Viewers tuning in to watch this year's Glastonbury festival coverage on the BBC could be left disappointed after it emerged The Rolling Stones don't want their eagerly awaited set to be broadcast.
The Stones' Pyramid Stage headline performance on the festival's Saturday night, a coup for the organisers, was expected to provide the BBC with one of the television highlights of the summer.
The rock legends' greatest hits set was due to be broadcast live on BBC Two, Radio 2 and online to millions of fans who could not get tickets for the festival.
However the Stones, who last year distributed a sold-out New York show to fans in a $40 pay-per-view deal, told the BBC that the corporation would not be allowed to screen more than a sample of their performance.
The BBC was told that, at best, they could show the opening four songs of the band's set. Then viewers would be told that the band had demanded a "black-out" of the rest of their performance.
The BBC, which is screening 250 hours of live music from Glastonbury online and through its programming, has been locked in negotiations with Mick Jagger and the rest of the band in a bid to extend their "hit allowance".
"Mick agreed to do Glastonbury for the fans who are there, he didn't sign up for a TV show," a source told The Independent. "It's not about money. If there's torrential rain it will play havoc with their performance and they want to sound and look at their best."
Mark Cooper, BBC head of music television, said: "We are having an on-going discussion with the Stones. At this point I'm quite optimistic we'll get a sufficient amount of music."
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