The Boat Race will not be broadcast by the BBC on television or radio for the first time in almost 100 years as they have lost the broadcasting rights. Channel 4 secured the TV rights for this historic event in a five-year deal half a year ago, and now Times Radio has acquired the radio rights until 2028.

Since the mid-1920s, the BBC has been the primary broadcaster of the rowing competition between Oxford University and Cambridge University on the Thames, initially airing it on the radio and later televising it in 1938. However, this year’s race on April 4 will only be accessible through other channels.

While there were previous occasions when the BBC did not exclusively cover the event, such as ITV broadcasting the race from 2005 to 2009 and LBC holding radio rights from 2005 to 2010, this marks the first time the BBC will not air the Boat Race, which garnered 2.6 million viewers last year, in any form.

The decision follows a report by The Telegraph stating that the BBC’s sports director, Alex Kay-Jelski, displayed little interest in acquiring the rights due to his perception of the race as ‘elitist.’ Times Radio secured the rights without cost under the condition that they promote the event across News UK’s network.

The BBC has observed a decline in viewership for the Boat Race in recent years alongside rising production expenses. Kay-Jelski, who assumed the position of BBC Sport director in 2024, has orchestrated a shift in the corporation’s strategy, resulting in the loss of rights to events like the Commonwealth Games and now the Boat Race.

Expressing his viewpoint at the Financial Times’s Business of Football Summit, Kay-Jelski emphasized that the BBC can remain significant without live sports coverage, given the evolving media landscape where digital platforms play a pivotal role in audience engagement.

Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race Company, expressed satisfaction with the partnership with Times Radio, emphasizing shared values of heritage, tradition, precision, and quality that will enhance the coverage of the event for listeners.