The BBC continues its sorry decline

By: Martyn | July 6th, 2009

I’ve lifted most of this introduction from Wikipedia, but it perfectly details the history of the license fee-funded British Broadcasting Corporation and all that it stands for in less words and more detail than I could ever hope of achieving.

The original British Broadcasting Company was founded in 1922 by a group of six telecommunications companies – Marconi, Radio Communication Company, Metropolitan-Vickers, General Electric, Western Electric, and British Thomson-Houston – to broadcast experimental radio services. The first transmission was on 14 November of that year, from station 2LO, located at Marconi House, London.

The Company, with John Reith as general manager, became the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927 when it was granted a Royal Charter (this expires in July 2017) of incorporation – a type of legal instrument granted by a Sovereign to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies – and ceased to be privately owned. To represent its purpose and values, the Corporation adopted the coat of arms, incorporating the motto “Nation shall speak peace unto Nation”.

So that’s that, ta very Wikki, and back to the words of I, Martyn, Cardiff City fan. The BBC has announced the first batch of games it will be showing having secured the rights to screen 10 second-tier matches this season. However, this nice little treat has been poisoned by the fact that the Beeb have scandalously opted to let the Geordie soap opera hog a minimum fifth of the coverage by showing Newcastle United in the first two broadcasts.

The first game to be shown is the round 1 fixture between West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United. How exactly does that act as a true introduction to the game at this level? Both are sides who have just been demoted from the top table to what all the glory supporters and the national press see as merely the servants quarters. Sure, they may inevitably be involved in the promotion shake-up, but why does this warrant them both being laughed at/crowed over/probably referred to as “fallen giants” at the dawn of the campaign?! Can’t Gabby and the gang at least wait until the season’s sky is bruising before they check out their mates clubs? A better introduction to life at this level would surely be offered by screening a game between teams who have spent years in this division (so as Championship virgins can gauge what the standard/style of play is like), or alternatively, recently promoted sides who could do with the exposure and extra cash, whilst offering those of us who genuinely care about and follow this league the chance to check out these sides who are very much under the radar. One only has to witness the exploits of Colchester United, Bristol City, and Swansea City in recent seasons to see the impact these teams can have at this level in their maiden campaign.

Sure, Newcastle United and West Brom are as much a part of this league as the likes of Scunthorpe and Barnsley, and I assure you these aren’t the rantings of a fan with a chip on his shoulder because his mates all follow Premier League clubs and he’s had to witness his side continually screwing up and fielding the likes of Mark Kennedy and Gavin Rae. Hell, I’ve even got used to calling this league by its sponsor-moniker ‘Football League Championship’, and grown accustomed to the fact that endless whinging about glory days and Rupert Murdoch being Satan reincarnated (?) is pointless and football like everything else in the universe has evolved and will continue to do so. Yet the BBC selling out in this way is well, if not the final straw the penultimate one maybe.

If the BBC is all about providing an impartial service that prioritises accuracy over viewing figures, a service over the promotion of a brand, then clearly it is failing in its duty. With the decision being taken to show Newcastle United playing at plush grounds in its opening two live matches, the BBC is following Sky in trying to promote the English system’s second-tier as a Diet Premier League or Premier League Lite. This sexing-up or Premier-ifying of the division is precisely what contributes in the bigger picture to it becoming rather bland, uninteresting to the casual viewer (with the first game being screened at half past 5 on a Saturday evening, the BBC are pitting themselves in direct competition with whatever top-tier game ESPN are showing. Where is the variety?!): effectively Robin to the Premier League’s Batman. Why can’t the BBC understand that the knowledgeable football fan doesn’t want a henchman or weakened version of the supposed hero, but an everyman. The real McCoy. And all other such clichés.

As is the way with modern football, it is illegal for me to publish the list of (opening day) fixtures here. But more sensible and diverse choices (diverse in the sense that the consumer is getting something that perhaps ostensibly differs largely from whatever ESPN or Sky Sports are showing) in my opinion would have been Sheffield Wednesday vs Barnsley or the Queens Park Rangers vs Blackpool. The former, a Yorkshire derby (of which there are none in the Premier League: think of the potential for the title sequence – grainy black and white images of miners, pints of mild, flat-caps and rows of derelict late 19th century built houses accompanied by the Hovis advert music: its such a fresh angle!) features an Owls team who are getting closer and closer to the promotion shake-up each season they spend under the wily nous of Brian Laws. As for Barnsley, they’re a cosmopolitan mixed bag: A team that promise flair and a team you want to see succeed, but a team that inevitably merely avoid the drop on the final day having flattered to deceive for large spells. Also on display for the television viewer unaccustomed to this level would be two of the division’s finest talents, underrated by too many. You have Marcus Tudgay in the blue and white strip, facing up to Jamal Campbell-Ryce in the red.

As for the latter game of my choosing, QPR vs Blackpool, the main story at play here is Ian Holloway’s first game in charge of his new team at a ground where he brought sparkle and invigoration to a club fallen on hard times. At Loftus Road, he is still remembered fondly, and in this encounter he comes face to face with the latest man at the Rangers helm, Jim Magilton. I was impressed with the tactical discipline displayed by the Tangerines last season, and you never know what you’re gonna get with perennial FLC side QPR, so this has all the ingredients of a good Championship meal (and a very weak analogy). Heck, if they weeeeeeeeally wanted to, the BBC could even promote and go with the whole moneybags thing with regards to the Shepherds Bush outfit! Like Man City, but in kindergarten and Huggies.

Alas, although I can think of nowt more exciting than coming in from work/the City and enjoying my Saturday tea with an accompaniment of Fitz Hall getting to grips with a very sweaty Brett Ormerod, my pleas and whining are in vain. By succumbing to and following the Sky Sports empire down the path of greed and a Barry George-esque infatuation with the elite sides, the BBC has continued its sorry and pathetic decline that will eventually bankrupt football financially. After it’s helped complete the job morally, of course.