BBC bosses can’t hold on to TV’s little gems as rivals pay out millions for big name programmes
Beeb budget cuts sparked the end of Formula One and The Open coverage as rival channels bid to rule the sporting roost
THE Great British Bake Off is the latest in a long line of big name programmes the BBC has lost to its rival channels.
Last year ITV swooped for The Voice in a deal believed to be worth £11million — taking it from the Beeb after five series.
It means ITV Studios will make the show, which starred musician will.i.am as a coach, from 2017.
And while the BBC kept Top Gear, and some elements including The Stig, they lost hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Hammond and May both quit after Clarkson was sacked for punching a show producer.
They took their services to Amazon Prime, which will stream their new show The Grand Tour.
In their place, Top Gear was lumbered with Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans.
But he quit the failing show after just one ill-received series.
Budget cuts at the BBC also meant it ended its Formula One coverage three years early.
As with Bake Off, Channel 4 took on the rights.
They also lost live coverage of golf major The Open to Sky a year earlier than planned.
Brit Justin Rose, third right, finished fourth at the tournament as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998.
And the BDO World Darts Championship, where Dean Winstanley plays, also moves to Channel 4 next year.