BBC launches #ChangeTheGame women’s sport season

BBC Sport has launched its #ChangeTheGame women’s summer of sport season which will showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before.

There will be more live free-to-air coverage of women’s sport than ever before across BBC TV, radio digital platforms this summer, as well as a raft of specially commissioned content, including exclusive behind-the-scenes TV documentaries, iPlayer box sets, podcasts and original journalism.

Starting with the Women’s FA Cup Final on Saturday, 4 May, the BBC’s #ChangeTheGame season will encompass its live TV coverage of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Netball World Cup, Wimbledon tennis and the IAAF World Athletics Championships, as well as exclusive radio commentary of the Women’s Ashes series.

Leading the BBC’s exclusive coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup across BBC TV will be presenters Gabby Logan and Eilidh Barbour, who will be joined by an expert panel of analysts with over 800 international appearances between them, including Alex Scott, Emma Hayes, Jordan Nobbs, Hope Solo, Gemma Fay, Laura Bassett, Casey Stoney, Rachel Brown-Finnis, Rachel Yankey, Sue Smith and Lucy Ward.

The four-week tournament starts with France versus South Korea on Friday, 7 June and quickly followed by the battle of the home nations as England face Scotland on 9 June, with both games live on BBC One.

As well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the BBC will also have live TV coverage of the Netball World Cup from Liverpool in July.

Reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, England Roses look to continue their success and Northern Ireland and Scotland hope to impress on the world stage, with Hazel Irvine anchoring the BBC’s network TV coverage of the tournament, while also in July, Sue Barker and Clare Balding lead the BBC’s extensive Wimbledon coverage.

Alongside its the launch of #ChangeTheGame, the BBC has confirmed that it has agreed a new four-year deal with the FA that will see the corporation continue to cover the Women’s FA Cup until at least 2025.

The new agreement, which starts from the 2021/22 season and will see the BBC show live coverage of both semi-finals and the final, as well as highlights and digital clips from the competition across its platforms.

In another new deal announced by the corporation, the BBC has also added Solheim Cup golf to its impressive line-up of women’s sport coverage, with daily highlights of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States, which this year takes place at Gleneagles, to be shown for the first time on BBC TV.

Commenting on the BBC’s #ChangeTheGame season, Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, said:

“The BBC prides itself on being the home of big sporting events and has led from the front in showcasing the best of women’s sport to the widest possible audience.

“This summer is a fantastic platform for women’s sport deserving of our unrivalled line up of presenters, pundits and commentators ensuring audiences are given the best analysis and insight from every sport.”

The #ChangeTheGame season kicks off this Saturday (4 May) on BBC One with live coverage of the Women’s FA Cup final.

MAJOR WOMEN’S SPORTING EVENTS ON BBC TV IN 2019

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