By Peter Ndukwe
Viewers wishing to watch events of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, may have to pay to do so as there are speculations that the television rights could be moved away from free-to-air broadcasting.
Glasgow stood in as the last minute saviour of the event when it was announced that Victoria in Australia had pulled out of hosting the games.
After fears that the event would have to be cancelled, Commonwealth Games Federation came up with the idea to reduce the number of events and venues to make it cheaper for Glasgow to host, 12 years after it last hosted in 2014.
But the rocky road to this point doesn’t look to become any smoother – with major fears now over the broadcasting of the event on terrestrial TV.
The BBC have traditionally always been the UK broadcaster for the games and showed the games when they were last held in Glasgow.
But there’s been major speculation lately as to whether or not they will find the budget to take on the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
This has sparked fears that the event could be moved away from free-to-air broadcasting, and those who wish to watch it would have to pay to do so.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray, who also has Commonwealth Games responsibilities, wrote to the UK’s Culture Minister Ian Murray to express his concerns.
He said: “Broadcasting will be crucial in sharing the Games’ excitement and uniting audiences across the Commonwealth,“It would be disappointing if such a significant event were placed behind a paywall, limiting public access and undermining its core values.
“I’d welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can collaborate to ensure the Games reach the widest possible audience so that people across the whole of the UK can support our athletes on the world stage.”
A Commonwealth Sport spokesperson said a decision on a UK rights holder is expected soon.