Trav's short answer
Ski Sunday has been cancelled because BBC Sport says viewing habits are changing while it also has to make difficult financial savings.The BBC has confirmed that the programme will end after nearly 50 years. It has not said that BBC winter sports coverage is ending altogether: the broadcaster says it remains committed to winter sport, particularly the Winter Olympics, across BBC Sport's platforms.
The reason Ski Sunday is ending
The BBC points to two things: changing audiences and financial pressure
In its statement announcing the decision, BBC Sport referred to changing audience behaviour and the difficult financial choices required to meet savings targets. It said those pressures mean it must continually review how it provides value for licence-fee payers across television and its other platforms.
What the BBC has not published: the announcement does not give a Ski Sunday viewing figure, a specific audience target the programme missed, or a standalone saving attached to cancelling the show. Claims that one particular ratings number caused the decision would therefore go beyond what has been confirmed.
Ski Sunday at a glance
Key facts behind the end of the programmeThe phrase “nearly 50 years” is accurate, but the programme's run is more precisely 48 years: it began in 1978 and the cancellation was announced in 2026.
BBC statement
What has BBC Sport actually said about cancelling Ski Sunday?
BBC Sport confirmed on 1 September that Ski Sunday is to end after nearly 50 years. The announcement described the programme as an important part of its winter sports output but said the organisation has to adapt as the way audiences watch sport changes.
The clearest explanation came in the BBC's own statement, which linked the decision to changing audience behaviours and the financial decisions needed to meet savings requirements. Philip Bernie, the BBC's head of sport events, also said the corporation has to make difficult choices while trying to deliver value for licence-fee payers.
Changing viewing habits
Sports audiences now split their time across broadcast TV, streaming, apps, social video and on-demand highlights. The BBC's statement says this changing behaviour is part of why it reviews long-running formats.
Savings and budgets
BBC Sport also explicitly referred to tough financial decisions and savings requirements. It did not publish a separate figure showing how much ending Ski Sunday will save.
The BBC says it still intends to bring audiences major winter sports coverage across its platforms, with the Winter Olympics singled out as a continuing priority.
A British skiing institution
Why Ski Sunday mattered to British skiing
For generations of viewers, Ski Sunday was one of the easiest ways to follow alpine racing from Britain. It first aired in 1978 and helped turn international ski racers and World Cup venues into familiar names for a television audience that might never have travelled to the Alps.
The programme was closely associated with broadcaster David Vine in its early decades and later featured a long list of presenters, commentators and former athletes. In its most recent form it was fronted by Ed Leigh and Chemmy Alcott, with the format expanding beyond traditional alpine racing to cover a wider mix of snow and sliding sports.
From downhill racing to wider snow sports
Ski Sunday became known for World Cup alpine coverage but evolved into a broader winter-sports magazine, mixing race action with features, interviews and other snow-sport disciplines.
“Pop Looks Bach”
Sam Fonteyn's violin-led theme became almost as recognisable as the programme itself and is still strongly associated with BBC skiing coverage.
One of the programme's best-remembered British racing moments came in 1981, when Konrad Bartelski finished second in the men's World Cup downhill at Val Gardena. The result became part of Ski Sunday's folklore and showed how the programme could make an overseas ski race feel like a major event for viewers at home.
What it means for viewers
Will the BBC still show skiing and winter sports?
Yes, but the cancellation means viewers should not expect Ski Sunday itself to return as the familiar seasonal programme. BBC Sport says it remains committed to winter sport and specifically highlighted the Winter Olympics when announcing the decision.
That distinction matters. Ending Ski Sunday does not automatically mean every alpine race, skiing highlight or winter-sports event disappears from BBC television, iPlayer, the BBC Sport website or the app. At the same time, the BBC has not announced a like-for-like weekly replacement for Ski Sunday.
Exactly which non-Olympic ski races the BBC will show in future seasons will still depend on rights, schedules and future programming decisions. The cancellation announcement does not set out a complete 2026/27 broadcast calendar.
What happens next?
Ski Sunday is ending, but British ski fans are not losing every route to watching the sport
The immediate change is straightforward: the BBC's long-running Ski Sunday programme is being discontinued. The bigger question is whether its mix of race highlights, features and presenter-led winter-sports coverage will be recreated elsewhere on BBC platforms or replaced by a more digital-first approach.
For now, the BBC has stopped short of announcing a successor. Its statement instead stresses the need to serve audiences across different platforms, which suggests future winter-sports coverage may be packaged differently from the traditional Sunday programme.
That is the confirmed explanation. There is no announced scandal, presenter dispute or single failed ratings target behind the decision. After 48 years, the BBC has decided the standalone programme no longer fits the way it wants to allocate its sports budget and reach viewers.
Trav's final summary
Ski Sunday is ending after 48 years on the BBC
The BBC says the decision comes down to changing audience habits and the need to make financial savings. Ski Sunday itself is ending, but BBC winter-sports coverage is not disappearing entirely.
- Cancelled in 2026: the BBC confirmed the end of Ski Sunday on 1 September after a run that began in 1978.
- Why it is ending: BBC Sport cites changing audience behaviour alongside difficult savings and budget decisions.
- Skiing stays on the BBC: the broadcaster says it remains committed to winter sport, especially Winter Olympics coverage across its platforms.