The BBC has lost control of the rights to the Olympic Games after the International Olympic Committee sealed a £920m pan-European deal with Discovery, the US broadcaster that owns Eurosport.
Discovery will take control of the UK rights from 2022, as the BBC has already secured exclusive rights to the 2016, 2018 and 2020 Games.
The deal will take effect in most of Europe after next summer’s Rio Olympics, and cover the winter and summer Games from 2018 to 2024.
Thereafter the BBC will only be able to broadcast Olympic coverage if it reaches a sub-licensing agreement with Discovery, which has said it will seek partnerships with broadcasters in some territories.
The deal raises the prospect that the Olympics will not appear on the UK’s publicly funded broadcaster for the first time, despite its widely praised coverage of the London 2012 Games.
At least 200 hours of the summer Olympics will be made available free-to-air, but Discovery has not specified which events will be shown, or by whom.
It has made a similar commitment to broadcast 100 hours of the winter Olympics on a free-to-air basis.
The complex deal is a bold move from the IOC’s President Thomas Bach, and will be seen as a blow to established state and publicly funded broadcasters across Europe that have become used to screening the Olympics.
Bach said granting a cross-platform deal to Discovery, including conventional television and digital output, made the US firm “the gatekeeper” of Olympic rights in Europe.
He also welcomed Discovery’s commitment to work with the IOC on his pet project, the establishment of a 24-hour Olympic channel.
Discovery’s chief executive David Zaslav said he will enter into talks with broadcasters across Europe about how they will deliver a deal he described as a “game-changer” for Eurosport.
In some territories, Eurosport will screen events free-to-air on its own channels, while in others it will turn to domestic broadcasters.
The BBC confirmed it will open talks with Discovery about the 2022 and 2024 Games “in due course”.
The UK picture is further complicated by listed events legislation, which requires the Olympics to be broadcast free-to-air.
Currently, only five channels qualify as free-to-air providers – BBC1 and BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – but that could change.
Bach said: “In the UK the BBC has played a significant role in spreading the Games, but it is also true that Eurosport has contributed, so it is not just the public broadcasters.
“It is not about excluding anybody, but it is showing a new approach, a broader approach to Olympic broadcasting.”
In a statement the BBC said: “It is not unprecedented for sports rights to be sold on a pan-territory basis and the BBC has acquired other rights via sub-licensing deals with either agencies or broadcasters.
“We will be seeking further discussions with Discovery about the free-to-air rights to the 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games in due course.”