Paul Smith
On Sunday 15th February 2009, live Italian Football returned to UK TV screens with coverage of the Milan Derby on BBC Three. It would be safe to assume the main catalyst behind the BBC’s decision to obtain the rights was a certain David Beckham (currently on loan to AC Milan from LA Galaxy). Then there is also the Mourinho factor, with the Inter coach still hugely popular in England amongst both fans and media, not forgetting the fast approaching Champions League clash between Inter and Manchester United.
It was nice to see the BBC give the game a meaningful build up of half an hour with Roy Hodgson (current Fulham and former Inter Milan manager) and Alan Hansen (one of the BBC’s main pundits) in the studio. The commentary team of Guy Mowbray and Mark Bright were also live at the San Siro and not ‘off tube’ in a studio back in London. The discussion in the buildup centred upon the stereotypical view of Italian football and its catennacio (padlock defence) approach, so it wasn’t all about David Beckham. The views at half-time and post-match were of pleasant surprise that Italian football could be fluid and free flowing. Overall the BBC’s coverage was professional and treated the game with the respect it deserved – please take note ITV.
The game also provided the opportunity for UK viewers to go down memory lane and reminisce about the days of Italian Football in the mid-nineties on Channel 4. For people in their mid-twenties, Italian Football on Channel 4 was cult viewing. There were the several factors that contributed to its popularity.
Firstly, the most popular English footballer of the post Italia 90 era was Paul Gascoigne. ‘Gazza’ signed for Lazio after overcoming an infamous cruciate ligament injury picked up in the 1991 FA Cup final against Nottingham Forest, following a rash challenge on Forest defender Gary Charles.
Secondly, the Sky TV era was starting in the UK with domestic football vanishing off terrestrial TV screens as the subscription broadcaster began to flex their financial muscles.
Finally, Serie A was regarded as the best league in the world at that time. It was the league where all the world’s best players resided. From Paolo Maldini at AC Milan to Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina, truly world class performers were on show every week.
For young football fans at the time, the opportunity to watch regular Italian football gave them a huge insight into the tactical side of the game. This was the first time many British viewers had seen the utilization of the ‘holding player’ in front of the defence. In English football this time was still very much the era of the stereotypical ‘box to box’ central midfielder. In Serie A the pace of the game was much more methodical and it was noticeable how much time the ball spent on the ground.
Whilst it’s easy to remember the big name players and the massive games, it would be churlish to overlook the quality of Channel 4’s coverage. James Richardson was an excellent presenter with the added bonus of speaking fluent Italian. The Saturday morning magazine show Gazzetta would see James basking in the Mediterranean sun at a pavement café somewhere on the peninsula holding his copy of La Gazzetta Dello Sport. On a Sunday he would present the live match at the stadium along with a pundit such as Paul Elliott, the former Chelsea defender with experience of Italian football through a spell at Pisa. Any narration on the show would be carried out by 1966 World Cup commentator Ken Wolstenholme; and the actual commentator for the live match was the unmistakable voice of Peter Brackley.
Unfortunately, at the current time, live Italian football is not available to a UK TV audience. Channel 4 now appear to be content filling their Sunday afternoon schedule with repeats of a soap opera, Hollyoaks, and pop concerts on the windswept beach at Weston-super-Mare. Another channel, FIVE, had a go in the same Sunday afternoon slot but the viewing figures weren’t enough for them to invest for a second season. Prior to FIVE the mens cable channel Bravo obtained the rights but didn’t tell a wide enough audience about it, with the result being that no-one watched.
Is there anyone else willing to provide live Italian football coverage to a UK audience? Setanta Sports would be an obvious home for Italian football, and many would argue it would fit nicely into their portfolio. The Ireland based channel already show live football from Germany’s 1.Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1 and Holland’s Eredivisie. Rumour has it that they came close to securing the rights once FIVE decided against keeping them for a second season.
After their recent coverage of the Milan derby, the BBC have to be considered, although they would receive the mandatory criticism of any deal being a waste of taxpayers’ money. BBC Three would seem to be perfect for Serie A, and it’s about time the BBC used the platform for more sport considering the channel’s demographic is young adults. Another channel that springs to mind would be ITV4, although it would be disheartening for most UK based football fans if ITV obtained more football rights with their habitually poor coverage.
The primary consideration for any channel would be when to show the live game/s. As FIVE discovered, the Sunday afternoon slot is a tough nut to crack. Premier League football is the main attraction on Sunday afternoons now. Most football fans have Sky or at least have access to Sky, and even for those who don’t a broadband internet connection allows fans to watch the big games streamed to their computer.
The one slot that has a chance of working is the Sunday evening slot when all English football has finished and football fans have a choice of La Liga on Sky or Ligue 1 on Setanta. This is the slot that Bravo went for but they forgot to tell anyone about it. With the correct marketing campaign this slot would be a success if a channel is willing to give it a go and stick with it even if the intial ratings aren’t good.
Whether UK viewers get live Italian football on their TV screens in the not too distant future is probably down to one man; David Beckham. If Beckham stays at Milan then the possibility is much greater that the rights will be snapped up for either the remainder of this season or next season. The clear danger is that coverage could soon become the ‘David Beckham League’ where the only games they show are Milan games. Everyone must hope that does not happen, because Serie A deserves more respect than that.
AC Milan 08/09 Away BECKHAM AC Milan 08/09 Third BECKHAM
