Many of you won't be aware but I've been feeling a little poorly of late, hence the lack of new articles going on recently. First of all, may I pass on my apologies for the temporary drop in service levels on our part, however I'm able to reassure you that my recent period of convalescence hasn't been a completely useless exercise.
While confined to my sick bed, I was at least able to view the goings-on in world football through my laptop-shaped porthole so that I can now report back to you as I begin the long road to recovery.
A couple of things to begin with, then. First of all, we have Sir Alex Ferguson, knight of the realm and all-round curmudgeonly messiah of Old Trafford. He's decided that it's about time he could choose from seven substitutes during a Premier League match rather than the current five. That, it would seem, would solve all his problems and help Man United retain their number 1 spot in England.
Excellent, except those of us wearing our far-sighted spectacles can discern right now that Mr Ferguson will only end up moaning again. That's because he'll need more players ready to send into battle alongside him on that draughty stadium bench that ought to be recuperating from injury in the comfort of their own home (or at the very least up in one of the executive boxes). There'll be more potential for even greater numbers of injured players because more will be available for each match.
So here's the rub: whatever happened to picking a starting XI that could win a match regardless of which subs might come on? If the subs are any good, why not pick them in the starting XI anyway?
Moving on, the BBC have made a shock announcement that from 2009/10, they'll be showing live games and highlights of Football League Championship matches, as well as those in the Carling Cup. My first reaction was 'why?' but this was easily explained by their failure to retain the rights to show England and FA Cup matches.
I was then filled with a feeling of optimism. Although Sky have done more than anyone by showing countless Football League games in all their exciting and fascinating glory over the last few years, the BBC will undoubtedly increase the potential audience and interest in the sub-Premier League levels for a number of reasons.
For a start, not everyone subscribes to Sky. The BBC's two main channels, on the other hand, are freely available and show the biggest football programme in UK TV history - Match of the Day. It was and always has been known as 'appointment-to-view' TV - the ability to make people sit down at the same times on the same days every week to watch a highly desirable programme. By getting fans of the Championship and Leagues 1 and 2 to watch a similar brand-leading show, a real sea-change in viewing habits could be on the cards.
The real question to be answered, though, is when would their programme(s) be shown? Saturday night is out of the question as that's when Match of the Day takes to the air. Sunday afternoons are out too - that's when Sky show their live games. Sunday nights are now where you'll find Match of the Day 2, the BBC's mopping-up exercise for the Premier League action that didn't happen on any given Saturday, so that leaves Sunday morning… which is when ITV pigeon-holed their weekly programme, and only seven people in the UK used to watch that.
Even then, we're talking about when to schedule a highlights programme. The BBC also has the rights to show ten live games too. I wonder when they'll be shown and on which channel?
All being well, we'll get the answer sometime in the next two to three years.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
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9 comments:
Correct me if i'm wrong, but for last few years people have been complaining that no lower league games should be televised. Their argument was that it offered no incentive to attend the matches, which would hurt the already sagging attendance numbers. I guess a large tv contact changed their minds. So much for atmosphere.
Oh, and welcome back to the ranks of the living. Hopefully it's not as a Romero-esque creature. :)
Good to have you back Chris!
I watch BBC a lot and I think it's pure quality..love match of the day. I've seen some footage of soccer AM on youtube, and it seems to be a quality show too..Is this a broadcasted on SKY?
This is pathetic! Alright any footballs better than none, but 10 games a season , thats 1 a month, of championship games is rubbish.
Also they're not showing any part of the play-offs so it's like reading a book and missing the ending off.
They've only got the Carling Cup Final because they lost the F.A Cup fianl to ITV. The Carling Cup is a useless, meaningless bit of silverware to fill the cupboard, Manchester United won it against Wigan 2 seasons ago to stop a barron season.
How can the BBC think this a positive step to getting back the sport that people want to watch (un televised, great punditry and greatly commentated football, heaven itself).
Match of the Day is too fast, I couldn't get my head round the game between Portsmouth and Reading. Anyway the BBC is pure quality (apart from Robin Hood) but needs to regroup for the big year 2012.
Thanks Chris (B Squad) and Sven! Nice to be back... :)
Chris B - there was a movement a long while ago that suggested lower-league football shouldn't be televised, but since Sky's committal to giving the lesser teams some publicity, more people are now showing an interest. I'm convinced that's why attendances are on the rise these days.
Sven - Match of the Day remains a great programme to watch although Alan Hansen seems to be getting less understandable with time. It's one thing to have a broad Scottish accent, but I'm beginning to wonder if he's got a drink problem...
Soccer AM has been an excellent programme for many years and is, as you say, made and broadcast by Sky. That said, I've been thinking it's well past its peak for some years now and could be about to come to an end, yet it still rumbles on, providing very good entertainment as it always has.
Peter - I'm inclined to agree with you. The deal they've negotiated is a little odd in many ways and I'm surprised they bothered with it.
Re: Match of the Day, it can be a little fast-paced, I'll admit. I still say they make a better of things than ITV did when they had the rights.
Also, i'm not sure where the lower league games fit into the schedule. They may need to designate days as they do for american football.
High School - Friday
College - Saturday (with the odd Wed, Thurs, and Fri.)
NFL - Sunday and Monday (with the odd Sat.and Thurs.)
But I can't imagine the EPL will give up any of their numerous time slots to show a lower league match.
Nothing could be worst than the Championship with Des Lynam fronting it. Hopefully a good tv network like BBC will get the rights to most of the London Olympics(although hopefully I'll be there in the stadium), the truth is the BBC is going to have to shape up or risk be left behind Sky, Setanta, and ITV even further.
I always like it when the BBC show the first few rounds of the F.A Cup between two unknown sides, because it shows that the BBC does sometimes think about the little sides.
Also it's called the BRITISH broadcasting corporation, so maybe they could show some scottish, welsh or northern irish games.
What do you think the BBC should do now Chris o.
I think you're quite right, Chris B. The EPL have Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays set aside for their games and are unlikely to budge.
Peter - hope to see you in the Olympic Stadium one day! Meantime, what I'd like to see the BBC do (somewhat selfishly) is create a digital satellite channel called BBC Football (for instance) and on it show all the games they currently only broadcast regionally in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That way everyone gets to see football from all over the UK.
As that's unlikely to happen, I think the BBC should (a) try to retain their Premier League coverage as long as possible, but if not (b) bid for the Champions League rights.
The latter would give them an interesting dilemma in that they'd have to show one or two games on Tuesday and/or Wednesday evenings at primetime on their terrestrial channels (BBC1 and BBC2). It's either that or push them to one side on their satellite channels (BBC3/BBC4).
For the Olympics, I can see them joining forces with ITV or Sky, much as they did during Euro 96.
Good idea Chris o, hope the BBC can get rid of the Apprentice or something like that off of Wednesdays for CL football.
Thanks for another great post. I'd love to see a digital BBC channel just for football (maybe put on Freeview first, could be part of BBCi. Cheers for answering.
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