League One & Two TV coverage
Currently watching Wealdstone v Woking on BT Sport and it's really reminded me of how lacking Sky's L1 & 2 coverage is. BT are showing 30 National League games this season - I don't think Sky show more than 20 L1 & 2 matches during the regular season?
The Championship is one of the top leagues in the world and absolutely should be covered live as extensively as it is, but perhaps it's time for a new provider for the other two EFL divisions? I think there's enough of an audience for those levels.
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Hear, hear!
Can L1 and L2 negotiate a separate deal from the Championship?
The PL splits right across three different broadcasters (it briefly had four when BBC showed a few games during lockdown), so I guess it's possible in theory?
I hadn't thought about that. It is odd that there are more games from level five on TV than level three and four.
Then again, the EFL could sell their right completely differently - maybe Sky has exclusivity, I don't know. I think their next two below the Champ are Ipswich v Derby and Plymouth v Exeter.
Isn’t the National League where most of the money is these days?
I’m happy for Wycombe games not ever to be on TV now I can watch them on Wanderers TV.
Just stumbled across an itv goals highlights show.
Quite decent. Good to have it back on a mainstream station. Not "quest" whatever that is.
The EFL sell their rights as one package. That left BT , desperate for domestic content, to go to the National League. I imagine their viewing figures are not high.
The EFL could in theory sell off rights split between Championship and Lg1/2 and I am sure they have looked at it but I presume the view is that overall value of contract would be reduced and hence money filtering down to lg1 and 2 similarly reduced.
I seem to remember from the ITV digital days that ratings can be absolutely tiny for some of these games.
Even some of the Prem games wouldn't stack up that well financially if you took them as individual items rather than as part of the juggernaut worldwide subscription model.
I think you're in a minority there! It was much better on Quest.
The Quest show was absolutely superb. I miss it
In fairness I couldn't actually access Quest. Have quite limited freeview coverage where I am. (Assuming it was freeview not sky or somewhere?)
Yeah, it's a freebie - I think it's online as well, part of Discovery.
Quest is channel number 12.
ITV not taking Colin Murray on as anchor for the highlights was a huge mistake. Maybe there were contractual issues but he was a superb, knowledgeable host. The current set up is dull.
I believe from a mate who worked at BT, that Sky had spent so much on securing the PL, they didn't have enough for ECL so left a fairly easy route for BT on the ECL. Problem being that also left next to beggar all for the EFL, hence Quest managing to pick up the "crumbs" for next to nowt.
I agree that not capturing the services of the excellent Colin Murray was a huge error. ITV4 presenters change almost weekly and are nowhere near as knowledgable.
They actually surveyed L1 fans about increased coverage, but too many said they would not want to watch it every week.
Can't be too.much of a contractual.issue as I saw Colin Murray on Countdown the other day. I must admit he did seem to enjoy lower league football ( or at least did his homework on it!)
Did you see any of the Countdown programmes featuring Russell Kane last week @Wendoverman ? Absolutely brilliant, particularly Friday’s programme when the two contestants were aged 20 and 17 respectively and Russell talked about his lightbulb moment at the age of 19 when, having a ‘posh’ girlfriend at the time, he got to hear about the various extramural activities at ‘uni’ and decided, “rather than work in a shop”, he needed to cram two years study for ‘A’ levels into a few months. He became the fastest student to get from registration to successful ‘A’ levels and has had a scholarship named after him by the examination board.
But all that is incidental. The main point I wanted to make was to say what a dramatic transformation there has been since Colin Murray replaced the woeful Anne Robinson. His wit, his warmth, his enthusiasm and his all-embracing charm make for a very happy and lively atmosphere, in stark contrast to the off-screen bickering and backbiting which soured the atmosphere when Ms Robinson was in charge with her embarrassingly banal third rate chat show questioning of contestants about their private lives. It’s really enjoyable now. Highly recommended.
@micra I did not see Mr Kane on Countdown but I will be seeing him on the Aylesbury in October. Not sure about dictionary corner but his live show is hilarious. Not much of a football.presenter I suspect.
He and Colin Murray are both brilliant.
Where in Aylesbury is Russell Kane appearing , please? Daughter and son-in-law would love to go, I reckon. They saw him at the Swan a few years ago and have been great fans since.
Waterside. Tickets going fast.