BBC agrees new Diamond League highlights deal until 2017

Mo Farah could be one of the athletes in action during the Diamond League events on the BBC

Highlights of the 2016 and 2017 Diamond League seasons will be available to watch on the BBC as part of a new deal.

BBC Sport will increase its TV coverage of all 12 international events, which will also be covered on the BBC Sport website and BBC Radio 5 live.

"The deal strengthens the BBC's long-term commitment to athletics," said BBC director of sport Barbara Slater.

"It is our biggest commitment in terms of coverage of the Diamond League on network television."

The BBC has a separate deal for live coverage of the two UK Diamond League events in Birmingham (7 June) and the Anniversary Games in London (24 and 25 July) which runs through to 2020.

Lamine Diack, the International Association of Athletics Federations president and chairman of the board of the Diamond League, said: "We are very proud to have a partner like the BBC to commit to such a broad coverage of our meeting series.

"BBC's support is of course also great news with regards to the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Championships in London 2017 and confirms the importance of our sport in the UK."