- The BBC does not have the rights for the European Athletics Championships
- Great Britain will have 72 athletes in Rome next week, but it may not be shown
The BBC are yet to secure the rights to broadcast the European Athletics Championships with less than a week to go until the event gets underway in Rome.
The biennial continental meeting has traditionally been shown on the Beeb, which is also the home of the Olympics, World Championships, UK Championships and Diamond League.
However, Mail Sport understands the BBC are still locked in negotiations with European Championships rights holders, the European Broadcasting Union, ahead of the start of the action on Friday June 7.
Sources remain hopeful an 11th-hour deal can be struck to avoid a TV blackout of one of athletics’ flagship events.
But if the BBC cannot come to an agreement with the EBU, it would be a major blow to the sport in this country with just two months to go until the Paris Olympics.
The BBC does not yet have the rights to the European Athletics Championships in Rome next week, with 72 Great British athletes competing including Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Keely Hodgkinson also competes, but there are fears the event may be blacked out in the UK
Great Britain have selected a strong squad of 72 athletes for the European Championships and have high hopes of securing multiple medals.
Current world medallists Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Keely Hodgkinson, Zharnel Hughes and Matthew Hudson-Smith will all be in action.
Dina Asher-Smith and Eilish McColgan are among the other household names competing in Italy.
The BBC have a packed summer schedule of sport, with Euro 2024, Wimbledon and the Olympics all on their channels. But the European Championships finish two days before the first match of the Euros.
Even if the Beeb manages secure a late deal to show the athletics, it now seems likely they would have to host the event from a studio in Salford rather than the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
It is a worrying development at a time when cash-strapped UK Athletics have been desperately trying to raise the profile of the sport and its stars.
Even if the Beeb secures a late deal, it is likely they would host coverage from a Salford studio
They have commissioned a new documentary following Britain’s best Olympic and Paralympic athletes, which will air on Channel 4 ahead of Paris 2024 after the BBC turned it down.
When approached by Mail Sport, the BBC said they do not comment on sports rights negotiations.
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