The sporting event will be shown on TNT Sports rather than the BBC, with Neil Gray claiming to have lobbied to give it Category A status
14:10, 19 Dec 2025Updated 15:20, 19 Dec 2025
Commonwealth Games mascot Finnie the Unicorn can’t wait to welcome the event back to Glasgow(Image: Glasgow2026/Craig Watson)
SNP Ministers have found a new grievance after TNT Sports was confirmed as the official broadcast partner of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The multi-games event is being held in Glasgow, just 12 years after the city first hosted the event.
It is normally shown free-to-air on the BBC but will be behind a paywall next year. The move means thousands of households will be denied the opportunity of seeing the best athletes from the Commonwealth on TV.
The decision was made by the Commonwealth Sport, which hailed it as a “landmark” moment. But that hasn’t stopped Health Secretary Neil Gray turning it into yet another complaint about Westminster.
He claims to have lobbied the UK Government along with Angus Robertson to make the Commonwealth Games a ‘Category A’ sporting event, meaning it must be shown on free-to-air TV. He said: “I’m very disappointed at this decision.
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“We have been very clear that the Commonwealth Games should be shown on free-to-air TV, enabling the Games to be accessible and enjoyed by all. Both the Culture Secretary and I have previously written to the UK Government, making it clear that such a significant event should not be placed behind a paywall.
“It is also a duty of the BBC as our national broadcaster to play its part in ensuring people in Scotland can watch the Games. We asked that the Commonwealth Games was given the same free-to-air broadcasting protections as other major events – such as the Fifa World Cup and the Olympics – by being categorised as a listed A.
Health Secretary Neil Gray (Image: PA)
“These protections were not put in place by the UK Government and I will be writing to them again to express my disappointment. They must reconsider this decision, ensure the Games are protected and make them available free-to-air and to as wide an audience as possible.”
TNT Sports is owned by global entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery, who Katie Sadlier, chief executive of Commonwealth Sport, described as a “heavyweight broadcaster”. She added: “Our partnership with Warner Bros Discovery opens up exciting new ways for fans to connect with the action.
“With more events available live and a strong focus on athlete storytelling, fans will be closer to the Games than ever before.”
Phil Batty, chief executive of next year’s Games, said: “This broadcast partnership, secured by Commonwealth Sport, reflects our shared ambition to take coverage of the Games to new and growing audiences. With significant investment into the breadth and depth of content to be platformed for Glasgow 2026, we are hugely excited by the opportunity to collaborate with the talented team at Warner Bros Discovery.
“This is a Games for a new era of Commonwealth Sport, and this partnership sets us up for an incredible showcase of sport in Glasgow next summer.”
A spokesman for the Departure for Culture, Media and Sport said: “We know Glasgow 2026 will be a world-class celebration of sport and the Commonwealth and we are proud to support it. We are keen now that the rights holders and organisers explore options to ensure that as wide an audience as possible can watch, listen and enjoy the Games as a huge event in the sporting summer.”
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