Sports Ticker #155 – Government proposes sports broadcasting protections and MotoGP’s milestone Concorde moment

In a fortnight that saw the start of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, England qualify for the Round of 16 in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, and Lionel Messi become the all-time top scorer in the same competition, we bring you news of the UK Government’s proposed legislative changes to protect the ‘crown jewels’ of sports broadcasting and MotoGP’s milestone Concorde moment.

As always, if there are any issues on which you’d like more information (or if you have any questions or feedback), please do let us know or get in touch with your usual contact at RPC.

Government proposes changes to protect the ‘crown jewels’ of UK sports broadcasting
The UK Government has proposed legislative changes intended to help ensure that public service broadcasters can continue to offer streaming and catch-up coverage of listed sporting events. The proposals are aimed at safeguarding the existing protections for ‘listed events’ such as the World Cup, the Olympic Games, the FA Cup final and the Wimbledon finals (among others). These ‘crown jewel’ events are widely regarded as integral to British sporting culture, and the Government’s stated aim is to keep them freely accessible to the public. With major streaming platforms investing heavily in live sports rights, concerns were raised that this could reduce the availability for these events to be shown on public service broadcasters. The Government has indicated that the proposals are not intended to prevent on-demand rights being sold to streaming platforms, but rather to strike a balance between rights holders’ ability to monetise broadcast rights and ensuring the public can continue to share in the world’s most significant sporting moments.

Advantage Players? Wimbledon serves £64.2 million in prize pool rally
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has unveiled a record £64.2 million prize fund for Wimbledon this Summer, marking a 20% rise on the 2025 prize fund. Despite this being the largest single-year increase in its history, and constituting around 15% of the revenue generated by the Championships (as of 2024 revenue data), players are still not wholly content. It is reported they were aiming for a 16% share of revenue this year, rising to 22% by 2030. The disagreement reflects an ongoing discontent amongst players towards tennis bodies. Last year, the Professional Tennis Players Association filed a complaint against Wimbledon and other tennis bodies, accusing them of suppressing player compensation (as covered in Sports Ticker #124). The AELTC has pushed back against any further increases, arguing that the money generated is important to the wider sport, supporting the grassroots game and funding infrastructure.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered. MotoGP’s milestone Concorde moment
In a pioneering move for the sport, MotoGP and its manufacturers have signed a collective deal to govern the championship from 2027 to 2031. Akin to Formula 1’s Concorde agreement, the deal will govern the financial, technical and commercial framework for the sport as it steers towards its next stage of development. The partnership was signed by MotoGP’s five manufacturers (Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, KTM and Yamaha) and MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group which is the exclusive MotoGP world championship commercial rights holder. The move follows MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group’s acquisition by Formula 1 owners, Liberty Media (as covered in Sports Ticker #132), and is the first of its kind to be signed by all five manufacturers. Supporters believe this shared vision will turbocharge the popularity of the sport, enhancing revenue distribution and unlocking new opportunities in the global market. Attention now shifts to MotoGP’s 11 teams, with key terms of a separate agreement set to follow.

Queens Grand Slam! Women’s tennis at Queen’s Club serves up better returns for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
In a return serve last year, the LTA ended the 52-year hiatus of the women’s tournament at Queen’s Club. It sold 62,000 tickets and contributed £6.3m to the total £14.9m revenue. This year, over 70,000 women’s tickets were sold, and the venue remained at 98% capacity throughout, selling out on five of its seven days. Serena Wiliams made her tennis return (and first Queen’s Club Court appearance) after a four-year retirement. Doubled with Emma Raducanu in the final, viewers rallied virtually, with a 1.9 million peak viewership on BBC1 and 434,000 online. With the women’s total prize fund raised to £1.4 million, it’s now among the highest for a standalone WTA 500 event. Only in its second season since its return, Queens’ women’s tennis has proved to be a smash hit and delivered a forecasted 37% profit increase for LTA’s commercial partners. LTA stands to gain year on year and may realise its goal of prize-money equality by 2029.

The Rerun: The London Marathon 2027 is extended for a second day
For the first time since its inception in 1981, the London Marathon will be staged over two days in April 2027, with over 100,000 runners set to lace up across the weekend. The change comes in response to unprecedented demand for the 2026 event, which saw over 1.3 million applicants entering the ballot for the race, representing a 35% increase over the previous year. It is anticipated that demand will only get higher following a year of shattered records for the marathon, which delivered the first (and second) sub two-hour official marathon times this April (as featured in Sports Ticker #151). Organisers have dubbed the event the ‘London Marathon Double’ and predict that “more than £150m can be raised for good causes and the UK economy will have a £400m social and economic benefit”. If deemed a success, the double day could become a permanent feature of the marathon going forward.

Extra time...

… and finally, Manchester United embarks on an ‘All or Nothing’ season. The club has signed a deal with Amazon to feature in their ‘All or Nothing’ documentary series, opening the doors to a fly-on-the-wall documentary crew throughout the 2026/27 season. The agreement – made for a record fee – makes Manchester United the fourth Premier League club to feature in the series, having previously covered Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester City. Talks were previously held in the 2024/25 season over the documentary, but Amazon’s £10+ million offer was ultimately rejected. However, the club has decided that now is the right time to allow access as it embarks on a new era under Michael Carrick. Other media production deals have also been in the works for the club, with Lionsgate set to create a historic drama series.