The Beeb's free-to-air coverage is often criticised but watching Grand Slam Sports in the UK costs £30.99 per month on TNT Sports

For years, BBC’s coverage of the No.1 Olympic sport has come under fire. Criticism usually focuses on the arguably excessive time spent talking to studio pundits. “Show us more athletics action rather than chit-chat!” scream the fans.

BBC’s long-time loyalty when it comes to covering athletics, however, was demonstrated recently when it announced a new five-year deals to cover the Wanda Diamond League and TCS London Marathon.

Those with long memories will remember what happened when Channel 4 got hold of the World Athletics Championships in 2011. In addition to frustrating advertising breaks, among other things the main presenter Ortis Deley was ridiculed and eventually dropped. although his memorably cringe-worthy sign-off line of "Jessica Ennis, goodnight" has stood the test of time as a classic moment in athletics history.

Not everyone enjoys BBC coverage, but they are a safe and extraordinarily loyal pair of hands. Their broadcasts are also free-to-air, all of which brings us to TNT Sports.

TNT recently merged with Eurosport and in recent weeks the only way to watch Grand Slam Track has been on TNT Sports, whereas the channel has also shown the Boston and London marathons. Historically, Eurosport has shown a lot of athletics as well from track and field grand prix meetings across Europe through to big city marathons and much more.

The bad news for athletics fans is that this merger with TNT Sports has seen the monthly subscription fee rise from £6.99 to a hefty £30.99. It is a price that will put many off. This was illustrated in a recent social media poll by the British Athletics Supporters’ Club where 52.9% of respondents simply said they didn’t have TNT Sports.

If Michael Johnson and his team at Grand Slam Track hope to make their event as available as possible and to grow a global audience then showing the meetings on TNT Sports in the UK is probably not the way to go. The actual coverage so far has been good, with Steve Cram leading the commentary team, but it is simply too expensive for many Brits, in addition to being on during the Witching Hour due to the time difference with venues such as Kingston in Jamaica and Miami.

In cycling there has been an even bigger hoo-ha since their sport moved largely to TNT Sports. For years a lot of cycling was shown on Eurosport, but it is now on TNT with a £30.99/month subscription.

“Viewers have reacted to the move with frustration, disbelief and outright fury as they have begun to ponder the implications to their finances and whether they will have to forgo watching their favourite sport,” reported Cycling Weekly, who added that a survey involving almost 1000 people showed that just 2.5% were willing to sign up to TNT Sports with 9% undecided.

READ MORE: Grand Slam Track Miami preview

Right now only a small amount of athletics is shown on TNT Sports. But if the broadcast landscape changes, we may see more track and field on channels such as this.

So the next time you find yourself getting frustrated with BBC coverage, try to appreciate how loyal and inexpensive its athletics coverage has been for so many years. We will probably miss it when it’s gone.