It's been inevitable for a while - Football Focus and Final Score were spun off as seperate programmes ages ago. And with Saturday afternoon Football Matches being broadcast under the 'Match of The Day' title there's been very littloe 'Grandstand' over the past few years.
What's been left has been called things like '6 Nations Grandstand', 'Grand National Grandstand' or 'Olympic Grandstand' concentrating on one sport rather than the mixture of events the programme was invented to showcase.
It sounds to me as though the title "Grandstand" has become dated.
They won't drop sport. So it will be trendy to drop the title and relaunch Saturday afternoons again.
Youre right it was on the cards but i really think that there is a place for a multi-sports show still on Saturday afternoons with Sports news, reports etc as well as just the live action. People who are watching one sport often want to know what is happening in other sports which are going on at the same time - i know i do anyway.
So in my opinion the wrong decision but i suppose the writing was on the wall.
Wow, thats pretty bad news, I just hope that when it happens that between 1.00pm and 4.30pm they wont take the ITV route by showing absoloute rubbish. I'd guess they're taking the route of when they need it on they'll have it on, such as The Grand National, Snooker, Rugby Union etc..
Just out of interest, other than Football Focus and Final Score, who actually regularly watches Grandstand all the way through on a normal Saturday when there are no special Events?
Very sad news indeed though, the end of an Insitution for the BBC, and maybe the end for an outlet of regular scheduled Sports on the BBC too?
No way! They can't drop the legendary theme... By all means bring it back to its original form (like it is on the end titles) without all the bleeps etc and stop the presenters talking over it, but don't get rid of it!
Oh come on, your not seriously suprised that they are eventually going to get rid of Grandstand, I would imagine that plans are being drawn up as we speak to phrase out BBC Sport programs from BBC1 etc from 2008, introducing a dedicated channel from then. And as I understand it these plans would be phased in over a number of years. As said there has been no effort to establish Grandstand as a brand in recent years. Sad in a way for me because it represents lazy summer afternoons watching it, some of the most enduring memories from my child-hood.
While it won't affect coverage of big events such as the Six Nations and snooker etc. - it will affect the smaller events which perhaps just got a 20 minute or so slot on Grandstand occassionally!
I'd have thought in the run up to 2012 building up coverage of the more minor Olympic events would be a very high priority for the BBC - this decision proves it isn't!
I just hope we don't find out later this week that BBC Sport are blowing the budget on bidding for the Premiership rights packages. As a whole, non-football sports coverage has gone downhill since MOTD returned!
I don't think pulling Football Focus and Final Score from the brand was a major factor - to me it made more sense that these programmes which were really unrelated to events covered live in Grandstand were pulled out, allowing Grandstand to get straight into the action.
What really annoys me though is the BBC will axe something which is still pretty much as well respected and as well made as it was at it's peak - yet won't touch the crap that is EastEnders!
it's been going for 40 odd years so it's an endearing childhood image of a lot of people's saturday afternoons
grandstand and word of sport was my late father's saturday afternoon itinerary for years up until he died
when they televised the match where the Bradford stadium caught fire he sent me out of the front room because he didn't think i should be watching that sort of thing live on TV (they didn't televise live disasters much in the 1980s)
haven't watched it since my father died 19 years ago
Youre right it was on the cards but i really think that there is a place for a multi-sports show still on Saturday afternoons with Sports news, reports etc as well as just the live action. People who are watching one sport often want to know what is happening in other sports which are going on at the same time - i know i do anyway.
So in my opinion the wrong decision but i suppose the writing was on the wall.
Totally agree with you there Ronant - but I cant forsee any reversal of this decision.
And I do agree with the sentiments that coverage of minority sports could be affected. For example, I doubt the England v Denmark Badminton international a few weeks ago would have been shown in such depth outside
Grandstand
.
