ATHLETICS: Channel 4 to screen three major para-athletics events in 2013

Channel 4 has confirmed it will broadcast a triple-header of international para-athletics events this summer, following on from its hugely successful coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The broadcaster, which recently won a BAFTA award for its coverage of the 2012 Paralympics, will screen terrestrial coverage of the first ever Sainsbury’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final from Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on June 29.

A month later, Channel 4 will also show the final day of the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, July 28,  as well as extended coverage of the IPC Athletics World Championships from Lyon, which runs from July 19-28.

ATHLETICS: Great Manchester CityGames / Run – Live on BBC Sport

Manchester city centre plays host to a bumper weekend of top quality international athletics, featuring a line-up of Olympic and Paralympic stars, plus a selection of the world’s finest long distance runners.

More than 20,000 people are expected to gather to see some of the sport’s biggest names compete in the BT Great Manchester CityGames on Saturday, May 25, while on Sunday more than 40,000 will run the 10km Bupa Great Manchester Run.

BBC TV will live coverage of both events over the weekend which forms part of a great weekend of sport.

ATHLETICS: Virgin London Marathon 2013 – Live on BBC One & British Eurosport

After London’s sensational hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games, top class athletics returns to the capital’s streets this Sunday with the 2013 Virgin London Marathon, live on BBC One and British Eurosport.

A selection of the world’s greatest long-distance runners and thousands of fundraisers will compete in one of the world’s most famous and colourful races.

In light of the week’s tragic events at the Boston Marathon and subsequent meetings between the Metropolitan police and security experts, the organisers of the London Marathon have confirmed the race will go ahead as planned on Sunday, April 21.

ATHLETICS: European Indoor Championships 2013 – Live on BBC TV & British Eurosport

The 2013 European Indoor Championships take place in Gothenburg this weekend and you can watch full coverage of the biggest athletics meeting so far this year on BBC Sport and British Eurosport.

Reigning women’s 800m champion Jenny Meadows will captain a 29-strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, where she will be joined by the likes of Holly Bleasdale, Robbie Grabarz and Dwain Chambers in Sweden as a collection of Europe’s finest athletes assemble for the biennial championships at the Scandinavium complex.

Live coverage of every session can be seen across BBC TV throughout the weekend of March 1-3.

ATHLETICS: Channel 4 hands 2013 World Championships rights to the BBC

Channel 4 have offloaded the live rights to the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow to the BBC.

Both broadcasters reached a “commercial agreement” which will see the transfer of the broadcast rights to next year’s showpiece athletics event pass to the corporation.

The last World Championships in Daegu in 2011 were covered by Channel 4, but the broadcaster has decided to pull the plug on their agreement with the IAAF a year early after losing out to the BBC for the next term.

The corporation were due to take back the showcase track and field contract from Channel 4 in 2014 on a four-year deal that includes the World Championships coming to London in 2017.

ATHLETICS: Great North Run 2012 – Live on BBC One

BBC Sport will broadcast exclusive coverage of the 32nd annual staging of the Great North Run, the world’s biggest and most famous half-marathon, as part of a bumper weekend of live athletics from the north east.

Beginning in Newcastle and finishing in South Shields, the prestigious event always attracts top-quality athletes from across the world, as well as thousands of runners looking to raise as much money for their chosen charities.

ATHLETICS: European Championships 2012 – Live on BBC & Eurosport

BBC TV and Eurosport will have extensive coverage of the 2012 European Athletics Championships from Helsinki, Finland.

With the London 2012 edging ever closer, fans can watch some of the potential medallists in action, including a selection of Great Britain’s best prospects, throughout the five days of action which will involve 50 countries and more than of 1,600 competitors.

It is the first time that European athletics’ flagship event has been held in an Olympic year, with this edition marking the beginning of a new two-year cycle having previously been held every four years.

ATHLETICS: BBC extends Bupa Great Run coverage until 2018

BBC Sport has extended its current deal for to cover the Bupa Great Run series until 2018.

The deal includes live coverage of the Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon, and the Great Manchester Run.

ATHLETICS: London Marathon to stay on the BBC until 2018

BBC Sport will continue to broadcast live coverage of the London Marathon until at least 2018 after signing a new contract with the race organisers.

Announced on the eve of the 2012 event, the new long-term deal gives the BBC exclusive broadcast rights one of the world’s most iconic marathon races across all of its platforms, including TV, radio, internet and mobile.

The BBC has been the broadcast partner for the London Marathon since its inception in 1981 and the event has since grown into one of the most important on the long-distance calendar, as well as raising millions of pounds for charity.

ATHLETICS: Virgin London Marathon 2012 – Live on BBC One

The Virgin London Marathon takes place this Sunday and you can follow all the action as it happens with comprehensive coverage across the BBC.

The 32nd staging of the one of the world’s biggest city marathons will see elite athletes from across the globe tread the familiar path along some of the most famous streets of England’s capital city.

Alongside them will be the usual mix of club racers and thousands of fun runners, with all of them looking to complete the gruelling 26.2 mile course while raising money for charitable causes.

ATHLETICS: IAAF World Indoor Championships 2012 – Live on Channel 4

The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships takes place at the new Atakoy Athletics Arena in Istanbul this weekend, with live coverage on Channel 4 and More4.

Britain’s Jessica Ennis (pentathlon) and Dwain Chambers (60m) will defend the titles they won at the 2010 Championships in Doha, while Mo Farah will take part in the 3,000 metres.

ATHLETICS: BBC claims back IAAF World Championships rights from Channel 4

BBC Sport has won back the rights to broadcast the IAAF World Athletics Championships from Channel 4.

The corporation will take over coverage of the event in Beijing in four years time and the 2017 championships in London, after claiming exclusive free-to-air rights to all World Series Athletics events from 2014 to 2017.

The new BBC deal comes after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), of which the corporation is a member, regained the honour of distributing broadcast rights to member nations on behalf of athletics’ world governing body.