The BBC used to broadcast sport, yes, live sport. They had cricket, Formula 1, horse racing, rugby, bowls, boxing, tennis, snooker… you name it. There were flagship programmes like Grandstand, Sportsnight with Coleman, Match of the Day…
Nearly all of this has gone, due to money, of course, onto cable and pay channels.
There used to be a BBC Sports Personality of the Year just before Xmas. The public would vote, on postcards, and there would be a winner. 1954 was the first year.
There was much to celebrate, if you were into sport. The BBC provided a couple of hours of celebration of (mostly) UK sport with presenters like Frank Bough taking us through it all. It was an event.
Well, SPOTY still exists, but the BBC does not have any clips except those bought in from Sky and other providers. Well, yes, there will be some football and some snooker, tennis maybe, but little else.
It’s all anti-climactic, disappointing and dull. The winners are people you have barely heard of. There was much controversy on social media that a lady won this year.
It’s time it was quietly dropped.