Poll: Should the Olympics be protected to keep them on terrestrial TV?
The BBC is facing the prospect of losing some or all of its coverage of the Olympics from 2022 after Eurosport and parent company Discovery secured a 1.3billion euro (£920million) rights deal.
In law certain events are considered the "crown jewels" of sport and must be shoewn live on terrestrial TV, including the football World Cup, European Championship and FA Cup final, the Grand National and the Wimbledon finals.
The BBC had 2,500 hours of live coverage from the London 2012 Games and 650 hours from the Sochi Winter Olympics last year but the days of its wall-to-wall coverage could be numbered.
Eurosport has committed to broadcasting only 200 hours of summer Olympics and 100 hours of winter Games on free-to-air television and says in many territories it will sub-license these backto a terrestrial broadcaster - possibly but not necessarily the BBC.
Announcing the new TV deal, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said: "This is a significant agreement for Discovery and the IOC, and we are excited to have Eurosport, the pan-European home of Olympic sports, as a partner.
