The FIA World Rally Championship is set for a major return to British television, with the BBC securing a new three-year broadcast agreement covering the championship from 2027 to 2029. The deal, announced by WRC Promoter on 18th September, will bring selected live stages from every WRC round to UK audiences, including the decisive Wolf Power Stage, alongside 60-minute highlights programmes from every rally.
The coverage will be available through BBC iPlayer, with digital clips, highlights and additional content also distributed across BBC platforms.
The agreement marks a significant development for the WRC’s visibility in the United Kingdom, particularly with the championship preparing to return to British soil in 2027 through the new Rally Scotland event. Rally Scotland will make its WRC debut in 2027, becoming the first WRC round in the UK since Wales Rally GB in 2019. The BBC will provide extensive live coverage of the Scottish event across all four days of competition.
Coverage of the championship will be delivered through a collaboration between BBC Scotland, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland, bringing together teams and resources from across the BBC Nations.
WRC Promoter CEO Eric Boullier said the partnership represents an important step in the championship’s strategy to increase its reach and visibility in the UK, while also creating an opportunity to reconnect with established rally fans and introduce the sport to a new generation. For Rally Scotland, the timing of the agreement adds another major platform as organisers build towards the event’s 2027 debut. Motorsport UK CEO Hugh Chambers said the BBC deal would help reach long-standing fans while opening the championship to new audiences.
The BBC agreement runs through the 2029 season, the same period covered by Rally Scotland’s initial three-year WRC programme.
With the 2027 WRC calendar still to be announced, the new broadcast partnership provides an important backdrop to the championship’s next chapter in Britain, where the return of a WRC round and increased free-to-air exposure will put rallying back in front of a wider UK audience.
The last WRC round held in Britain was Wales Rally GB in 2019, making Rally Scotland’s arrival in 2027 a return to the UK after an eight-year absence.
