BBC Sport extends free broadcast rights for Great North and Manchester Runs
BBC Sport and The Great Run Company have agreed a new deal to keep the iconic Great North Run and Great Manchester Run, free-to-air for audiences across the UK. Audiences can continue to enjoy comprehensive and inspiring coverage of these events on BBC live network TV, iPlayer, and BBC Sport's website and social channels.
The Great Manchester Run will be broadcast across BBC Sport platforms with this year's event taking place this Sunday with more than 35,000 runners coming together to celebrate Manchester's vibrant community spirit. Coverage will air live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 11am.
For the first time, BBC Sport will also offer a dedicated digital stream, capturing the emotional moments as participants cross the finish line. This new feature will allow viewers to follow the progress of individual runners and share in their personal victories.
BBC Morning Live and the Great Run Company have also teamed up to give audiences the opportunity to run a bespoke 5K race as part of the Great Manchester Run. After championing the NHS/BBC Sport Couch to 5K programme since the start of the year, Dr Punam, alongside other members of the Morning Live team will be running the race, for a film to broadcast on Morning Live on Monday 19 May. You can also listen to Dr Punam on the brand new Couch to 5K Podcast on 19 May.
BBC Sport will continue its long-standing coverage of the Great North Run, broadcasting the iconic event from 2025 through 2028. A cornerstone of the North East's sporting calendar, the Great North Run brings powerful stories and unforgettable moments to viewers across the UK. This year's race takes place on Sunday, 7 September. Broadcast details will be confirmed closer to the event.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, says: 'BBC Sport not only tells stories of elite sport, but it's also to inspire people to get involved. We're proud to showcase the Great North Run and the Great Manchester Run. They are more than just races; they are powerful celebrations of determination, resilience and inspirational homegrown stories that bring people together.'
Paul Foster, CEO of the Great Run Company says: 'The BBC's commitment to the Great North Run and Great Manchester Run goes back decades, and over that time almost 2m people have taken part in these events. Our events celebrate people and communities, and the BBC brings their stories to the nation. In partnership with BBC Sport, we will continue to celebrate our participants' achievements, inspiring new runners, and amplifying the positive impacts of running on people's lives.'
BBC Sport's extensive athletics rights portfolio includes the Olympic Games, European Athletics Championships, World Athletics Championships, international Diamond League events and London Marathon Events to 2030.
CF
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
Jack Draper becomes highest Wimbledon seed since Andy Murray but two-time champ ‘refuses to answer questions about him'
JACK DRAPER can shower with the big boys now as he secured a top-four seeding spot at Wimbledon. England's top hope fought off American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 to reach the Queen's semi-finals for the first time. 2 2 The Sutton star is on collision course with Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's final as the Spanish hero eliminated French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4 – his record 16th win in a row. Yet Draper – who ends this week as world No 4 after moving up two spots – will avoid Alcaraz and world No 1 Jannik Sinner until at least the semi-finals on SW19 Centre Court. And he can enjoy the comforts of washing in the exclusive Gentlemen's Members' Dressing Room, one of the perks of being an elite player. Draper – Britain's highest Wimbledon seed since defending champion Andy Murray was top guy in 2017 – said: 'This means the world to me. 'This is a definite huge step for me. I remember last year going into the grass ranked around 40. 'To be inside the top-four come Wimbledon one year around, that's massive progress. 'A testament to my team, the dedication I have had for tennis, the work I have put in on a daily basis. 'You know, I live and breathe the sport and I'm obsessed with progressing. 'I'm obsessed with becoming the player that I want to become all the time and achieve the things I want to. 'The top-16 seeds get, you know, a better changing room. There's some tournaments where it's top-eight seeds, in the Masters 1000s I've had this year. 'Nothing is different apart from the fact that maybe, potentially I won't see Alcaraz or Sinner in the quarters – if I make it there.' Meanwhile, Murray won't be stepping into TV punditry work just yet – as he does not want to annoy Jack Draper with his words. Muzza, 38, hated it when he was playing and former British tennis stars, who had nowhere near his same level of ability or talent, gave him advice. Now retired and at a loose end following the dissolution of his coaching gig with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the Scotsman could earn decent money working for the BBC. But the two-time Wimbledon singles champion is conscious of appearing in front of millions and saying something that current British No 1 Draper, 23, disagrees with. Asked by GQ magazine if he feels the need to stay in the public eye, Murray replied: 'I'm not thinking daily that I need to tweet something or somehow remain relevant. 'That's why I'm much more interested in the idea of coaching because I feel like I'd actually really be helping someone. 'Whereas with punditry, it can be harmful. If I go and work at, let's say Wimbledon, you start getting asked questions about British players like Jack Draper. 'I know when the British ex–tennis players would talk about my tennis and what I should be doing. 'Because you respect them, you listen to what they're saying – but it's not always the same as what your coach is telling you. 'What the pundits are saying could be wrong. They're not right all the time, and when you're young, it's quite conflicting. 'So I'd be more inclined to do coaching, because I think punditry is quite an easy gig. You can just throw stuff out there. "People love it if it's a bit controversial, but you don't actually have any skin in the game.' On an extremely hot day, Draper, 23, will try to out-ace Czech speedster Jiri Lehecka, who crushed the spirit of British star Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2 in the opening quarter-final. Dressed in all-black clothes, the black-haired Scotsman injured his arm returning one 138mph ace. And overall he served TEN double faults as his service game malfunctioned due to nerves and anxiety. Fearnley, 23, moaned: 'He was serving great. I was serving terrible. At this level you can't give away that many free points.' BBC's Wimbledon TV comms team will be revealed on Monday.
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Priority is to replace Nunez' - fans on Reds' next move after Wirtz arrives
We asked for your views on who Liverpool should focus on next after the club record signing of Florian Wirtz, with Milos Kerkez expected to follow in a matter of days after a deal was agreed with Bournemouth. Here are some of your comments:Marwan: The next priority is to replace Darwin Nunez with a world-class striker who can play on the same level as Mohamed Salah and Wirtz, and to find who can succeed Jarell Quansah as a third-choice central After we sign Kerkez, we need to focus on outgoings before we sign anyone else. Nunez is the obvious outgoing. I think Quansah, Harvey Elliott and one of either Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas will go. Once that's done, we should go for a new centre-back and forward - and ideally, one of them should be another homegrown The focus should be on securing a new number nine. I don't think we will go for Alexander Isak, but one of Julian Alvarez or Hugo Ekitike would do for me! Someone will want Nunez, won't they?Marc: There seems to be a lot of speculation around Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa, so it looks like we need another winger. Priorities are another centre-back - or maybe two, depending on departures - a new centre-forward and another We didn't do too badly last year, so why would we want to change so many of the players? We could end up being worse, as there's no guarantee they would gel.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man who sent racist social media message to footballer banned from all games
A man who sent a 'vile and disgusting' racist message to a professional footballer on social media has been banned from attending any matches for three years, police said. Harry Dunbar, 20, from Fareham, Hampshire, sent racial slurs via Instagram to Christopher Wreh, following an FA Cup match between Tamworth and Tottenham Hotspur on January 12. When interviewed by police, Dunbar admitted sending the message because he had lost a bet, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said. Police said Wreh had come on as a substitute for Tamworth in the game. When he later checked his Instagram, he found he had received a message from an account he did not know called 'Dunztagram'. Shocked, he posted a screenshot of the message including the username and then shared it on his social media. 'After an amazing day today, this is the last thing I expected to see when I opened Instagram,' he wrote in the post. 'Nevertheless, thank you for all the support today. Fans were unreal.' This post was viewed more than 1.7 million times, and Wreh was contacted and sent personal messages by others who identified the account holder as Dunbar, who was living in Hampshire at the time. Wreh shared this with the dedicated football officer (DFO) for Tamworth at Staffordshire Police, who then passed this on to the UK Football Policing Unit and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary's dedicated Football Unit. Dunbar, in Whiteley, was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated malicious communications and his phone was seized. Although the Instagram account had been removed, it was identified that he was the owner of the 'Dunztagram' account'. In interview he then admitted sending the message because he had lost a bet. Dunbar was sentenced at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where he was handed a three-year football banning order, a 12-month community order of 200 hours unpaid work, and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Superintendent Adrian Hall, head of the operations unit for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, said: 'Just because Christopher Wreh was a footballer, Dunbar decided he had the right to send him a tirade of racist insults. 'Nobody should ever be subjected to such vile and disgusting abuse, regardless of what they do for a living. 'I am absolutely appalled by the racist language used by Dunbar, but immensely thankful to Christopher Wreh for his bravery in standing up to this horrible abuse and assisting the police investigation. 'Thanks to Christopher, this man will not have the privilege of going to football matches and that is an important result from this case, as racism doesn't belong in football stadiums or anywhere else in society.' The Football Banning Order means Dunbar, of John Bunyan Close, is banned from every football ground in the country and unable to travel abroad when international games are happening for a period of three years.
