The will not broadcast the 2026 Commonwealth Games in any capacity, ending a 72-year run with the event and marking another clear step away from live sport coverage. For viewers, the Commonwealth Games Channel will now sit with TNT Sports, while free-to-air access is limited to highlights on Channel 5 and the live Opening Ceremony.
That shift matters because it also changes the long-running connection with one of its most familiar sporting events. Clare Balding will not present the 2026 Commonwealth Games for the first time in 20 years, after first fronting television coverage in Melbourne in 2006.
A long tradition comes to an end
The 's link with the Commonwealth Games stretches back 72 years, but that history will not continue in 2026 when the event is staged in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. The corporation's loss of the rights means there will be no coverage at all, whether live or in highlights form.
For a generation of viewers, that is a significant change. The has been the natural home for many major summer events, but this decision underlines a broader rethink over what the broadcaster now sees as essential.
What viewers will still get
There is still some public access, but it is limited. Channel 5 will provide highlights, and the Opening Ceremony will also be shown live. Full coverage, however, now moves away from the and to TNT Sports.
Earlier in 2025, director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski said the corporation no longer feels it needs to broadcast live sport in order to remain relevant. That view now looks even more significant, because the has also confirmed it will no longer broadcast The Boat Race, and the Commonwealth Games decision sits firmly in that same pattern.
Clare Balding's role is also part of the story. She made her television debut presenting Royal Ascot highlights in 1995, became the 's lead TV presenter for the Olympics in 2004, and first fronted Commonwealth Games coverage two years later. This summer, though, that run will not continue.
The wider message is simple enough: the is moving away from events it once regarded as core live-sport appointments. The Commonwealth Games Channel may still be available to viewers, but the 's absence from the 2026 edition is the real headline.
