This is a timeline of sports broadcasting on
Channel 5.
1990s
1997
31 March – On its first night on air, Channel 5 launches its overnight coverage of American sports when it broadcasts the first edition of Live & Dangerous. The programme broadcasts on weekdays through the night and includes live coverage of American sport as well as highlights from American and other global sports events. The first programme features the opening day of the 1997
Major League Baseball season.
31 May – Even though Channel 5 had said that it hadn't been intending to show live sport at peak time, it buys the rights to one of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup – an away match against
Poland. It also shows the first of two international games of England's
rugby union tour of
Argentina.
Autumn – Football on 5 fully launches as football becomes a regular fixture of the channel's output following the purchases of rights to
UEFA Cup games and away qualifying matches involving the home nations, showing the latter for the next decade.
Five gains the rights to broadcast
Serie A highlights and live games in the
2007–08 season.[2] with live games shown weekly at 1:30pm
UK time on Sundays.[3] Coverage is shown under the name of Football Italiano.
12 June – Five’s coverage of the
NHL finishes. It also ends its coverage of the NBA at the same time.
September – Five becomes the lead broadcaster of the
UEFA Europa League meaning it can show the entire tournament, including the final, for the first time. Previously it had only been able to show the early rounds due to the BBC or ITV having the rights from the quarter-finals onwards.
9 September – Five signs a deal to broadcast highlights of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on terrestrial television in the UK.[4]
2010s
2010
Five ends its live overnight coverage of American sport, when it decides not to continue its coverage of
American Football. This brings to an end its coverage of American sport which had been a mainstay of Channel 5's weeknight overnight programming since the channel’s launch.
9 May – Channel 5’s fifteen years of showing Europe’s second tier football clubs competition ends when it shows live coverage of the
2012 UEFA Europa League Final.
28 July – Football on 5 ends after the channel stops showing live football following the transfer of the rights to show the
UEFA Europa League to ITV. The last game to be shown is a pre-season friendly.
2013
No events.
2014
No events.
2015
Channel 5 expands its coverage of Mixed Martial Arts when it begins showing highlights to every
BAMMA event.
8 August – Football returns to Channel 5 when it takes over the contract to broadcast highlights of the
Football League and the
League Cup. It launches two new programmes under the revived Football on 5 banner. They are called The Championship and The Goal Rush. The programmes are broadcast from 9pm on Saturday evening.
2016
4 September – Channel 5 acquires the UK broadcasting rights to
Formula E from the
2016–17 season following Formula E's termination of its contract with
ITV.[6] It shows all races from round three and then shows all of the following season.
2017
Coverage of MotoGP returns to Channel 5 although this time the coverage of restricted to highlights only. Channel 5 covers the event for the next two years.
September – Channel 5 takes over from ITV as broadcaster of highlights of the
Premiership Rugby . The deal also sees five matches per season broadcast live by the channel. This is the first time that the league has been shown live on terrestrial TV. The also includes highlights of the
Premiership Rugby Cup.[7]
15 September – After 14 seasons, Channel 5 shows cricket highlights for the final time. The rights transfer to the BBC from 2020 onwards.[8]
2020s
2020
14 September – Channel 5, now part of the
CBS Sports family, resumes its coverage of the
NFL when it starts showing the weekly Monday night game plus a weekly highlights show produced by
CBS Sports.[9]
2021
No events.
2022
2 March – Wasserman Boxing and Channel 5 announce a deal which will see Channel 5 air five fight nights Wasserman Boxing-promoted fight nights during 2022.[10] This is later extended to cover 2023.[11]
2023
5 October - 19 November – Channel 5 is the highlights broadcaster of the
2023 Cricket World Cup.[12] It also shows live coverage of the final.
References
^House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee report
"Broadcasting Rights for Cricket", 24 January 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2013.