Boat Race returns to BBC

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race will return to the television screens of BBC Sport next year after The Boat Race Company Limited, organisers of the annual contest on the tidal Thames, announced a new 5-year agreement with the British Broadcasting Corporation today.

The agreement revives a 66-year association that began in 1938 and ensures that the famous Race, sponsored by Xchanging, is screened on a terrestrial domestic channel between 2010 and 2014 – including the year of the London Olympic Games in 2012.

The new arrangement also covers national radio and online coverage through the popular BBC networks, plus overseas exposure.

Commenting on the new agreement, Giles Vardey, Chairman of BRCL said: “We are extremely pleased to have secured a long-term agreement with the BBC, which we expect will mean even greater profile for the Race across the Corporation’s multi-media networks.

“The Boat Race, with its remarkable 180-year history, remains one of Britain’s top five televised live sports events – alongside events like the FA Cup Final and the Men’s singles final at Wimbledon – as well as being screened annually in 113 countries around the world,” he added.

The original connection between The Boat Race and the BBC dates back to 1927 when the first radio broadcast took place, four years before the legendary John Snagge made the first of his famous commentaries.

The 2010 Boat Race will be staged on Easter Saturday, 3 April at 16:30 GMT.