Despite their objective of public service broadcasting BBC Scotland will bodyswerve radio and television coverage of tonight’s Sporting Braga-Celtic Champions League tie.
Good luck to Chic but this decision has been made by the same licence fee funded organisation that felt it worthwhile to send Chic Young to the World Cup with no obvious Scottish interest and blanket coverage from BBC In-gur-lund including a fleet of buses criss-crossing South Africa for soundbites from anyone that looked poor.
On-line supporters won’t have to look far for pictures of the match however there is a slightly sinister approach to the BBC statement on their refusal to pay up for coverage tonight.
The statement read: “We’ve got a limited budget. We can’t commit to bids for every European club game.
“You will see from the Celtic website that they are not allowing anyone to televise the second leg anyway.”
The reference to the return match not being on television seems to be part of the BBC’s decision for not showing tonight’s match.
Whilst supporters in the UK have become used to almost all matches being televised the reasons behind no live screening of the home tie are obvious.
With the riches and prestige of the group stages of the Champions League at stake, and the game falling during the holiday period, Celtic need every supporter possible inside Celtic Park and cheering the team on.
Details of the cost of the BBC’s World Cup coverage haven’t been released but the studio used for Alan Shearer and co to give us their insight was believed to be in the region of £1m.
Live football is a rarity on the BBC with the SPL and Premiership shown by Sky and ESPN and the Champions League covered by Sky and ITV.
As compensation to Scottish football fans BBC Radio Scotland did provide ‘open all mikes’ coverage of the first round of the Alba Cup where the Stenhousemuir-Annan match attracted a live audience of 223 which was 46 less than watched former Celt Kevin Cawley score for East Stirling in their win at Stranraer.
At kick-off time tonight BBC 1 Scotland will be showing the Beachgrove Garden where ‘Jim, George and Carole take a look at how the more exotic crops are coming on‘- sounds like another cracker from the boys in Aberdeen followed quickly by Celebrity MasterChef where ‘Dick Strawbridge and Jennie Bond face gruelling cookery challenges’.
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Here is the reply I received from the BBC when I requested information about their coverage:
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately the amount asked for by Braga for the viewing rights was larger than our budget for the match, so we will not broadcasting live images of the match either on TV or online.
If we access a feed of the match we will do a live text commentary.
Kind regards,
BBC Sport Interactive
For more information on the BBC complaints procedure, please visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/handle.shtml
Sent: 27 July 2010 11:02
To: Sport Interactive
Subject: Football – web coverage
COMMENTS:
Could you tell me if there are any discussions or plans to broadcast the Sporting Braga V Celtic game tomorrow night(28/7/10) or is the coverage only based on the web?
Thanks Stephen.
Without becoming obsessed perhaps through Freedom of Information we might find out if there was any negotiations involved with Braga and how highly the BBC valued providing a service to the winners of the 2003 UEFA and FIFA Fair Play Awards.
This is typical of the shoddy treatment afforded to Celtic supporters by her majesty’s organ. Can you inagine if it were the other lot who had a major European game? No, don’t bother. We’re all paranoid.
I suppose these things will balance themselves out over the course of the season, honest.
Shoddy treatment of Scottish football, never mind Celtic, again by the EBC. Shouldn’t come as any surprise but it still stick in the craw!