As Spain triumphed over England at Olympiastadion Berlin, an equally tense battle was being fought in the UK’s TV studios as both BBC One and ITV1 aired live coverage. With a combined 30 million people expected to tune in, this clash was high-stakes: who would be bringing the broadcast bragging rights home?
Both channels spread the match across four-plus hours of primetime, infuriating Countryfile devotees in the process. Both began their breathless buildup 90 minutes before kick-off. Armchair fans merely needed to decide in whose company they would rather spend a nerve-jangling night.
The blandly efficient descriptions of BBC commentator Guy Mowbray or the Partridge-adjacent stylings of ITV burbler Sam Matterface? The dour geordie co-comms of Alan Shearer or the twinkly Scots enthusiasm of Ally McCoist? (Supplemented, admittedly, by misery guts Lee Dixon. Nobody’s forcing you to watch at gunpoint, pal.)
From vantage points overlooking the patchwork pitch, presenters and pundits lined up in tried-and-tested formations. The Beeb was smoothly steered by silver fox Gary Lineker, hoping viewers had forgotten him calling England “shit” earlier in the tournament. Lineker infamously soiled himself at Italia 90, so he knows of what he speaks. ITV’s anchor was the less starry but more journalistic Mark Pougatch. He lacks a lucrative crisp endorsement deal or contentious Twitter/X account, preferring to ask pithy questions and let ex-pros do the talking.
BBC banter lads Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards were joined by ex-Spain star Juan Mata (presumably Cesc Fàbregas was otherwise engaged). ITV fielded their regular trio: the infectious Ian Wright, the opinionated Gary Neville and the permanently unimpressed Roy Keane, along with the pitchside pairing of Laura Woods and Karen Carney.
This team was bolstered by the inspired addition of ex-referee (and practising lawyer) Christina Unkel, who analysed officials’ decisions with calm clarity. The commercial channel landed a further coup by having Neville conduct a chummy pre-match chat with the prime minister, Keir Starmer. ITV got its nose in front early. A shame that momentum was stalled every 12 minutes by adverts for hedge trimmers and high-speed broadband.
Melodramatic Montage Departments had been busy. Cue portentous walking along the Berlin Wall, rewinding 58 years of hurt and the past four weeks of squeaky bum time. The BBC roped in playwright James Graham to script one VT’s rousing narration, read by Joseph Fiennes. You don’t get that on the snooker.
Once the action started, the ex-England contingent were audibly nervous, echoing the edgy mood nationwide. Spain’s goal shortly after half-time sucked the air out of the room. When Cole Palmer equalised, the atmosphere cranked up several gears, although we could have done without Matterface dubbing Palmer “England’s Mr Brightside”. Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winner burst the bubble all over again. In defeat, ITV again had the edge. McCoist and Keane added a necessary non-partisan perspective.
Terrestrial TV remains unbeatable on occasions like this, uniting the nation in a common nail-biting cause. Who needs CGI dragons or dystopian hellscapes when sport can deliver such high spectacle and human drama? McCoist’s pronunciation of “situation” was worth the entry fee alone.
Traditionally the nation turns to the BBC for such simulcast events. It tends to win three-quarters of the available eyeballs. At recent tournaments, however, ITV’s coverage has been markedly superior. If it wasn’t for the much-maligned “Natterface” (come back, Clive Tyldesley, all is forgiven) and those pesky ad breaks, Lineker might well have been comfort-eating crisps out of loneliness. The BBC probably won the ratings battle but ITV won the quality war. A result that should put a flare up the corporation’s backside.
