The BBC will no longer have the rights to broadcast any part of the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 76 years.
In 2025, it was revealed that TNT Sports had won the rights to show live coverage of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, and the broadcaster will now not be able to show highlights of the sporting event either.
Instead, TNT Sports has partnered up with Channel 5 to broadcast the highlights on free-to-air TV.
Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer at 5, said: “The Commonwealth Games is one of the standout events in a fantastic summer of sport this year, and here at 5 we’re delighted to be working with TNT Sports to bring the biggest sports stars - from Adam Peaty to Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith - to a free-to-air audience in the UK.
The BBC losing full rights to the Commonwealth Games feels wrong. Some events just belong on free TV. Not everything should need a subscription.
— #HYFR (@bxns_hyfr) June 5, 2026
"We’ll be bringing extended highlights of all the action from Glasgow every day, live and streaming on 5 as part of a growing line up of live sport.”
This is the first time since 1950 that the BBC will have no broadcast rights for the event.
While the Commonwealth Games remain protected under UK broadcasting regulations, requiring some level of free-to-air availability, live rights can still be acquired by subscription broadcasters, provided highlights or secondary coverage remain accessible to the public.
TNT Sports will offer around 600 hours of blanket live coverage of the 11 days of competition.
After losing the live Commonwealth Games rights to TNT in December, a BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC has been proud to broadcast the Commonwealth Games over many years, but our bid was unable to match the financial offer from the market.
"We wish them every success for next year.”
The Glasgow Commonwealth Games are the first to be held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III.
The event will welcome 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories to Britain.
Newsquest has contacted the BBC for comment.
What sporting events does the BBC have the rights to?
The BBC has recently bought live rights to Bundesliga football, the Women’s Champions League and the home nations’ World Cup qualifiers.
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Alongside that, it has retained its existing coverage of Six Nations rugby and highlights of the men’s Champions League.
It will also share live broadcast rights of the forthcoming football World Cup with ITV and of Wimbledon with TNT Sports, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
However, it did lose coverage of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race to Channel 4.
How do you feel about the BBC losing all coverage of the Commonwealth Games? Let us know in the comments.
