Why Ski Sunday could be next BBC Sport show at risk of axe

Declining ratings and changing viewer habits led Kay-Jelski to pull the plug on Saturday institution Football Focus after 52 years.

He will take an unsentimental approach to wringing value out of every penny of his budget, with more “legacy” shows potentially under threat, The i Paper understands.

Schedule fixtures like Ski Sunday, the BBC Two winter teatime show which has undergone numerous revamps since its 1978 debut, could come under scrutiny.

During its 1980s peak, Ski Sunday attracted 4.5 million viewers. It now hovers around the one million mark, with live alpine skiing covered on dedicated sports channels. Presented by Ed Leigh and Chemmy Alcott, the format has expanded to cover snowboarding and other events which attract younger audiences.

One insider said: “If a programme is a fixture in the TV schedules but isn’t making a big enough impact to justify the cost, then it’s probably going to go the way of Football Focus.”

A BBC source said: “We have been clear that we are looking at all options to meet our 10 per cent savings challenge. No decisions have been taken.”

Discussions have yet to take place over any plans for the return of Ski Sunday next winter, The i Paper has learnt. The BBC’s 2026 Winter Olympics coverage recorded 83 million streams, illustrating digital interest in snow sports.

The BBC was outbid for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by Warner Bros Discovery and jettisoned the Boat Race after nearly a century of broadcasts, in order to “deliver the best value for audiences with the that money we have”.

Wimbledon deal discussions

The BBC hopes to extend its £60m deal for Wimbledon after 2027 with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club reportedly seeking new ideas to modernise the coverage.

The daily news segment Sportsday was scrapped last year, in a shake-up which saw 27 jobs go.

“There’s been a lot of change and fear of more redundancies with the latest cuts round,” the insider added. “The drive is to reach younger fans on digital platforms.”

BBC sources said its sports output was “continuously evolving in line with changing audience behaviours, as more people choose to consume content across a mix of television, radio, digital platforms and social media”.

Facing competition for attention from podcasts including Gary Lineker’s The Rest Is Football, Kay-Jelski, a former newspaper executive and editor-in-chief of The Athletic app, has encouraged punchier debates among BBC pundits and more in-depth analysis on the BBC Sport website.

There will be “fresh formats” to replace the axed shows, under “ambitious plans” to put more BBC sport action and analysis on YouTube, sources said – Wayne Rooney’s visualised podcast has racked up 156 million clip views this football season.

AI-generated football news

But there are fears that AI could wipe out sports journalism and production roles, a process already under way in the wider news media.

“They are using generative AI to make a daily football news bulletin with a synthetic voice. But how far will AI go?” the insider asked.

The BBC is trialling My Club Daily, an audio news bulletin for the Sounds app covering 13 English and Welsh clubs, including Liverpool and Newcastle United, produced using Gen AI tools.

The ChatGPT-generated script wrapping up the day’s club news, is voiced by a synthetic AI voice. The BBC said the trial was a success and the Daily will now be scaled up to cover more clubs. Sport staff have been asked to attend AI seminars.

However the BBC said it will only use AI to “organise and reformat existing BBC articles about the clubs to produce a draft audio script”, not to write new stories.

Each script and recording is “checked for accuracy by our editorial team before the completed update is published, and we will clearly highlight our use of AI to listeners in line with the BBC’s AI transparency commitments”.

Impact of ‘hatchet man’

Called a “hatchet man” in reports for his willingness to take tough decisions, such as the removal of Lineker from his BBC duties over an antisemitic post, Kay-Jelski’s forthright approach has disconcerted some at BBC Sport’s Salford base since his arrival two years ago.

An email mentioning redundancies along with training opportunities to produce more video content advised staff: “If the thought of more change is something that concerns you or you feel the direction we’re heading in is not the right fit for you, please have an open conversation with your line manager or HR to discuss all available options, including potential voluntary redundancy.”

BBC sources point to successes during Kay-Jelski’s reign including the decision to replace Lineker with a rotating trio of Match of the Day (MoTD) presenters, with match highlights available on the iPlayer and BBC website hours ahead of its TV broadcast.

Digital viewing of MoTD content is up 36 per cent on last season while the new line-up of Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates has been well received by viewers.

While the BBC’s portfolio of exclusive live rights has shrunk, with the broadcaster unable to match high-spending rivals, a deal to secure World Snooker until 2032 has paid off. The sport retains a loyal TV audience with this week’s World Championships from Sheffield delivering bumper ratings for BBC Two.

The BBC said it retained the “one of the strongest and most enduring rights portfolios in the industry”, including Premier League highlights through to 2029, the Fifa World Cup 2026 and Fifa Women’s World Cup 2027 and the London Marathon.

The BBC now shares live rights to Wimbledon and the Olympics with Warner Bros Discovery-owned channels in deals which ensure that the key moments in sport’s “crown jewel” events are broadcast free-to-air.