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The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and The Boat Race Company Ltd (BRCL), today announced a new five-year deal that will bring the Boat Race back to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ for the first time since 2004.

The deal, which takes effect from 2010, will provide the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ with full UK media rights and in addition allow broadcast on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport website (bbc.co.uk/sport), ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ World News and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ America.

The Boat Race is one of the UK's great national sporting moments, with a peak audience in recent years of 8.9 million.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Director of Sport, Roger Mosey, said: "The Boat Race is one of the landmarks of the sporting year, and it's a national event enjoyed by many millions.

"We're extremely pleased that it's coming back to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ alongside other great British occasions such as Wimbledon, the Grand National and the London Marathon."

Commenting on the new agreement, Giles Vardey, Chairman of BRCL, said: "We are extremely pleased to have secured a long-term agreement with the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, which we expect will mean even greater profile for the Race across the Corporation's multi-media networks.

"The Boat Race, with its remarkable 180-year history, remains one of Britain's top five televised live sports events – alongside events like the FA Cup Final and the Men's singles final at Wimbledon – as well as being screened annually in 113 countries around the world."

Notes to Editors

The Boat Race achieved an 8.9 million peak viewing figure in 2004.

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