This weekend, a crowd will gather along the River Thames to witness the historic rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge as they compete in the annual Boat Race.

This beloved university event, which first took place in 1829, has been a fixture on the calendar since 1856, with only interruptions during the Second World War and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sunday will see the 171st men’s race and the 80th women’s race, with crews racing the stretch between Putney and Mortlake on the Thames.

Despite its traditional and historical charm in British sports, the event attracts around 2.6 million viewers on television and countless others who tune in via radio.

A notable shift in tradition will occur with the 2026 race.

The Boat Race will not be shown by the BBC this weekend after the broadcaster lost rights last year 

The BBC had been forced to deny suggestions its director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, deemed the famous event to be ‘elitist’  

Channel 4 will broadcast the event following a five-year deal secured in October, while Times Radio has been announced as the official radio partner for the next three years.

The Boat Race had previously been synonymous with the BBC, who first covered the race on radio back in 1927 and broadcast the men’s race on television in 1938.

The corporation had lost television rights to ITV from 2005 to 2009, marking an end to 66 years as the broadcaster of the event. The BBC regained rights in 2010 and had served as the broadcaster since.

After losing the rights in October, the BBC was forced to deny suggestions its director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, deemed the famous event to be ‘elitist’ and had been ‘lukewarm’ in negotiations.

‘The BBC has been proud to broadcast the Boat Race over many years,’ a BBC spokesperson told Daily Mail Sport at the time. 

‘Our decision not to continue reflects the difficult choices we need to make to ensure we deliver the best value for audiences with the money that we have. We are pleased the Boat Race will remain available free-to-air and wish all involved in the event every success for the future.’

It is understood the BBC previously did not pay for the rights to the race, but funded the broadcast operation, and that production costs have increased while viewing figures have decreased.

However, it marked a considerable shift in tone from the BBC. Back in 2010, the corporation’s then head of sport, Roger Mosey, described the Boat Race as ‘one of the British sporting institutions’ and admitted it had been ‘painful’ to have previously lost the rights.

The Grand National (above), the Paralympics, The Open, Test cricket and The Ryder Cup are among other major sporting events to have moved away from the BBC over the years

‘I know there’ll be people who question the relevance of an event between two ancient universities, but most UK audiences take a broader view,’ Mosey wrote at the time. ‘It’s an epic sporting contest, and one in which the participants push themselves to the limit – with ambitious outside broadcasts able to capture the pressure of every stroke.’

Mosey’s successor, Barbara Slater, described the race as an ‘important part of our sport portfolio’ when their broadcast deal was extended in 2014.

The Boat Race has instead gone the same way as several other pillars of British sport, which have been snapped up by other broadcasters away from the BBC.

In recent years, The Open Championships went the way of the Masters and Ryder Cup as the BBC’s golf coverage was chipped away. Likewise, the Derby, Grand National and Royal Ascot followed Cheltenham Festival as horse racing’s marquee events went elsewhere.

Channel 4, one of those to have snagged away a significant number of events, have been the home of the Paralympic Games since London 2012.

This year will see another multi-sport event, the Commonwealth Games, be shown by TNT Sports. The BBC had been the exclusive live broadcaster of the Games since 1954, but said in December that it was ‘unable to match’ TNT’s bid.

Due to the Games being a protected event under the Broadcasting Act, some coverage of Glasgow 2026 will have to be shown on free-to-air as well as the subscription service.

A sizeable chunk of the BBC’s live offering is also shared with other broadcasters, including the FA Cup, Wimbledon, the World Snooker Championships and the Challenge Cup.

The BBC admitted it could not match TNT’s bid for the Commonwealth Games after losing broadcast rights for this year’s event in Glasgow

Kay-Jelski told the Financial Times Business of Football summit earlier this year that the BBC did not need to show live sport to stay relevant

This year’s Six Nations marked the first time ITV had shown all of England’s Six Nations matches. It followed the BBC’s giving up rights to showing Scotland and Wales matches when they host England as part of their joint bid with ITV to show the tournament.

The BBC were forced to deny at the time that they had given up on showing England, despite having no live coverage of England’s men’s cricket, football and rugby teams outside of the FIFA World Cup and European Championships.

The corporation had admitted a ‘rise in the cost of sports rights’ had a major impact, along with budgetary cuts.

Last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup was among the live sport offerings from the BBC, along with agreements to show a selection of Bundesliga, women’s Champions League and Premiership Women’s Rugby matches.   

Kay-Jelski earlier this year reflected a shifting approach, telling the Financial Times Business of Football summit that you don’t need to show live sport to stay relevant.

‘We’re not competing against who we were competing with before,’ he said. ‘The BBC might have thought, traditionally, it was up against ITV, or Sky, or other broadcasters. Well, guess what? We’re not. We’re in a race to not be swiped. Up against people selling you holidays, or clothes companies, or two-for-one chicken breasts on sale from the supermarket, or football teams, or athletes.

‘We still have reporting and live pages and digital video that draw in millions and millions and millions of people. You can still be relevant – you can still matter – if you don’t show the sport.’

The BBC’s approach has shifted digitally, with the corporation holding rights for highlights and clips including from the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and cricket coverage, which have all been used effectively to appeal to a younger audience.

That particular drive may have been behind a controversial decision to show the Battle of the Sexes match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios back in December.

That one-off event will have likely appealed to a different audience to Sunday’s Boat Race, perhaps reflecting how the BBC is moving in its coverage of sport.