Back to normal !!!

[beejaybee]

At last our tv progs can go back to normal. I don`t watch much tv, but I do like to be able to have a choice not just football.

[Joe Shmoe]

I agree to that . It's nice to Know it's there when you need it. Although Why they had to show the world Cup match live on TWO channels still puzzles me.:-D

[Rock'n'Roll]

what's wrong with football on 2 channels? usually bloody soaps on every channel everyday,avery week

[Backdrifter]

Rock'n'Roll, I'm with you 100%. For a start, no channel has shown ONLY football. Whenever there's been football on the last few weeks, there's been plenty of non-football stuff on the other channels - football-haters just like to make melodramatic claims about the amount of football being shown, purely for effect.

There's a major football tournament for a few weeks, once every 2 years. I accept lots of people don't like watching it. But I hate soaps, reality shows, talent shows, and programmes in which TV "experts" show all us clueless proles how to eat/dress/have relationships/raise our children/buy houses/decorate houses/sell houses etc etc, and I can't escape from them because THEY'RE ON EVERY SINGLE F***ING DAY OF EVERY YEAR. So, some of that sh*t having to move aside for a few football matches is no big deal.

[China Doll]

hear hear Backdrifter....

[Mr Tall]

Im having withdrawal symtoms already.

[Ric.ror]

The only sad thing was that none of the teams put in a good enough performance to impress any non-football fans

[beejaybee]

Oh, so it`s only every 2 years is it. I thought it was 4. lol. What about all the European cup matches that are on. Saturday matches, yes it`s only for about 8 months or so I know. Then there`s the motor racing which affects progs. We then had 2 weeks of tennis on 2 channels. That`s without the golf, & cricket. I personally don`t watch most of the type of progs you mention. Football was also shown on ITV 2.

[ugly_bob]

*sob*
no footie for a month
*sob*
then only on sky
*sob*
It's not fair!!!!

[Backdrifter]

beejay, even taking into account that you've suddenly thrown in other sports after first talking specifically about the football, all the things you've just mentioned are still a mere drop in the TV ocrean. The Champions League matches I think you were referring to, yes ITV1 show those live but over the course of a year they're pretty sporadic. The Saturday matches are only shown as highlights on Match of the Day, which is a part of the regular TV schedule during the season. An hour a week for 9 months... not exactly excessive is it?

By the way my "every 2 years" comment includes the European Championships, so those are the next big tournament, in 2008. Just so you're prepared to do some more football-avoiding in two years' time.

With the other sports you mention, Wimbledon is as you say 2 weeks a year; you're entitled to think that's too much but I think you'd be wrong - compare the hours of tennis broadcast to the total number of broadcast hours on BBC1 & 2 over a year and it's miniscule. You generally find that when there's golf on BBC2 and cricket on C4, it's exclusive to those channels and is therefore easy to avoid.

Does motor racing (which I find stupefyingly tedious) cause other programmes to move? Oh well... so do extended new bulletins, sometimes. Schedules are subject to change. It can be irritating if you're waiting for something, sure. But the times motor racing causes that to happen must be about as infrequent as when it's caused by extended news, surely?

I'm happy to read you join me in avoiding the utter crap that forms part of the schedules on a DAILY basis.

[beejaybee]

Backdrifter. Yes, I did mention other sport, I admit. I honestly think that sport could be put on to one channel, but that will never happen. You mention that the news is sometimes extended. This only happens when something major happens, & I don`t think anyone objects in these instances. Ok. I admit defeat. I can see I`m "outvoted" by the football fans. Lol

[Joe Shmoe]

I dont mind there being sports on tv . In fact I think there should be one terestial sports dedicated channel . I do not even mind TWO matches being shown at the same time . BUT why the same match at the same time on two channels? :-D

[beejaybee]

I think it`s something to do with getting paid to show the football. Could be wrong though lol

[Backdrifter]

Other way around, beejay - broadcasters pay the FA ludicrous sums of money for the rights to show the football.

For the BBC, something like MOTD is a well-established "brand" (yeccch, I hate that sort of marketing-speak!). It's heavily identified with the BBC and they want to maintain it. As for the live matches, the main terrestrial channels bid for them as it gives some prestige for them to be showing international England matches, they get pretty good viewing figures for them, and it helps to diversify their output. A sports-only terrestrial channel would probably never be approved, although soon the term "terrestrial" will be redundant as we move to digital-only.

There are already sports-only channels but I doubt that a "BBC Sport" channel would be able to meet a full schedule, no matter how much sport you think there is on TV. The fact remains that regardless of the impression you get when your programme annoyingly gets put back in the schedule, there actually isn't that much sport on "terrestrial" TV.

[beejaybee]

Hi Backdrifter. Thought I`d got it wrong. Thanks for explaining CORRECTLY (lol) how it all works.