BBC at risk of losing F1 radio rights to talkSPORT after 32 years

After holding an exclusive deal for the last 32 years, the BBC could lose its radio rights to Formula 1 in the near future.

This comes off the back of a report from The Telegraph, stating that talkSPORT is exploring the possibility of acquiring the rights to Formula 1, ending the BBC’s radio coverage of the sport, which it has held since 1994.

talkSPORT has become renowned for its coverage of football, but the head of the company, Liam Fisher, has admitted that it would be beneficial to expand its portfolio, whilst continuing to focus on football.

Fisher said, "Football still is our bread and butter, but we’ve definitely looked to extend it on the basic understanding that, even if football is your first, second, and third sport, you are probably into something else as well.

"So our strategy has been to pick off the events where we believe there is an audience potential that sits well with what we’re providing.

“We’ll cherry-pick what we think are the key sports and events that we think you might be interested in."

When discussing the reasons behind talkSPORT’s interest in acquiring the rights to Formula 1, Fisher said, "It’s another brilliant set of rights. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t actively exploring whether there’s an opportunity.

“We think the audience goes quite well with the talkSPORT audience. We think there’s an opportunity for us to deliver really good amplification for it as well."

Fisher also highlighted talkSPORT’s ability to offer "always-on" coverage throughout the week beyond just race weekends, arguing that commercial radio can drive continuous engagement across its daily programming schedule.

The challenge comes at a time when the BBC is undergoing broader cost-cutting initiatives as part of sweeping budget savings across the public broadcaster.

Losing Formula 1 would follow the BBC relinquishing the rights to several major sporting events in recent years, including the Boat Race, bowls, the Commonwealth Games athletics, and Rugby Super League.