Olympics and bbc rights

[Bathymamouth]

Really noticing this morning how limited the BBC coverage is with them now only being able to broadcast 2 sports live.

Was feeling a bit sad as my TV doesn't support the Discovery+ app but found out that its a £3.99 add on in Prime this morning and signed up in Prime and I've got everything and it's awesome.

This isn't an ad - just an info post as I had no idea you could watch Discovery + through your Prime account and I don't resent paying £4 to watch the Olympics and appreciate others might want to too!

The BBC simply can't compete with presenting these sort of events any longer when the rights are auctioned off to the highest bidder.

100% this.
If the BBC is funded from the Exchequer via TV license fees and people are complaining that they can't afford to bid for things like the Olympics and they are left with the Tiddlywinks World Championship instead, remember how they are funded.

You want the coverage on terrestrial TV? Pay for it through the license fee. If I was in the UK I'd pay a license fee for the Natural History and Period Drama part of the BBC alone.

I'm very excited to have Discovery+. Some many of the smaller sports to watch and so much less yapping in the studios.

Thanks OP. I've discovered I've got Eurosports & have 7 channels showing the Olympics - tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, women's football etc. Great coverage.

Well I've come back to this thead to own up to being really silly. Other more expressive words may be more appropriate.

Have only just found I have Eurosports as part of my VM package. Which is strange as I dont remember opting for it.

And was attracted to the idea of the studio programmes so happy to see them recommended.

So would love to catch up on Simone Biles, but yet to find out if this is on catch up.

Thanks for the thread OP as it has made me be more pro-active and have found out about the Prime Video free month.

Just to add to the posts about the BBC.

One of the biggest financial problems for the BBC is that in the past the World Service was financed by the Foreign Office. ie it was about soft power. But this funding was cut, but as part of its charter the BBC is obliged to broadcast the same level of coverage. The only unintended good consequence of this is that the BBC is less likely to fly out one of the correspondence on the basis that they were the right professional, and now rely more on locally based reporters. Most of whom are of course much better informed than someone based in the UK.

So loss of free licences for all pensioners are as much this, as the obvious problem that in terms of the commercial market the BBC just can not compete in terms of budgets.

I have to say I'm loving the Eurosport approach to coverage of the gymnastics- no chitchat at all during the routine and informative but overwhelming supportive chat after - no drama lamas. Its so refreshing - just watched the BBC Simone montage and it was chatter chatter chatter throughout the routines.

Eurosport's coverage has been excellent.