National Lottery goes online only as BBC axes show after 22 years
The BBC has pulled the National Lottery show from TV screens after 22 years following a new three-year deal between the broadcaster and operator Camelot.
Viewers will be able to check in on the National Lottery online
From January 2017, players will be able to check results on iPlayer or via a bulletin that will air after the news on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The National Lottery Awards will remain on BBC1.
The Wednesday live results programme was dropped in 2012.
"This new deal reaffirms the BBC's commitment to The National Lottery and our ongoing relationship with Camelot,” said director of BBC content Charlotte Moore.
"We both recognise the need to provide audiences with more ways to access the draw results across a range of platforms that reflect changing behaviour, while importantly retaining a home on BBC1 and continuing our support for the tremendous work they do through the Annual Awards show."
While Camelot's digital director Tim Copper talked up the contract extension, saying it “maintains the strong relationship that has flourished” between the two, its axe from TV screens will come as a blow.
Camelot has suffered mixed fortunes over the past year. While sales of its online games are soaring, those of the televised draw-based games (like Lotto, EuroMillions and Thunderball) are falling.
It invested heavily in a campaign around the Olympics this year in an effort to remind people that every time they buy a ticket a portion of sales go to supporting athletes.