Reported
BBC secures World Rally championship broadcast rights
The BBC will broadcast the World Rally Championship in the UK from 2027, including live stages and highlights.
The BBC has secured a three-year broadcast rights deal for the World Rally Championship in the United Kingdom, commencing in 2027. This agreement marks the WRC’s return to the BBC after a 26-year absence, as reported by Autosport.
New Broadcast Agreement Details
The new deal, running from 2027 through 2029, will involve the BBC broadcasting selected live stages, including the crucial Power Stage from every WRC round. Additionally, the broadcaster plans to air 60-minute highlight programs following each rally. According to Motorsport.com, the agreement also encompasses extensive live coverage of Rally Scotland, which is slated to bring top-tier rallying back to Britain in 2027, the first time since 2019.
Collaborative Coverage Plan
Coverage will be a collaborative effort between BBC Scotland, BBC Cymru Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland, combining their expertise and resources. All the action will be accessible to audiences via the BBC iPlayer, as the agreement includes comprehensive digital rights, enabling content sharing across various BBC platforms. Rhuanedd Richards, Director of BBC Nations, stated that the World Rally Championship is a natural fit for the BBC, citing its combination of elite sporting competition, dramatic locations, and compelling narratives. She also expressed particular excitement for Rally Scotland's return to the WRC calendar next year.
Shifting Broadcast Landscape
Prior to this announcement, the WRC’s UK television rights were fragmented across multiple networks. Pay TV channel TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport, held rights for live coverage of every round since 2014. Free-to-air station ITV has broadcast highlights since 2020, taking over from Channel 5, while S4C has also provided coverage of the championship in Wales. This new broadcast deal is the first major announcement since French automotive company Cosmobilis and private credit investor Park Square Capital acquired WRC Promoter, becoming the series' new commercial rights holder, Motorsport.com noted. The current WRC season sees Elfyn Evans leading the drivers' championship with 201 points, ahead of Kalle Rovanperä’s Finnish compatriot Teemu Suninen, who holds 171 points. Esapekka Lappi, another Finn, sits sixth with 25 points. Four rounds remain in the 2026 season.
Status And Sources
This story is labelled Reported, which means a newsroom we cite carries this but the people involved have not confirmed it. The rules behind those labels are in the editorial policy, and the desk that published it is Sanni Koskela.
Written from the following reporting. Each link goes to the newsroom's own page, not to an aggregator:
- Motorsport.commotorsport.com
- Autosportautosport.com
