The BBC decided to broadcast the America’s Cup at the eleventh hour after initially failing to reach an agreement with organisers. Great Britain, who are led by Ben Ainslie, are going up against New Zealand in the first-to-seven series which started on Saturday.
During initial talks, the BBC were unable to reach a broadcast agreement with America’s Cup organisers. They were reportedly offered the footage for free but decided not to show it, prompting a fierce backlash from viewers and licence fee payers.
Less than a day before the start of the action, the broadcasting giant performed a U-turn and have been showing the match between Great Britain and New Zealand via the iPlayer service.
The report states that the BBC were initially unhappy with certain aspects of the America’s Cup live feed. The ‘wipe’, a type of film transition where one shot replaces another using a sponsor’s logo, was said to have been a major sticking point.
The BBC later confirmed that viewers would be able to watch the America’s Cup live and uninterrupted on iPlayer. It is also being shown live on TNT Sports as well as on YouTube and on the America’s Cup website.
A spokesperson for the BBC told The Telegraph: “We have reached an agreement to show the America’s Cup tomorrow live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app from 13:00.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the America’s Cup added: “We are very happy that BBC is taking the live feed of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup racing.
“It will be an historical event no matter whether Ineos Britannia win the America’s Cup for the first time in 173 years, or Emirates Team New Zealand can win it for the third time in a row, so it is great that the UK will be able to watch the racing free and live on BBC.”
Great Britain will be hoping to lift the Auld Mug for the very first time but are the clear underdogs. Ainslie pointed to New Zealand having three extra weeks to prepare when quizzed on Britain’s chances of victory earlier this week.
“In terms of who has got the advantage, I would say for sure Team New Zealand, being able to take three weeks to look at the configuration of their boat and get the data of the competing boat,” said Ainslie.
Britain are still waiting to get a point on the board, with New Zealand gaining the upper hand by winning the opening two races. It leaves Ainslie and his colleagues with a mountain to climb to lift the America’s Cup for the first time in history.
