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.
Showing posts with label Sky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sky. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Monday, 13 August 2007
What we learned from the weekend
Another weekend passes us by, but this one was different. A new Premier League season got underway, but what did we learn from all the hoo-hah and the nitty-gritty? Here's our thoughts on the matter...
1) Here in the UK, TV viewers tuned to Sky Sports for live coverage of the first game of the season, Sunderland v Tottenham, but something had changed. Yes, it was their on-screen graphics which always gets a new look at this time of the year, but this season Sky have opted to show the score in the corner of the screen using only two letters for each team instead of three. Whereas before you might have seen Aston Villa's scoreline against Blackburn Rovers depicted thus:
AST 1 - 2 BLA
...now it might look something like this:
AV 1 - 2 BR
Call me a pathetic little schoolboy if you like, but I'm looking forward to Sky's coverage of Cambridge United's home game against Northampton Town in the FA Cup...
2) Over on the BBC, Gary Lineker introduced the first edition of 'Match of the Day' from a studio which looked like one of the pods on the London Eye decorated to look like the shelving section at Ikea. Not the way to gain the trust of your viewers.
If anyone's listening at the BBC, here's my advice: sit Lineker behind a desk with the 'Match of the Day' logo on the wall behind him and give Mark Lawrenson the same treatment while you're at it. They'll be renewing their TV licenses quicker than you can say 'Tony Gubba'.
3) On the pitch, we discovered that Wayne Rooney's got a foot that's susceptible to injury. (Technically not something we learned at the weekend because we've had that discussion at least twice before - usually on the eve of major footballing events. Sorry to have brought it up.)
4) Sven-Goran Eriksson really does seem to know what he's doing. So where did he go wrong as coach of England? He guided a team made up of nothing but Englishmen. Simple when you think about it.
So what did you learn from the weekend? Did we miss anything? Leave us a comment and let us know...
1) Here in the UK, TV viewers tuned to Sky Sports for live coverage of the first game of the season, Sunderland v Tottenham, but something had changed. Yes, it was their on-screen graphics which always gets a new look at this time of the year, but this season Sky have opted to show the score in the corner of the screen using only two letters for each team instead of three. Whereas before you might have seen Aston Villa's scoreline against Blackburn Rovers depicted thus:
AST 1 - 2 BLA
...now it might look something like this:
AV 1 - 2 BR
Call me a pathetic little schoolboy if you like, but I'm looking forward to Sky's coverage of Cambridge United's home game against Northampton Town in the FA Cup...
2) Over on the BBC, Gary Lineker introduced the first edition of 'Match of the Day' from a studio which looked like one of the pods on the London Eye decorated to look like the shelving section at Ikea. Not the way to gain the trust of your viewers.
If anyone's listening at the BBC, here's my advice: sit Lineker behind a desk with the 'Match of the Day' logo on the wall behind him and give Mark Lawrenson the same treatment while you're at it. They'll be renewing their TV licenses quicker than you can say 'Tony Gubba'.
3) On the pitch, we discovered that Wayne Rooney's got a foot that's susceptible to injury. (Technically not something we learned at the weekend because we've had that discussion at least twice before - usually on the eve of major footballing events. Sorry to have brought it up.)
4) Sven-Goran Eriksson really does seem to know what he's doing. So where did he go wrong as coach of England? He guided a team made up of nothing but Englishmen. Simple when you think about it.
So what did you learn from the weekend? Did we miss anything? Leave us a comment and let us know...
Tuesday, 16 January 2007
Back to square one...
Forgive me if you've heard this one - but there is a point.
Picture with me, if you will, the scene. Its 1927 (thats almost half seven nowadays), and your beloved team are playing, and you're not there. So what do you do? Of course, theres no TV (and no SKY Sports Saturation - which in itself sounds idyllic), and so its on with the radio.
But no matter how much you stare at the speaker, you dont always know where about the current phase of play is on the pitch.
That is until the Radio Times devised the 'grid' idea.
On January 15th, 1927, England played Wales in an International Rugby match at Twickenham. This was the first ever live running sports commentary. That week, the Radio Times printed a picture of the pitch, split into two rows of four and numbered them 1 to 8.
As the commentator described the action, every so often his assistant would call out the number of the 'square' the ball was in. When the ball returned to the keeper at one end, the commentator would say "Back to square one" - now an everday phrase.
And the point of all this? Well, almost 80 years to the day, Radio Five have resurrected the idea. The commentator will have an assistant, calling out the number of the square the ball is in, and listeners will be able to use grid printed in this weeks Radio Times. Live commentary is from the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal take on Manchester United.
Or you could watch it on Sky... ;-)
Picture with me, if you will, the scene. Its 1927 (thats almost half seven nowadays), and your beloved team are playing, and you're not there. So what do you do? Of course, theres no TV (and no SKY Sports Saturation - which in itself sounds idyllic), and so its on with the radio.
But no matter how much you stare at the speaker, you dont always know where about the current phase of play is on the pitch.
That is until the Radio Times devised the 'grid' idea.
On January 15th, 1927, England played Wales in an International Rugby match at Twickenham. This was the first ever live running sports commentary. That week, the Radio Times printed a picture of the pitch, split into two rows of four and numbered them 1 to 8.
As the commentator described the action, every so often his assistant would call out the number of the 'square' the ball was in. When the ball returned to the keeper at one end, the commentator would say "Back to square one" - now an everday phrase.
And the point of all this? Well, almost 80 years to the day, Radio Five have resurrected the idea. The commentator will have an assistant, calling out the number of the square the ball is in, and listeners will be able to use grid printed in this weeks Radio Times. Live commentary is from the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal take on Manchester United.
Or you could watch it on Sky... ;-)
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