The will not show the Commonwealth Games at all this summer, ending a run that stretches back to the 1950s. TNT Sports has won the live TV and digital rights to the 2026 Games, while Channel 5 will provide the free-to-air highlights package the had been expected to receive.
That matters because the 2026 event is only months away and the shift changes where British viewers will find one of the summer’s biggest multi-sport competitions. The Games will take place over 11 days in Glasgow, with about 600 hours of live coverage set for TNT Sports and free highlights moving to Channel 5 instead of the.
Ben Frow said Channel 5 would work with TNT Sports to bring the biggest sports stars to a free-to-air audience in the United Kingdom, calling the Commonwealth Games one of the stand-out events in a strong summer of sport. His comments underline how central the free highlights package had been expected to be, and how unusual it is for the to be left out entirely.
The had been expecting to keep a highlights deal, including daily round-ups and evening programmes, but it lost out after TNT Sports outbid rivals for the live and digital package. Glasgow stepped in to host after Victoria in Australia cancelled its plans because of spiralling cost projections, sending the Games back to Scotland for the first time since 2014.
The loss is part of a wider run of missed sports rights for the corporation. In March, the also lost The Boat Race, with Channel 4 taking the TV rights and Times Radio securing the radio rights, and it has already lost live broadcasting rights to England’s matches in the men’s Six Nations.
Alex Kay-Jelski, the ’s director of sport, has argued that the corporation does not need to air live sport to remain relevant, saying it can stay in the conversation through reporting, live pages and digital video even when it does not hold the video rights. For viewers looking for the Commonwealth Games this summer, though, the immediate answer is simpler: TNT Sports will carry the live action, and Channel 5 will be the free-to-air home for the highlights.
