Is it time for dedicated BBC & ITV Sports channels?

So it's that time of year again when sport dominates the TV schedules of BBC One and/or ITV.

With the digital switchover complete, surely it's time for the BBC and ITV to have 'pop up' dedicated sports channels, that appear on EPGs during major sports tournaments & events such as the football & rugby world cups, Wimbledon and the Olympics, so there is no disruption to the regular schedules on BBC One and ITV?

Or at least show all the sport on BBC Two and ITV 2? Everyone can access these channels so there's no excuse for the broadcasters to impose football on everyone on the main terrestial channels.

Yes there are on demand services available, but I take the decimation of the evening BBC One news bulletins this week. We are going through the most tumultuous news period in modern history with Brexit bills passing through Parliament etc, yet the News at Six is under 10 minutes long with regional news barely 5 minutes.
Many people, including my parents, get their news at tea time every night and that's it.

Imposing football across almost the entire primetime schedule on both main TV channels every night for at least the next 2 weeks in the digital age is crazy. And don't even get me started on both BBC and ITV showing the final simultaneously.

Digital Spy is that way ———>

It's a legitimate question in the digital age.

No it isn't.

If anything in the Digital age the importance of what live events and event television means to the future of linear channels means they should be on the flagship channels.

Don’t worry we won’t.

Sports are a bloody blessing to flagship linear channels (especially in this climate), you're arguing to shift them onto channels where it would achieve fewer ratings? Nope.

There has already been a dedicated ITV sports channel. It lasted only nine months, and its schedules were dominated by football, but it was a dedicated ITV sports channel all the same.

What I don't understand is how for eleven months a year everyone says the schedules on BBC1 and ITV are boring and all the programmes should be axed and they should put different things on. Then when they do change the schedules, apparently they shouldn't do that, they should keep all the same programmes on because people love them and are devastated when they're not there.

Well, I won't - it will be the only game that will be shown on BBC One and ITV at the same time. Which is on a Sunday at 4pm - so won't going to dent the peaktime schedule too much.

Anyway, 18.3 million viewers for the England - Tunisia game yesterday. Seems fairly convincing argument that shunting sport to it's own channel, rather than showcasing it on the main BBC/ITV channel would be counterproductive.

And anyway, in this multi-channel digital age, it's not like there's three channels and football is on two of them at the same time. There's something else on 40 other odd channels on the most basic EPG channel line-up.
And if you can't find something on that - go watch some bedtime stories on YouTube.

While I agree with the World Cup staying FTA on BBC One and ITV, it only generates ratings as we saw last night when England are in the tournament as it then becomes an event of national interest.

It generates ratings throughout the tournament. Yes England gets the biggest share, but ITV had over 7m for Brazil's match on Sunday and so did BBC One for Portugal v Spain. Those sorts of figures far outrate 'normal telly' at this time of year.

During the World Cup the tournament becomes the mainstream, so it's not about 'imposing the football' on the viewers.