Tokyo was the Games at which the corporation’s tradition of wall-to-wall coverage ended, and that trend is set to continue
While the world’s finest athletes competed for Olympic glory in Tokyo, a broadcasting battle for the nation’s viewers has played out back in the UK: the BBC’s limited coverage versus the thousands of hours of live action offered by US pay-TV giant Discovery.
Tokyo marks the end of the BBC’s history of wall-to-wall coverage and its right to be called the sole home of the summer Games. This year was the first that a pay-TV or streaming subscription was needed to be able to watch all events.