Quote Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC View Post
The BBC really struggle to afford decent sport these days. They only spend on total mainstream (football) or the very cheapest (like equestrian).

I wonder what the WRC charges ? Surely it would be better to reduce the price if it meant BBC showing it rather than Ch.5 ...

The BBC was a massive ally of rallying years ago and must've created thousands of fans for the sport.
It's not a question of cost of the rights, for sure. Most sports would take no money to be on the BBC.

The BBC, like most state broadcasters, do not like to show sport that they do not produce themselves. This is about creating bespoke, focused content for their audience, and also keep their internal staff occupied.

That in itself creates huge costs.

The BBC shifted F1 to their subsidiary Channel 4 in order to reduce the costs of production and other ancilliary costs (it was outsourced on C4), while still paying the rights fee to F1!!