The Boat Race announces second landmark broadcast partnership as Times Radio confirmed as official radio partner in three-year deal
Tuesday 10 March, London, UK – The Boat Race has today confirmed a partnership with Times Radio, which will see the digital station become the event’s official radio partner in a three-year agreement running until 2028. The announcement comes with the latest edition of the iconic event less than four weeks away.
The partnership will see Times Radio broadcast live from The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2026 on Saturday 4 April, with presenter Jane Mulkerrins hosting a special edition of her Saturday afternoon programme from the riverside in Putney from 1-4pm.
She will be joined by a line-up of rowing royalty and local celebrity guests, bringing listeners the atmosphere, analysis and reaction from the Championship Course.
Times Radio will produce a series of preview features in the build-up to this year’s event, while the package will also include previews in The Times and The Sunday Times, a live Race Day blog on The Times website and cross-promotion of the event across the wider News UK network.
The partnership brings together one of the world’s oldest and most famous sporting and cultural events with one of the UK’s newest and fastest-growing radio stations, listened to by a highly engaged, culturally curious and affluent demographic.
Radio rights to The Boat Race have previously been held by the BBC, as part of the broadcaster’s historic coverage of the event, and by LBC Radio between 2005-2009.
The deal follows last year’s landmark announcement that Channel 4 has become the new free-to-air home of The Boat Race, after winning a competitive rights bid for the live TV rights to the event.
Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race Company, commented: “We’re delighted to announce Times Radio as our new radio partner on a multi-year deal commencing with this year’s Boat Race on Saturday 4 April.
“The Boat Race prides itself on heritage, tradition, precision and quality and these are values shared by the Times Radio team and their listeners, to whom we are incredibly excited to deliver live coverage and supporting content of this year’s and future events.”
Tim Levell, Programme Director of Times Radio, added: “We’re proud to partner with The Boat Race in a three-year deal through to 2028. The Boat Race is a brilliant fit for Times Radio and our listeners, for whom this is a much-loved annual tradition. We know they’ll look forward to tuning in on Race Day on Saturday 4 April, with all the buzz and atmosphere from the Thames and exclusive radio commentary of the Races themselves. We’re especially delighted to support the Women’s Race as it approaches its centenary in 2027.”
With the crews for the CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2026 to be officially unveiled at Somerset House later this week, excitement for the 80th Women’s Race and 171st Men’s Race is building, with more than 200,000 people expected to line the riverbanks to watch the latest instalment of one of the world’s most enduring sporting rivalries.
The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2026 will take place on the Championship Course – a 4.25-mile stretch of the tidal Thames between Putney and Mortlake known as the Tideway – on Saturday 4 April. The Women’s Race takes place at 14:21 followed by the Men’s Race at 15:21.
2025 saw Cambridge University win both the Men’s and Women’s Races, leaving the overall records as 88-81 in the favour of Cambridge Men and 49-30 in the favour of Cambridge Women.
The 2025 edition of The Boat Race was a record-breaking event, becoming the most watched female sporting event in the UK of the year at the time the event was held. It had a higher UK viewership than The Masters and Bahrain Grand Prix events held on the same weekend.
-ENDS-
For all The Boat Race 2026 media enquiries please contact:
The PHA Group – [email protected]
About The CHANEL J12 Boat Race
The Boat Race was first raced by crews from Oxford and Cambridge University in 1829 and is now one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events, offering an unrivalled educational experience to the student athletes who take part.
The world-famous sporting event between the UK’s two greatest universities has become synonymous with British tradition and excellence. The Boat Race has established itself as the epitome of amateur sport, raced by student athletes who combine academic rigour with elite physical prowess. There is no greater occasion.
The Boat Race takes place in London on the famous Championship Course that stretches over 4.25 miles of tidal Thames in West London between Putney and Mortlake. https://www.theboatrace.org/