  • 2013
  • 2014
    • After five years without any FA Cup coverage, the BBC got the rights to the FA Cup back. They shared it with BT Sport.
  • 2015
    • 25 May – The Football League Show and Late Kick Off ended. The BBC lost the rights to Football League highlights to Channel 5.
    • June – The BBC's Wimbledon Tennis Championships highlights show changed to Wimbledon 2day.
    • July – The BBC and ITV worked together to keep the Six Nations Championship on free-to-air TV. They would share coverage from 2017.
    • 17–20 July – After 60 years, the BBC showed live coverage of The Open Championship golf for the final time. Live coverage moved to Sky Sports.
    • 21 December – Due to budget cuts, the BBC decided to end its coverage of Grand Prix. The rights moved to Channel 4.
  • 2016
    • 2–10 January – The BBC showed the BDO World Darts Championship for the final time.
    • February – The British Basketball League signed a two-year deal with the BBC. Games were mostly shown on the BBC Sport website.
    • 28–31 July – The BBC broadcast live coverage of the Women's British Open golf for the final time.
    • 25 August – The BBC launched a new Premier League magazine show called The Premier League Show.
  • 2017
    • February – The BBC and ITV began a five-year contract to share broadcasting of the Six Nations Championship.
    • September – The BBC started showing regular live coverage of the FA Women's Super League.
    • 3 November – The BBC announced deals to bring 1,000 extra hours of live sports coverage each year. This included more FA Cup, Wimbledon, women's football, and Olympic sports.
  • 2018
    • The BBC's coverage of the PRO14 Rugby ended.
    • June – The BBC showed all its matches from the 2018 World Cup in 4K UHD and VR for some viewers. This was the first BBC Sport broadcast in 4K HD.
    • 2–12 August – The BBC showed live coverage of the first ever European Championships (multi-sport event).
    • 15 December – The BBC started its coverage of Formula E racing.
  • 2019
    • 12–13 April – The BBC showed live coverage of The Masters golf event for the final time. This ended all live golf coverage on the BBC.
    • 9 May – The final episode of The Premier League Show was broadcast.
    • 26 October-16 November – BBC Sport showed live coverage of rugby league's British Lions tour to New Zealand.
    • November – The BBC lost the rights to Britain's Davis Cup tennis matches to Eurosport.

The 2020s: Live Football Returns and More

  • 2020
    • June – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the 2019–20 Premier League showed all remaining matches on British TV. Four matches were shown on the BBC. This was the first time in 32 years that the BBC showed live top-flight English football.
    • July – Regular coverage of cricket returned to the BBC.
    • 19 August – The BBC showed the World Seniors Snooker Championship for the first time.
    • 20 August – The BBC showed live cricket for the first time in over 21 years.
    • 8 September – More Premier League games were shown on TV because fans couldn't be in stadiums. The BBC showed one additional game in December.
  • 2021
    • January – BBC Sport showed South American football for the first time. It broadcast the semi-finals and final of the 2020 Copa Libertadores.
    • 3–24 April – The BBC was the only channel to show the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
    • 13 May – The Premier League announced that the BBC Sport's contract was renewed.
    • 23 May – Live coverage of the Diamond League athletics series returned to the BBC.
    • 13 June–10 July – The BBC showed the 2021 Copa America. This was the first time the tournament was shown on free-to-air TV.
  • 2022
    • 9 January – 6 February – The BBC shared coverage of the African Cup of Nations with Sky Sports. The BBC showed two quarter-finals, both semi-finals, and the final live.
    • 4 June – The BBC broadcast live professional boxing for the first time since 2005.
    • 27 June – For the first time since 1983, the BBC scheduled live evening coverage of Wimbledon on BBC One.
    • 15 October–19 November – The BBC broadcast live coverage of all 61 games from the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair tournaments of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
    • 25 October – The BBC announced a five-year deal to broadcast The All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals.
  • 2023
    • 29 March – The BBC showed the first of nine basketball games from the final stages of the 2022–23 NBA season.

See also

  • Timeline of ITV Sport
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