BBC could be forced into sub-licensing its Olympic coverage in the future which will nullify the 'home of the Olympics' tag

American broadcasters Discovery have purchased the European television rights for the Summer and Winter Olympics for £920million

Pay for stations Sky and BT or even ITV, who no longer have the expense of the Champions League, could gazump the Beeb

The BBC is at risk of losing its coverage of the rugby Six Nations as well as the Olympic Games

BBC Sport is facing its own 'double fault' in the first week of its flagship Wimbledon coverage with fears the corporation could lose rights to rugby union's Six Nations as well as the Olympic Games.

Tuesday sees the close of tenders to cover rugby's showpiece tournament beyond 2018 and it is possible the deeper pockets of pay TV rivals Sky and BT, or even ITV now they don't have the expense of the Champions League, could take some or all of the Games off the BBC.

Both pay TV networks have been encouraged by the organisers to bid for the next contract after the BBC's £160million, four-year deal runs out in 2017. The best the Beeb can hope for is a shared agreement with BT, similar to their FA Cup tie-up that has worked well for both.

The BBC is at risk of losing its coverage of the rugby Six Nations. Pictured, Ireland celebrate the 2015 title

England's Mike Brown (left) tackles Italy's Andrea Masi during the Six Nations clash back in February

The BBC stand to lose the Olympic Games after European broadcasting rights were awarded to the owner of Eurosport in a £920million deal. Pictured is heptathlete Jessica Ennis winning gold in 2012

Clare Balding (right), Mark Foster (left) and Ian Thorpe (centre) were part of the BBC's presenting team at the London games, but the broadcaster could miss out on showing future Olympic events

On Monday, the national broadcaster got a shock when the International Olympic Committee announced a £920m deal that gives American giants Discovery rights to the Summer and Winter Games across Europe.

And with the Open Golf beyond 2017 lost earlier this year to Sky, the BBC's crown jewels rights cabinet is looking distinctly bare.

The IOC deal with Discovery, who also showed interest in the Premier League football rights, is for summer and winter Olympics across Europe, excluding Russia, from 2018 onwards. But the BBC still have deals in place for Tokyo 2020 and the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Even in the strong likelihood of the Beeb sub-licensing Olympic rights from Discovery after 2020, they will no longer be able to promote themselves as the home of the Olympics as they did with such effect during London 2012 when they screened 2,500 hours of live coverage.

Discovery will adhere to listed events regulations and are committed to showing 200 hours of Summer Olympics and 100 hours from the Winter games on free-to-air outlets.

Discovery have also expressed an interest in securing the broadcasting rights for the Premier League. Pictured, Chelsea players celebrate winning the league title earlier this year

A BBC statement said: 'The Olympic Games remains a priority for the BBC and we have already secured the TV, radio and online rights to the next three Olympic Games in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

'It is not unprecedented for sports rights to be sold on a pan-territory basis and the BBC has acquired other sports rights via sub-licensing deals with either agencies or broadcasters .

'We will be seeking further discussions with Discovery about the UK free-to-air rights to the 2022 and 2024 Games.'

The BBC, whose 2012 presenting team also included Gabby Logan, has billed itself in coverage as 'The Olympic Broadcaster' but could now miss out on future Games

DISCOVERY...WHO ARE THE TV GIANTS BEHIND THE £920M DEAL? WHAT ARE THE DETAILS? Discovery Communications have purchased the European television rights for the Summer and Winter Olympics for $1.3billion (£920m). The deal will be effective from 2018 in most of Europe, and 2022 in the UK and France. WHO ARE DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS? An American-based global media company which is the home of the Discovery Channel, as well as many more domestic and international networks. Last year they acquired the six Eurosport channels. DOES THIS MEAN THE GAMES WON'T BE ON THE BBC? Not necessarily. Instead of showing the Olympics on their own channels, Discovery may choose to sub-licence certain events to the likes of the BBC in order to get maximum return on their investment. Though it is unlikely the Beeb will boast the same comprehensive coverage as in previous years. BUT I THOUGHT THE OLYMPICS HAD TO BE SHOWN ON FREE-TO-AIR TV? They do — Discovery have confirmed they will launch a new Olympic TV channel, which will be available on Freeview at no extra charge. HOW WILL THAT WORK? It is thought that the new network will appear on Freeview users' channel lists for the duration of each Olympics. Discovery claim they will broadcast a minimum of 200 hours during the Olympics and 100 in the Winter Olympics on free-to-air television. Advertisement

The BBC could also miss out on coverage of the Winter Games. Pictured is Jenny Jones on her way to becoming the first ever British athlete to win a medal on snow at the 2014 Sochi Games

Mo Farah (right) with BBC commentator Phil Jones the moment he won gold in 2012

But Olympic President Thomas Bach, while praising BBC's contribution in covering every Olympics since London in 1948, gave no guarantee of a sub-licensing deal. He said: 'This is a significant agreement for Discovery and the IOC and we are excited to have Eurosport as a partner. The BBC has played a significant role but Eurosport has contributed a lot.

'It's not the public broadcaster alone, we are not excluding anybody.'

Discovery chief executive David Zaslav said: 'Part of our approach will be to strive to work with some of the best Olympic broadcast players. The BBC will have the chance to sub-license some of the rights. We'll open up those discussions in every market.'

Meanwhile, BBC, who paid £160m for four years of the Six Nations up to 2017, have known they face a challenge to the rights since John Feehan, the tournament chief executive, announced last January that they would consider pay-television operators for the next UK broadcast rights deal.

He said: 'It is an open marketplace and we need to ensure that we continue to generate revenues that can fund and develop the game.'