BT Sport unveils schedule for America's Cup this summer

BT SPORT UNVEILS SCHEDULE FOR AMERICA’S CUP THIS SUMMER

Sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie’s attempts to bring the biggest prize in sailing back to British waters to be shown live on BT Sport

Award-winning TV presenter Clare Balding and sailing legend Shirley Robertson and Stevie Morrison will present BT’s coverage of Sir Ben Ainslie’s bid to bring the America’s Cup back to the UK.

Starting on Friday 26 May, BT Sport will be showing 23 days of exclusively live coverage from Bermuda until the finale on Tuesday 27 June. BT’s commitment to make televised sport more accessible will also see the first 12 days of live racing from the Qualifiers and the Challenger Play-off semi-finals plus highlights from the Challenger Final and the Match broadcast on BT’s Freeview channel, BT Sport Showcase HD channel 115 and Virgin channel 548.

Clare Balding will anchor BT Sport’s coverage and alongside her will be double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson as reporter and Stevie Morrison providing expert analysis. BT Sport will show exclusively live all of the America’s Cup action from Bermuda, from the Qualifiers through to the America’s Cup Match across 23 days.

This year’s competition will see the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie, hoping to win the oldest trophy in international sport with his Land Rover BAR team and the America's Cup race boat “Rita”.

BT is Land Rover BAR’s Official Technology in Sustainability Partner. BT has designed 4G wireless and fixed networks for the Land Rover BAR team allowing data relating to the catamaran’s performance, local sailing and weather conditions to be collected and transmitted direct from the boat back to “Mission Control” at the team’s operations centres in Bermuda and the UK.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “Sir Ben Ainslie is one of the most famous British sporting names of all time, given his fantastic achievements at multiple Olympic Games. The America’s Cup is spectacular viewing, and I can’t wait to see this prestigious tournament on BT Sport, giving fans the chance to follow Sir Ben Ainslie’s quest to bring the cup home.”

Sir Ben Ainslie, Landrover BAR, said “Fantastic news that BT Sport, the UK live rights holder will show the first 12 days of the America’s Cup racing on BT’s Freeview channels, starting on 26^th May, it is a real boost for the team and British fans.”