Showing posts with label BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

BBC Olympics Coverage New Discovery


The BBC will broadcast the next five Olympics - Summer and Winter - on its television, radio and online platforms.

It had already secured the rights for the 2016, 2018 and 2020 Games.

Now an "innovative" partnership with Discovery Communications ensures the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing and the Summer Games two years later will also be broadcast by the corporation.

The announcement ensures the BBC will continue to be the free-to-air home of the Olympics until 2024.

"The Olympic Games is one of the nation's most treasured sporting events," said Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport.

"This is an extensive package of rights that ensures we can offer the best of the Games, across TV, radio, online and digital, maximising the reach and impact of the BBC.

"This ground-breaking partnership also shows how the BBC can collaborate and work with others to continue to bring the very best in sport to licence fee payers."

The next four Olympics take place in Rio de Janeiro (2016), Pyeongchang (2018), Tokyo (2020) and Beijing (2022).

The venue for the 2024 Games is yet to be decided.

The 2012 Games in London were watched on the BBC by more than 50 million people in the United Kingdom.

Seven million people accessed the BBC website every day, with 111 million requests for video and more than two million people downloading the app.

UK Sport recently predicted Britain could win as many as 79 medals in Rio, where the Games begin on 5 August

Mo Farah will be attempting to win another Olympic double after taking 10,000m and 5,000m gold in London, while Jessica Ennis-Hill will defend her heptathlon crown.

"The BBC prides itself on bringing the biggest sporting moments to the public," said Tony Hall, director general of the BBC.

"I'm delighted that through our new partnership with Discovery, the BBC will continue to carry the torch for great sporting coverage right through to the 2024 Games.

"While the BBC has had to take some tough financial decisions, this partnership underlines our commitment to making world class sport available to all."

As part of the agreement, Discovery will sub-license from the BBC exclusive pay-TV rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games.

David Zaslav, president and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications, said the deal was "a win for UK sports fans".

He added: "For 30 years, our two organisations have charted new frontiers with co-production partnerships in factual and natural history programming.

"Now we join together once again to bring the most compelling stories of human ambition, sacrifice and achievement to people across the UK."


Thursday, 14 January 2016

Rocket Reaches Masters Semifinal


Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the semi-finals of the Masters with an impressive 6-3 victory over three-time winner and world number one Mark Selby.

The five-time Masters champion knocked in one century and six-half centuries, including a match-winning 73 in frame nine, after Selby had a break of 70.

"You're not going to win this tournament by playing negative," O'Sullivan, 40, told BBC Sport.

He will face either John Higgins or Stuart Bingham in the last four.

BBC snooker analyst Steve Davis called O'Sullivan's clearance to win the match "one of the greatest of all time".

However, five-time world champion O'Sullivan, who is playing his first major tournament since taking a break from the sport last April, insisted he is not on top of his game.

He said: "It was a chance but I'm trying to kid myself I'm confident.

"I felt a bit more relaxed and comfortable. My attitude was fantastic. But I'm struggling with my technique and it's just the occasion and the competitive instinct within me that's making me try and find something.

"I'm not cruising where you flick through the gears."


Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Froome Sticks with Sky


Chris Froome said it was an easy decision to extend his contract with Team Sky to the end of 2018 because “their values are my values”.

The double Tour de France winner tweeted: “Thrilled to announce my extension with @TeamSky until end of 2018. Looking forward to many more successes together!”

The 30-year-old joined Sky in 2010, where he acted as a super-domestique for Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France, finishing second overall to his team-mate. He went on to win the event following year and then again in 2015.

Sir Dave Brailsford, the team principal, told the Team Sky website: “Chris is not only one of the most talented and dedicated riders in the world, he is also a fantastic ambassador for the sport.

“Team Sky is proud to have him as our team leader. He is a winner and it is a great boost at the start of the new season that he has committed to stay with the team to the end of 2018. He is hungry for more success and we will help him achieve it.”

Froome said: “Team Sky have been fundamental to my success to date, so it was a very easy decision to commit to the team until the end of 2018. Their values are my values and I am proud to ride for a team that has shown that you can win the biggest bike races in the world clean.

He said that “2015 was a fantastic year for me both professional and personally and this is a great kickstart to 2016. I am more motivated than I have ever been and I have got big targets for this Olympic year. I can’t wait to start racing.”

Froome plans to start his 2016 campaign at the Herald Sun Tour in Australia at the start of next month.


Saturday, 9 January 2016

Avery Wins and Farah Beaten

Getty Images
Double Olympic champion Mo Farah was beaten into second by American Garrett Heath in the men's race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country.

Farah, 32, lost out in a sprint finish as Heath won in 25 minutes 29 seconds.

"It is disappointing to lose but better to lose now than later in the year. I couldn't really sprint - it was very slippery," Farah told BBC Sport.

Fellow Briton Kate Avery, 24, recorded her first senior international victory in the women's race at Holyrood Park.

Avery took the lead in the early stages and finished the 6km course in 21:05 to win by four seconds.

Farah, competing in the event for the first time since winning in 2011, began his Rio Olympics preparations with a rare defeat over the 8km course.

The five-time world outdoor champion was at the back of the field in the early stages and, although he gradually moved through the pack, he appeared to struggle on fields made muddy by heavy rain.

Britain's Ross Millington and Callum Hawkins made the early running but Heath, 30, produced a decisive move on the final 1.5km lap to beat Farah by two seconds.

American Scott Fabul was third in 25:38 with Hawkins (25:41) fourth and Millington (25:43) fifth.



Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Rory McIlroy Wants Faster Golf


The world number one golfer, Rory McIlroy, has called for a faster version of golf in a bid to attract young players to the sport.

Sport England figures show that the number of 16-25-year-olds playing the game regularly almost halved between 2009-10 and 2012-13.

"Everything's so instant now and everyone doesn't have as much time as they used to," world number one McIlroy told BBC Radio 4.

"So you maybe try some way of speeding the game up."

Northern Ireland's McIlroy, who won the Open and the US PGA in 2014, added: "The viewership in golf is up but the participation is down.

"People enjoy watching the game but gone are the days that you could spend five or six hours on a golf course."

Golf's authorities have been reluctant to bring in changes in the past, with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews only agreeing to admit women to its membership in September.

But McIlroy believes the sport's rulemakers are ready for new initiatives.

"I don't think they'd be against it, especially if they wanted to get participation levels up," said McIlroy, who finished second to Lewis Hamilton in the voting for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

"I don't think they need to alter tournament-play formats, I think that works very well. It's the grass roots... definitely not at our level."

McIlroy, who famously appeared on television to chip golf balls into a washing machine at the age of nine, wants young people to follow his example and take up the sport early in life.

"I feel as though I've inspired a lot of kids back home in Northern Ireland to pick up the game and play," he said.

"Hopefully I can continue to do that beyond Northern Ireland because it's a great game. It's given me a lot and I've loved every minute of it and I know if more people pick up the game they'll love it, too."

People playing golf once a week, every week, in England

Year14-25 year olds16-25 year oldsAll ages (16+)
2009-10
95,700
860,900
2010-11
73,100
833,200
2011-12
55,900
850,500
2012-13
61,400
52,400
751,900