The BBC has defended its slimmed down Olympics coverage, and insisted the crown jewels list of sporting events must be overhauled if fans are to be given more free-to-air access in future.
Barbara Slater, the BBC’s head of sport, has told MPs that there was more sport on the BBC during the Olympics than ‘any human could possibly watch’.
However, during the Games there was widespread criticism of the drastically reduced package on offer through the national broadcaster.
The BBC was only allowed to show two live events at a time after losing rights to Discovery
Viewers described the coverage as 'pitiful' and complained that they missed key live moments, like the gold-medal ceremony for the divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee.
At London 2012 and Rio 2016, the BBC had offered 24 live streams across its channels and online, allowing it to screen sports live, simultaneously.
In Tokyo, that was reduced to just two streams after the US broadcaster, Discovery, secured most of the rights in a £920 million pan-European deal with the International Olympic Committee.
This meant the majority of the coverage was accessed via Discovery’s Eurosport – a pay channel, while the BBC's output was slashed from 3,000 hours to around 500 hours.
BBC struck a deal with European rights holder Discovery to secure coverage until 2024
Swimming, rowing and tennis fans were among those complaining on social media that they couldn't watch their favourite sports. In the early days of the Games viewers were shocked at the coverage.
One woman summed up the feelings of many when she took to Twitter to declare: 'The BBC's coverage is pitiful.'
BBC presenter Dan Walker was forced to respond to criticisms, saying: 'I know we've got used to being able to see every sport at the Olympics but this time the BBC is only allowed to show two sports at the same time.
'It is an issue about TV rights and not an editorial choice.'
Ms Slater, who was giving evidence to the Digital Culture Media and Sport select committee in London on Tuesday, complained that ‘listed events’ – designed to ensure the most important sporting events are screened free-to-air – were established in an analogue age and does not include digital.
The Olympics is a listed event under the Broadcasting Act 1996.
The BBC showed over 5,000 hours of live Olympics sport in 2016 but this was been cut to 500 for the Tokyo Games
She said the legislation is outdated and she suggested that the BBC’s coverage was achieved through negotiation with Discovery, rather than as a result of the legal protection conferred by Parliament.
