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Gary Lineker will host the BBC’s first ever live Premier League game on Saturday – with his boss saying the Match of the Day hotseat is his for as long as he wants it.
A record TV audience is expected to tune in for Bournemouth’s clash with Crystal Palace, which is the first top-flight match the Beeb have broadcast live since 1988.
And in a rare interview to mark the occasion, Barbara Slater, the director of BBC Sport, has lauded the long-serving Lineker, who is the corporation’s best-paid presenter, earning £1.75million last year.
Asked if she expected him to remain as Match of the Day’s anchor for ‘many years to come’, Slater told Sportsmail: ‘From our point of view, yes we do. Quite frankly, he is the best in the business and he is a fantastic asset to this organisation and long may he continue to present Match of the Day.
‘Obviously that is a decision that he will make, but there isn’t any doubt on our part that we really value Gary and his contribution.’
Lineker will present Saturday’s 7.45pm kick-off from the BBC’s Salford studio, alongside pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, with Steve Wilson and Jermaine Jenas the commentary team at the Vitality Stadium.
The ordinarily low-key fixture is tipped to become the most watched Premier League game in UK television history, beating the record set in 2012, when 4million viewers saw the Manchester derby on Sky Sports.
As part of the Government’s demand for a third of the remaining top-flight games to be shown free-to-air, the Beeb will also broadcast Norwich against Everton on Wednesday, Manchester City’s visit to Southampton on July 5 and one other, as yet undecided, match.
In her 11 years as BBC Sport’s boss, this is one rights agreement Slater never expected. ‘We wish we weren’t in these circumstances but it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring top-flight football to the widest possible audience,’ said Slater, who revealed there could also be as many as four Match of the Day highlights programmes on a week.
‘It is something that is very special. I am confident that we will be delivering Premier League football to many, many millions.’
With no fans to generate an atmosphere, the contentious decision has been taken to use fake crowd noise on the BBC One broadcast, with viewers having to use the red button to be able to watch with the natural sound.
‘We decided to make a really late call on this,’ said Slater. ‘We have taken lots of feedback from our talent and much more widely, and there is a broad consensus that actually some sound enhancement makes it a better viewing experience.’
If fans are still not allowed into stadiums at the start of next season, there have been calls for the BBC to be offered more live Premier League matches, something Sky Sports and BT Sport will resist. But Slater said: ‘Our focus at the moment is getting this season concluded, covering it in the very best way that we can and not speculating about the longer term.’
Top-flight football’s return – albeit temporary – to terrestrial TV bucks the trend of Slater’s time in charge, when the BBC has lost many sporting events to subscription channels.
As a former golf producer, she is saddened the Beeb no longer have live rights to any of the sport’s four majors. And the Six Nations could be the next to go, with Sky bidding to take it off the BBC and ITV from 2022.
‘We are worried about it all,’ Slater replied when asked if she feared losing the rugby union tournament. ‘That process is paused so I probably shouldn’t talk about a live negotiation, but it is incredibly competitive. These are premium rights.
‘We know that and we try to beat the drum around our reach as loudly as we can. You can’t deny the BBC’s ability around reach and it is something we are always telling governing bodies in any negotiation, we bring those numbers to the table.
‘We would love to maintain everything we do, but I think there is a cycle and sometimes you lose. There is a reason a sport goes one way and I am really proud the FA Cup and cricket have come back.
‘We can’t afford everything, we’ve had to make choices. We are going to do our best with the resources that we have to secure the best possible portfolio that we can and inevitably that will change over time.
‘But if you were to look at our investment in sports rights, I think you can say we punch above our weight. Free-to-air is really crucial and it’s a challenge for all governing bodies to make that balance between revenue and reach.’
The BBC’s reach has never been more apparent than last year’s Women’s World Cup, when a peak audience of 11.7million watched England’s semi-final defeat to USA.
Slater has been instrumental in promoting women’s sport and says the BBC’s commitment to cover it ‘is not going to wane’ despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The former British gymnast has also overseen a controversial changing of the guard of Beeb broadcasters, with many much-loved and experienced voices making way for younger talent.
Commentator Alan Green said he was shown ‘very little respect’ when he was told his contract was not being renewed this summer, while the likes of presenter Mark Pougatch, cricket commentator Geoff Boycott and horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght have also been shown the door.
‘Things evolve, it changes over time,’ said Slater. ‘There can be so many individual reasons (for people leaving). Financially we might choose to deprioritise a sport in comparison with the past. Sometimes it is because those people make those choices of their own. We also have many occasions when they get opportunities elsewhere and then availability isn’t the same.
‘There are a raft of reasons but fundamentally I think it is right that as a business that is ambitious for the future we are bringing in new talent.
‘We have some fantastic examples of that. Look at Isa Guha, a World Cup winner, who is going to front up our cricket. We have introduced some really brilliant new broadcasters with great expertise and a track record in a sport.
‘I would say this is simply a natural evolution and an ambition for us to have the best talent, but also talent that is reflective of both the sport and the audience that watch us. I don’t think we are doing anything that any other business wouldn’t do.’
Of the many challenges that coronavirus has thrown up for the BBC, one is regarding Sports Personality of the Year.
Marcus Rashford this week saw his odds slashed on winning the award after forcing the Government into a U-turn over free school meals. The Manchester United striker is joint favourite with world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who knocked out Deontay Wilder in February.
Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old war veteran, is the bookies’ third favourite for the trophy after raising almost £33million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden.
But given the widespread cancellation of sporting events, the BBC are yet to decide if they will even hand out the award, which has been presented every year since it was first introduced in 1954.
Asked if they would crown a winner in 2020, Slater admitted: ‘I cannot guarantee that now. My instinct would say that there would be something but it might be very different. I don’t think it will necessarily be the same programme that we normally do.
‘It is under review. It is premature to make that decision. We don’t know how the rest of the year will unfold. We will have had sport this year but we just don’t know how much. We will try and do something that is an honest reflection of the year.’
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