The Listed Events (Coverage) Regulations 2026

Statutory Instruments

2026 No. 751

BROADCASTING

The Listed Events (Coverage) Regulations 2026

Made

2nd July 2026

Coming into force

1st January 2027

The Office of Communications make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 104ZA(1) and (2A) of the Broadcasting Act 1996(1).

Before making these Regulations, the Office of Communications gave and published notice of their proposal to do so, and considered representations made to them before the time specified in the notice, as required by section 403(4) to (6) of the Communications Act 2003(2).

Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Listed Events (Coverage) Regulations 2026.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 1st January 2027.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(4) In these Regulations—

“the 1990 Act” means the Broadcasting Act 1990(3);

“the 1996 Act” means the Broadcasting Act 1996;

“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003.

(5) References in these Regulations to days of an event are to any periods of play and other activity into which an event is divided which are based (or approximately based) on calendar days in the location or locations where the event takes place.

Live coverage

2.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of Part 4 of the 1996 Act, other than section 101B (restriction on televising of an event designated by an EEA State or other CTT State).

(2) Coverage of a listed event is to be treated as live coverage where it—

(a) shows play or other activity in that event, and

(b) is included in a relevant service for reception or access while the event is taking place.

But this is subject to paragraphs (3) and (4).

(3) Where an event takes place over a period of more than 24 hours, coverage is only to be treated as live coverage where it—

(a) shows play or other activity taking place on a particular day of the event, and

(b) is included in a relevant service for reception or access while play or other activity in the event is taking place on that day.

(4) But coverage is not to be treated as live coverage where it is included in a programme that consists of highlights of the event (or a part of the event), together with any surrounding content such as analysis.

(5) Coverage treated as live coverage in accordance with this regulation is still to be so treated where users accessing that coverage may use a functionality to view it at a later time (for example, by pausing or restarting the coverage).

Adequate live coverage of a sporting event that involve different sports

3.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of section 101(4)(c) of the 1996 Act.

(2) Rights to provide additional coverage of a sporting event that involves different sports are taken to be rights to provide adequate live coverage of the event if the rights (taken together)—

(a) in relation to the whole of the event, allow live coverage of two or more parts of the event to be shown simultaneously at any time during which play or other activity in the event is taking place; and

(b) meet the requirements set out in paragraph (3).

Live coverage of different parts of the event which may be shown simultaneously are referred to in this regulation as “streams”.

(3) The requirements set out in this paragraph are that, in relation to at least two of the streams, the rights—

(a) give the person or persons who have acquired those rights editorial control over both—

(i) which parts of the event are shown in those streams, and

(ii) the time at which live coverage of play or other activity is shown;

(b) allow those streams to be included in any relevant services meeting the requirements set out in section 101(4)(e) which that person or those persons provide (so that in particular each stream can be both broadcast and made available for access by means of the internet); and

(c) allow functionality to be included in those services enabling users accessing the coverage to view it at a later time (for example, by pausing or restarting the coverage).

Adequate alternative coverage of a Group B event

4.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of section 101(6)(c) of the 1996 Act.

(2) Rights to provide additional coverage of a Group B event are taken to be rights to provide adequate alternative coverage of the event if the rights (taken together) allow both adequate alternative audiovisual coverage and radio commentary to be provided (see regulations 5 and 6).

Adequate alternative audiovisual coverage

5.—(1) Rights allow adequate alternative audiovisual coverage to be provided if they—

(a) allow audiovisual coverage of the event to be included in relevant services with a duration of at least—

(i) in the case of an event scheduled to take place over a period of 24 hours or less—

(aa) where the event has a scheduled duration of less than one hour, 10% of that scheduled duration;

(bb) where the event has a scheduled duration of between one and five hours, 30 minutes;

(cc) where the event has a scheduled duration of more than five hours, 10% of that scheduled duration;

(ii) in the case of an event scheduled to take place over a period of more than 24 hours, for each day of the event—

(aa) where the event has a scheduled duration of less than one hour on that day, 10% of that scheduled duration;

(bb) where the event has a scheduled duration of between one and five hours on that day, 30 minutes;

(cc) where the event has a scheduled duration of more than five hours on that day, 10% of that scheduled duration;

(b) allow that coverage to be both broadcast and made available for access by means of the internet;

(c) give the person who has acquired those rights editorial control over—

(i) which parts of the event are shown in that coverage, and

(ii) when that coverage is first broadcast or made available for access, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3); and

(d) allow that coverage to be made available for access by means of an on-demand programme service or non-UK on-demand programme service for at least 24 hours after it is first broadcast or made available for access.

(2) The rights may include a restriction requiring a delay after the scheduled end of the event (or, in the case of an event taking place over a period of more than 24 hours, the scheduled end of play or other activity in the event on each day of the event), provided that the restriction allows the coverage to be broadcast and made available no later than the time specified in paragraph (3).

(3) That time is—

(a) where the scheduled end of the event (or of play or other activity in the event on a particular day of the event) is after midnight but before 8.00 a.m., 10.00 a.m.;

(b) where the scheduled end of the event (or of play or other activity in the event on a particular day of the event) is at or after 8.00 a.m. but before 8.30 p.m., two hours after the scheduled end;

(c) where the scheduled end of the event (or of play or other activity in the event on a particular day of the event) is at or after 8.30 p.m. but before 10.00 p.m., 10.30 p.m;

(d) where the scheduled end of the event (or of play or other activity in the event on a particular day of the event) is at or after 10.00 p.m. but not after midnight, 30 minutes after the scheduled end.

Radio commentary

6.  Rights allow radio commentary to be provided if they—

(a) allow live radio commentary of the event to be provided;

(b) give the person who has acquired those rights editorial control over which parts of the event are included in that commentary; and

(c) allow that commentary to be both broadcast and distributed by means of the internet in the United Kingdom.

Requirements in relation to adequate alternative coverage of a Group B event

7.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of section 101(6)(d) of the 1996 Act.

(2) The person who has acquired rights to provide adequate alternative audiovisual coverage must be the provider of a relevant service that—

(a) where the service in which live coverage of the event is to be included (“the first service”) falls within the category of service set out in section 98(1)(b) of the 1996 Act, falls into the category of service set out in section 98(1)(a) of that Act, and

(b) is provided for an area that consists of or includes all or almost all of the area for which the first service is provided.

(3) The person who has acquired rights to provide radio commentary must be the provider of both—

(a) a national radio service, and

(b) an internet radio service that—

(i) corresponds to that national radio service, and

(ii) can be played free of charge.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), an internet radio service corresponds to a national radio service if, disregarding advertisements, all of the programmes included in the internet radio service are broadcast on the national radio service at the same time as they are provided by the internet radio service.

(5) In this regulation—

“digital sound programme service” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the 1996 Act (see section 40 of that Act);

“internet radio service” has the same meaning as in Part 3B of the 2003 Act (see section 362BF of that Act);

“national digital sound programme service” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the 1996 Act (see section 60(1) of that Act);

“national radio service” means—

(a)

a sound broadcasting service provided by the BBC or authorised to be provided by a licence to provide a national service under Part 3 of the 1990 Act, or

(b)

a digital sound programme service provided by the BBC or authorised to be provided by a licence to provide a national digital sound programme service under Part 2 of the 1996 Act;

“national service” has the same meaning as in section 245 of the 2003 Act;

“provide”, in relation to a sound broadcasting service or a digital sound programme service, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 2003 Act (see section 362(2) and (3) of that Act) (and the reference to “provider” is to be read accordingly);

“sound broadcasting service” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 1990 Act (see section 126 of that Act).

Cristina Nicolotti Squires

Group Director, Broadcasting and Media Group

For and on behalf of the Office of Communications

2nd July 2026

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in connection with the listed events regime set out in Part 4 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (“the Act”) (as amended by the Media Act 2024). Listed events are sporting and other events of national interest designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 97 of the Act.

Section 101 of the Act restricts providers of “relevant services” (as defined by section 98(7) of the Act) which are provided with a view to being available to members of the public in the United Kingdom or in any area of the United Kingdom from including live coverage of a listed event in a relevant service, unless authorised in accordance with that section.

Regulation 2 makes provision about when coverage of listed events is or is not to be treated as “live coverage” for the purposes of the regime.

Regulation 3 relates to when live coverage of listed events which are sporting events that involve different sports is authorised. It sets out when rights to provide additional coverage of such an event are to be taken to represent the provision of “adequate live coverage” of that event for the purposes of section 101(4)(c) of the Act.

Regulations 4 to 7 relate to when live coverage of listed events in Group B is authorised. Regulations 4 to 6 set out when rights to provide additional coverage of a Group B event are to be taken to represent the provision of “adequate alternative coverage” of that event for the purposes of section 101(6)(c) of the Act, and make provision in relation to audiovisual coverage and radio commentary. Regulation 7 sets out the requirements that must be satisfied for the purposes of section 101(6)(d) of the Act by the persons who have acquired rights to provide alternative coverage.

Ofcom carried out and consulted on an assessment of the likely impact of making these Regulations in its public consultation, in accordance with section 7 of the Communications Act 2003. An assessment of the impact of this instrument was included in the statement published on 29 January 2026 (available at www.ofcom.org.uk or by writing to Ofcom at Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA (tel. [phone])).

(1)

1996 c. 55. Section 104ZA was inserted by section 302(1) of the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) and amended by section 23 of the Media Act 2024 (c. 15).

(2)

2003 c. 21. Section 403(6) was amended by S.I. 2020/1419.

(3)

1990 c. 42.