BBC cancels Ski Sunday after nearly 50 years on air

BBC Sport has cancelled Ski Sunday, ending a run that began in 1978 and leaving winter sports without a weekly terrestrial television programme in the UK.

The broadcaster confirmed the decision on 1 September, pointing to shifts in how audiences watch and the financial measures needed to meet its savings requirements. No like-for-like replacement has been announced.

“Following careful consideration, BBC Sport has decided to say farewell to Ski Sunday, ending a remarkable run over nearly five decades,” BBC Sport said. It said the cancellation formed part of an ongoing review of how it offers value to those paying the licence fee and reaches audiences through its platforms.

Philip Bernie, head of BBC Sport Events, said the corporation remained committed to covering major winter sports, “above all at the Winter Olympics”. The BBC holds rights to the summer and winter Olympic Games through 2032, but has given no details of another regular programme dedicated to skiing and snowboarding.

The cancellation comes as part of a reported plan to make about £500 million in savings by 2028. Other parts of the BBC’s sports output and rights portfolio have also been affected, including Football Focus, the Commonwealth Games and the Boat Race.

From alpine racing to a wider winter-sports show

Ski Sunday first aired on BBC Two on 15 January 1978 as an offshoot of Grandstand. Its early coverage concentrated on alpine downhill and slalom, before expanding to include snowboarding, freestyle skiing and skeleton.

David Vine was the programme’s first presenter, working alongside Ron Pickering during its early years. Later presenters and contributors included Hazel Irvine, Matt Chilton, Graham Bell and Olympic skeleton champion Amy Williams. Ed Leigh and former alpine racer Chemmy Alcott presented its final incarnation.

The programme also gave British television viewers regular access to international ski racing at a time when coverage was otherwise limited. Alpine racers including Franz Klammer and Konrad Bartelski became familiar names in UK households through its broadcasts.

Its theme music, Sam Fonteyn’s “Pop Looks Bach”, remained part of the programme after a 2008 reboot. The piece had originally been recorded in 1970 for the Boosey & Hawkes Music Library and was also used for BBC Winter Olympics coverage until 2006.

The final presenters both described the programme as formative. Chemmy Alcott said she was “absolutely gutted”, recalling how watching it as a five-year-old started her ambition to become a ski racer. Ed Leigh said he was “gutted” for British skiing, snowboarding and television, adding that watching the programme prompted his father to take him to Gloucester dry slope. Leigh also said he and Tim Warwood had been developing their own show, with further details expected before its planned launch in October.

Viewers have shared similar accounts of the programme opening up a sport that could otherwise feel inaccessible. Jen Tsang, who now lives and works in the mountains, said her family could not afford ski holidays when she was growing up in South Wales, but that Ski Sunday provided “a window into a world” which eventually led her to a ski season.

BBC Sport said it will continue showing “the biggest winter sports moments”, including the Winter Olympics. Its announcement did not set out how much skiing or snowboarding will appear outside those major events.