BBC is blasted by angry viewers for tweeting SPOILERS of British Olympians winning medals after not showing their events live

The BBC has been blasted by angry viewers for tweeting spoilers of British Olympians winning their first medals after not showing their events lives.   

Olympics fans were left furious after the broadcaster tweeted Chelsie Giles had won a bronze medal in judo before their delayed coverage had finished on BBC One.

Similarly, the semi-final win that guaranteed Bradly Sinden a silver medal in Taekwondo on Sunday was delayed for BBC One viewers by 15 minutes. 

The BBC had again tweeted the result before their television coverage had ended. 

Britons were left frustrated by the spoilers, with one saying they 'didn't need to bother watching to the end'.

Olympics fans were left furious after the broadcaster tweeted Chelsie Giles (in white against Fabienne Kocher of Switzerland in the bronze medal judo match) had won a bronze medal in judo before their delayed coverage had finished on BBC One

Similarly, the semi-final win that guaranteed Bradly Sinden a silver medal in Taekwondo on Sunday was delayed for BBC One viewers by 15 minutes

It comes just a day after Mark Davies, the Chair of British Rowing, questioned the lack of his sport's coverage on the BBC, saying he spent 25 minutes 'looking on every coloured button and web page'. 

But Dan Walker, who fronted some of the live coverage that led to complaints, shared a post on Twitter that the broadcaster is showing less live sport than previously due to American TV network Discovery paying £920million for the long-term rights.  

The bronze medal match between Giles and Switzerland's Fabienne Kocher in the women's -52kg judo had been shown live on the red button instead of on BBC One which had delayed coverage. 

It meant many British fans were left frustrated after the BBC revealed Giles had won the bronze on Twitter before the coverage had ended.

 

British fans were left frustrated after the BBC revealed Giles had won the bronze on Twitter before the coverage had ended

'Fantastic that the result came up on my watch before the match had finished, and so I didn't need to bother watching to the end,' tweeted Mark Smith. 'What's the point if you're not showing medal hopes of GB athletes live?' 

'All results I've learned today have come from Twitter rather than watching BBC live? This match has literally just started and I already know the result,' tweeted a frustrated Rob McEwen.  

'Why is there such a delay in the broadcast versus your updates? Ps CONGRATS Chelsie.' 

Mike Hall tweeted: 'Thanks for spoiling that given its on your main channel NOW... ffs.'

Others pointed out that the match was instead live on the EuroSport channel. 

Rhys Lewis said: 'It was on live on Eurosport but for some reason bbc decide to show it delayed on bbc1?!'

Meanwhile, viewers were left baffled after the BBC tweeted the result of the semi-final win that guaranteed Bradly Sinden a silver medal in Taekwondo.     

'How on earth did BBC Sport not broadcast Bradly Sinden's fight live?' tweeted one user. 

Journalist Harry Wallop tweeted: 'I love BBC; I think usually has far better coverage/commentators than rivals. But it’s not covered itself in glory at Tokyo 2020 so far. 

The Bradley Sinden match – Team GB’s first medal – was shown c15mins after Eurosport. In the era of social media non-live is rubbish.'

He added:  'Losing rights to lots of live Olympics is mostly out of BBC’s hands. But the producers have control over when to switch to which sport. Social media is full of "oh, what a Team GB result!" and the BBC hasn’t even started showing the match. That seems sub-optimal.' 

More fans were frustrated at the BBC's television coverage that can only show two events at once on Saturday.       

Britons attempting to watch the badminton and artistic men’s gymnastics lamented that it was a 'shame' they couldn't watch some of the broadcasts. 

The corporation faced further backlash from angry fans after the heat of swimming favourite Adam Peaty was not shown on the main channel either.

But Dan Walker, who fronted the live coverage that led to complaints, took to Twitter to set the record straight and address viewers' concerns.

He shared a post explaining that the broadcaster is showing less live sport than previously due to American TV network Discovery paying £920million for the long-term rights. 

Britons attempting to watch the badminton and artistic men’s gymnastics lamented that it was a 'shame' they couldn't watch some of the broadcasts

Mark Davies, the Chair of British Rowing, questioned the lack of his sport's coverage, saying he spent 25 minutes 'looking on every coloured button and web page'

The Chair of British Rowing Mark Davies, tweeted: 'Am I being really thick that I can’t find rowing anywhere since the BBC moved to this road cycling? I’ve spend the last 25 minutes looking on every coloured button & web page. 

'214km of road cycling to go and the women’s IV- is done & the men are off shortly!'

Rachel Hooper, British Rowing's learning, education and development manager, responded: 'Nope. 

'We’re all stumped why a 6 hour race is being prioritised over a 6 minute one!'

British four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent said the BBC 'can only show two things at one time'.

He added: 'Discovery have the full UK rights but I doubt are showing rowing.' 

Many viewers decided to switch over to Eurosport or Discovery+ to watch coverage of their favourite sports.

One person tweeted: 'Such a shame though - luckily have got free Discovery+ for 12 months and have Eurosport!'

Furious Olympics fans have slammed the BBC's television coverage that can only show two events at once, sidelining British athletes' big moments

Another posted: 'What are the BBC doing with this Olympic coverage? 

'I've just watched Peaty's heat on Eurosport and now the BBC are showing the highlights of it one hour later.' 

And viewer Connor Rowden wrote: 'BBC have one channel, have to devote it to 90-plus minutes uninterrupted coverage of the football. 

'Potentially GB's biggest Olympic star, Peaty has his minute-long heat hidden behind the red button/online.' 

Mr Walker tweeted: 'For all those asking understandable questions about the change from all Olympic sports being streamed by the BBC to the new right’s agreement… Tom provides some helpful context here.'

Dan Walker, who fronted the live coverage that led to complaints, took to Twitter to set the record straight and address viewers' concerns

The subsequent post read: 'For those unhappy the BBC isn’t showing as much live sport from the Tokyo Olympics as it used to:

'Discovery now has the pan-European rights; the BBC subcontracts them; Discovery paid £920m for those rights; £920m would pay for ALL BBC network radio **three times over**'. 

A spokesman for the BBC told The Sunday Telegraph that the arrangements had been known since 2017, saying that the broadcaster 'will continue to bring extensive coverage from the Games including all the must see moments'. 

But he added: 'The BBC is no longer able to offer live streams of every sport during the Olympics due to the terms of the licensing arrangements laid down by the rights-holder .'