ITV Drops Boat Race Coverage

ITV announced that it will no longer televise the legendary Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge after next year.

Claiming excessive expenses, ITV’s elimination of covering the event will cut out the substantial costs of broadcasting rights and production aspects such as various camera positions along the River Thames and two helicopters overhead.

ITV’s decision highlights a shift in focus of its sports budget to top-flight football. After the network won critical acclaim for its coverage of F1, the Rugby World Cup and the Boat Race, a decision was made to concentrate resources on football, which attracts bigger audiences on a regular basis. 

ITV paid £275m for the broadcasting rights to FA Cup football and England internationals – part of a joint £425m deal with Setanta – and cut its F1 contract short to extend its deal with UEFA and show live Champions League matches.

ITV managed to grab the rights of the Boat Race, one of the oldest English sporting events (with the first race being held in 1829), from the BBC four years ago, after the network had broadcasted it for 50 years.

Now, with ITV dropping its coverage, BBC may look to televise the race once again from 2010. But the Boat Race Company, the Oxford University and Cambridge University joint venture that organises the annual event, are also allegedly looking to speak to other potential broadcasters, including Channel 4.

In an effort to maintain funding and interest in televising the event, the sponsorship agency for the race, Sports Impact, managed to get Xchanging to renew its headline sponsorship deal and will now be associated with the event until 2012.