Timeline of sport on Channel 4 facts for kids

Channel 4 has been a big part of sports on TV in the UK for many years. When it launched, it aimed to show sports that weren't usually on ITV or the BBC. This timeline shows some of the most important moments in Channel 4's sports history, from American football to the Paralympics.

Channel 4's Early Sports Coverage (1980s)

Starting with New Sports (1982)

• 1982
  • On November 2, Channel 4 began broadcasting. Its goal was to show sports that other channels, like ITV and the BBC, didn't usually cover.
  • Just five days later, on November 7, Channel 4 showed American football for the first time. This started a long connection between the channel and the sport.
  • On November 8, Channel 4 broadcast its first live sport. It showed a match from the National Basketball League, with highlights of the first half and live action from the second.

Golf, Athletics, and Horse Racing (1983-1984)

• 1983
  • From June 18-19, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the final rounds of the US Open Golf Championship. Later that summer, it also aired the final rounds of the US PGA Championship. Channel 4 continued to cover these events in 1984.
  • From August 7-14, Channel 4 worked with ITV to broadcast live coverage of the very first World Athletics Championships from Helsinki, Finland.

• 1984
  • On March 22, horse racing was shown on Channel 4 for the first time. This led to the creation of Channel 4 Racing, a show dedicated to the sport.

Changes and Special Events (1985-1988)

• 1985
  • ITV took over showing UK athletics events. Channel 4 sometimes showed parts of these, especially for midweek European meetings.
  • On October 5, weekend horse racing moved to Channel 4. This happened as ITV was ending its World of Sport programme.
  • On December 4, a unique football match was shown on Channel 4. It was Australia versus Scotland in a 1986 Football World Cup Qualifier. This was because of a time clash with another channel.

• 1987
  • From August 28 to September 6, Channel 4, along with ITV, showed the World Athletics Championships. It would be many years, until 2011, before this event was seen on Channel 4 again.

• 1988
  • In September, Channel 4 broadcast coverage of the 1988 US Open (tennis).
  • From September 17 to October 2, Channel 4 showed the Olympic Games for the only time. It covered the overnight and breakfast parts of the 1988 Olympic Games, while ITV showed the daytime coverage.

Sports in the Nineties (1990s)

Italian Football and Cheltenham (1992-1995)

• 1992
  • On September 6, the first episode of Football Italia aired. This was part of Channel 4's agreement to show Serie A, Italy's top football league. The channel continued to show Italian football for the next ten years.

• 1995
  • In March, Channel 4 started showing the Cheltenham Festival. This happened after Channel 4 gained the rights to race meetings at Cheltenham.

New Sports Shows and Athletics (1997)

• 1997
  • In January, Channel 4 launched Under the Moon, a weekly overnight sports show. It featured sports discussions and American sports action and ran for two years.
  • Channel 4 also took over showing domestic athletics events for two seasons. Before this, Channel 4 had shown athletics in the 1980s, working with ITV.

American Football Ends and Cricket Begins (1998-1999)

• 1998
  • On January 25, Channel 4's coverage of American Football ended with Super Bowl XXXII. This finished a connection with the sport that had been there since the channel's very first week.
  • On February 28, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations Final. This was the first time this football tournament had been shown in the UK.

• 1999
  • On July 1, Channel 4 began broadcasting cricket. The channel had surprisingly won the rights from the BBC the year before.

Sports in the 2000s

Horse Racing Changes and Rally (2000-2003)

• 2000
  • On June 10, Channel 4 showed The Derby for the last time for over a decade. The contract for Epsom races moved to the BBC. Channel 4 had shown the event since 1986. It would return to the channel in 2013 for three more years.

• 2001
  • In July, Channel 4 showed the Tour de France for the last time, having broadcast the event since the channel started.

• 2002
  • On January 19, Channel 4 started showing highlights from the World Rally Championship. They had secured the rights from the BBC.
  • On May 1, At The Races launched. Channel 4 was one of the partners involved in this new racing channel.
  • Channel 4 decided to stop showing Serie A football after a decade.

• 2003
  • On November 9, Channel 4's coverage of the World Rally Championship ended after two years. The final broadcast was live coverage of the last stage from Wales Rally GB.

Cricket Pause and Goodwood (2005-2007)

• 2005
  • In September, cricket was shown on Channel 4 for the final time until 2019.

• 2007
  • In August, Channel 4 started showing Glorious Goodwood horse racing for the first time. This happened after Channel 4 gained the rights to race meetings at Goodwood.

Sports in the 2010s

American Football Returns and Paralympics (2010-2012)

• 2010
  • In September, American Football returned to Channel 4 after more than ten years. The channel began broadcasting the Sunday Night Football match.

• 2011
  • From August 27 to September 4, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. However, Channel 4 decided to focus on Paralympic Sports and passed on the rights for the 2013 event to the BBC, even though they had bought them.

• 2012
  • From August 29 to September 9, Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. This was the first time the event was shown in full. Channel 4 broadcast over 150 hours on its main channel and sister channel More4.

Horse Racing, Para Athletics, and NFL (2013-2015)

• 2013
  • On January 1, Channel 4 became the only free-to-air TV home for all horse racing in the UK. The BBC had shown less horse racing over the years, with more events moving to Channel 4. Because of this, races like The Grand National were shown by Channel 4 for the first time.
  • From July 20-28, the World Para Athletics Championships were shown on UK television for the first time. Channel 4's sister channel More4 broadcast over five hours of live coverage daily. More4 also showed the 2015 Championships.
  • On September 8, Channel 4's American Football coverage grew. They signed a new two-year deal with the NFL. This deal brought the Super Bowl back to Channel 4, 16 years after it was last shown.

• 2014
  • From March 7-16, Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2014 Winter Paralympics. This was the first time the Winter Paralympic Games had ever been seen on British television.

• 2015
  • On January 7, Channel 4's two-year return to broadcasting the NFL ended after showing live coverage of Super Bowl XLIX.

Formula One, Paralympics, and Darts (2016-2017)

• 2016
  • On March 18, Channel 4 showed Formula One motor racing for the first time. This happened after the BBC ended its deal with Formula One early. For the next three seasons, Channel 4 showed about half of the races live. The coverage was called Channel 4 F1. It broadcast ten selected races live without adverts and showed highlights of every race, including the British Grand Prix and the final race weekend.
  • From September 7-18, Channel 4 continued its coverage of Paralympic Sports by showing live coverage of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
  • On December 27, Channel 4 Racing ended after more than 32 years. All free-to-air TV coverage of horse racing then moved to ITV.

• 2017
  • On January 7, Channel 4 broadcast darts for the first time. It showed live coverage of the 2017 BDO World Darts Championship. Channel 4 also showed the 2018 event.
  • From July 14-23, Channel 4 broadcast full live coverage of the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.

Rugby Union and Formula One Changes (2018-2019)

• 2018
  • From March 9-18, Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2018 Winter Paralympics. It provided over 100 hours of TV coverage on Channel 4 and 4seven, more than double the amount from the 2014 Games.
  • On June 2, Channel 4 showed rugby union for the first time. It broadcast live coverage of Wales' summer tour.
  • In October, Channel 4 showed more rugby union. It began showing one match from each round of the Heineken Cup. It also replaced Sky Sports as the broadcaster for Ireland's Autumn internationals. It broadcast this tournament for four seasons, ending after the 2022 competition.

• 2019
  • On March 17, Sky Sports became the only broadcaster for all Formula One races, except for the British Grand Prix, which continued to be shown on Channel 4. Channel 4 also broadcast highlights of all other races.
  • On July 14, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final. This was the first time live cricket had been on free-to-air TV since 2005. Channel 4 had the rights to show highlights of the tournament. Sky Sports had the live rights but agreed to make the final available for free if England reached it.

Sports in the 2020s

Classic Football and Rugby (2020-2021)

• 2020
  • On June 7, Channel 4 broadcast the entire 1966 FIFA World Cup Final between England and West Germany. Called Final Replay '66, special permission was given by FIFA to show the match to help the National Emergencies Trust's Coronavirus Appeal.
  • On November 13, Channel 4 showed live and recorded coverage of rugby union's Autumn Nations Cup. Channel 4 showed live coverage of Ireland's matches and highlights of all other games.

• 2021
  • On February 5, Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of a test match for the first time in over 15 years. It began showing England's test series against India. However, Channel 4's coverage did not include the one-day and T20 international matches, which were shown on Sky Sports.
  • In July, Channel 4 broadcast highlights of the three test matches of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. It also aired live action from England's rugby union matches against the USA and Canada.
  • On July 10, following up on Final Replay '66, Channel 4 broadcast the entire 1966 FIFA World Cup Final in colour for the very first time.
  • On September 11, Channel 4 made a last-minute deal with Amazon Prime to show live coverage of the final of the 2021 US Open – Women's Singles. This happened after Britain's Emma Raducanu reached the final. This was the first time tennis had been shown on Channel 4 since the late 1980s.
  • On December 11, Channel 4 worked with Sky Sports F1 to broadcast the final race of the season, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, making it available to everyone in the UK.

Formula E, Club World Cup, and Super League (2022)

• 2022
  • On January 29, Channel 4 broadcast Formula E for the first time with round 2 of the 2022 Diriyah ePrix. Channel 4 had signed a multi-year broadcast agreement just 8 days before this event.
  • On February 9, Channel 4 broadcast Chelsea's matches in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. This was the first time Channel 4 had broadcast this event.
  • On February 12, live Super League matches were broadcast on free-to-air television for the first time. Channel 4 showed the first of ten matches each season for the next two years. This was the first time in its 40-year history that Channel 4 had broadcast rugby league.
  • On June 4, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the England football team for the first time. This was part of a two-year deal to broadcast England's matches in the UEFA Nations League, European Qualifiers, and International Friendlies.
  • On November 13, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the final of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where England played Pakistan. Sky Sports had shown the rest of the tournament.

European Under-21 Championship (2023)

• 2023
  • On July 8, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final between England and Spain.