Three BBC presenters—Andrew Cotter, Lee McKenzie, and Qasa Alom—have been dropped from their Boat Race roles as coverage switches to Channel 4, according to major media reports. Only one member of the original presenting team is making the transition to Channel 4. Clare Balding returns as lead presenter for Channel 4's coverage, with Ade Adepitan joining as co-presenter and Alex Jacques serving as lead commentator.
Pundits include Martin Cross, Jess Eddie, Pete Reed OBE, Hannah Fry, and Jamie Laing. The women's race will be broadcast first at approximately 2:21pm on Saturday, followed by the men's race roughly an hour later at an estimated 3:21pm. This year marks the 80th edition of the women's race.
This is the first time coverage of the Boat Race will be broadcast on Channel 4. The race was initially televised by the BBC in 1938 and first broadcast on radio in 1927. ITV covered the Boat Race from 2005 until 2009.
Channel 4 secured exclusive free-to-air rights to the Boat Race for the next five editions, according to major media reports. Times Radio has claimed the radio rights for the Boat Race. The specific financial or contractual details of Channel 4's five-year rights deal remain unknown, as do the reasons why the three BBC presenters were dropped from the coverage.