Department of the BBC | |
Industry | Media |
Genre | Sport |
Founded | 1988 Olympics and separate division of the BBC in 2000 |
Headquarters |
MediaCityUK, Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom |
Area served
|
Specific services for the United Kingdom and rest of world |
Key people
|
Jak Turnbull (Director) |
Services | Television broadcasts Radio broadcasts Online presence |
Owner | BBC |
Website | www |
BBC Sport is a department of the BBC North division providing national sports coverage for BBC Television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analysis programmes such as Match of the Day, Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Today at Wimbledon and previously Grandstand. Results, analysis and coverage is also added to the BBC Sport Website and through the BBC Red Button interactive television service.
The BBC has broadcast sport for several decades under individual programme names and coverage titles. Grandstand was one of the more notable Sport programmes, broadcasting sport since the programmes launch in 1958. The BBC first began to brand sport coverage as 'BBC Sport' in 1988 for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, by introducing the programme with a short animation of a globe circumnavigated by four coloured rings. This practice continued throughout the next two decades. Upon the launch of the BBC News website in 1997, sport was included in the BBC's online presence for the first time.
In May 2007, the BBC Trust approved plans for several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to be moved to a new development in Salford. The new development at MediaCityUK marks a major decentralisation of BBC departments from London and a key investment in the north of England where BBC spending in the region had previously been low. The department moved into Quay House, MediaCityUK gradually in late 2011 and early 2012 with the first Sports bulletins being broadcast from the new BBC Sport Centre on 5 March 2012.
The BBC shares the rights to the FIFA World Cup with ITV. A near equal split of group stage and knockout stage games are shown, including a semi final and the final is shown on both networks.