BBC Music will broadcast coverage of the Reading and Leeds Festival from 28 August to 30 August across BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Sounds and YouTube. The BBC One schedule includes four special programmes. Fontaines D.C. broadcasts on Friday 28 August at 10.40pm, followed by RAYE on Saturday 29 August at 11.35pm and Chase & Status on Sunday 30 August at 11.40pm. A highlights package titled Reading Festival Highlights 2026 airs on Wednesday 2 September at 10.40pm.
BBC iPlayer coverage begins Friday 28 August at 3.30pm with archive material including the 2022 Arctic Monkeys set. Live broadcasts from the site start at 6pm on Friday, hosted by Sian Eleri and Jack Saunders. These broadcasts introduce headline sets from Charli xcx and Fontaines D.C. on Friday, Dave and RAYE on Saturday, and Florence + The Machine and Chase & Status on Sunday. Saturday and Sunday iPlayer coverage runs from 6pm to 11.30pm.
BBC Radio 1 will broadcast live from Reading between 10am and 4pm on Friday 28 August and from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 29 August. Jack Saunders will announce a secret set during the New Music Show at 6pm on Wednesday 26 August. Performances and highlight tracks will remain available on-demand via BBC iPlayer for 30 days after the event. Selected tracks will also be uploaded to the BBC Music YouTube channel. The BBC One broadcasts consist of performances from the Reading Festival Main Stage.