Brian Barwick: Euro triumph for BBC as Lineker's easy style wins out
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UPDATED:
21:32 GMT, 1 July 2012
Two things happened at the quarter-final stage of this year’s European Championship – England went home after yet another penalty shootout nightmare – and ITV all but went home with them.
Both semi-finals were live only on BBC TV, whilst Sunday's final between Spain and Italy was shared by the two broadcasters.
For the BBC, this is always a nice way to finish a tournament – unlike England they always win it. Whatever the reason, whether it’s tradition, preference, personnel, absence of commercials or trust, ITV will have conceded another defeat to their rivals in this head-to-head.
Well oiled: BBC once more impressed, bettering the efforts of their rivals
And yet this time around, at Euro 2012, ITV put up a decent fight, certainly in the early stages of the competition.
I thought they had the better opening titles, theme music and studio set, critically based in Warsaw, and there was just a greater sense of confidence about their presentation and production than in recent times.
The BBC certainly picked up their own game after a sluggish start to Euro 2012 – not helped by initially presenting from the UK – and have subsequently finished strongly.
Gary Lineker began his broadcasting career with a short tense opening line in a highlights programme during Euro 96. He was nervous, and so was I, having helped him make some of the early steps in his post-football career.
Leading man: Gary Lineker
He is now completely at ease in his ‘second trade’ and seemed to enjoy the tournament. Presenters, like footballers, want to be involved in the biggest occasions – and Euro 2012 has allowed Lineker to do that.
I think he has been particularly at his strongest when coaxing answers and opinions out of studio guests like Harry Redknapp, David Moyes, Clarence Seedorf, Gianluca Vialli and Jurgen Klinsmann. With them, he was objective, sharp, inquisitive and inclusive.
In contrast, his exchanges with the two resident ‘Alans’ – Hansen and Shearer, can suffer sometimes from over-familiarity. Next stop for Lineker, a peak-time presentation slot on the Olympics. I wish him well.
Over on ITV, Adrian Chiles is an intriguing mix; a producer’s nightmare – ‘where’s he taking us now’ – but with an endearing manner that often involves asking the questions the fans at home want answered.
You sense that to Chiles, the programme’s running order is something to rest his coffee on – but in Chiles and Lineker, both good ‘live’ television exponents, you do have a choice of styles.
For all the hard work and hard cash put into recruiting the star studio guests, the viewer often spends more time in the company of the commentary teams as they describe the live action.
This time for me, BBC’s Guy Mowbray and Mark Lawrenson pick up the winners’ medals. They work well off each other and are at their best when they lay off the comedy, and concentrate on ‘who passed to who’ and why.
Mark the commentator beats Mark the comedian every time.
The size of the TV audiences for Euro 2012 have been remarkable, and not just for the England matches – they are always blockbusters and continue to re-write TV history. However, it was often an early group game between two less glamorous sides that turned in an audience figure that The Voice would have died for.
Putting up a good fight: ITV got more right than wrong at Euro 2012
For the BBC and ITV it has all added up to a bumper three weeks – with the Corporation also currently in the throes of an exciting Wimbledon and London 2012 less than a month away.
A few closing thoughts. Lee Dixon continues to impress as a pundit, Roy Keane produced some magical stares and stunning short responses. Loved Balotelli’s close-ups, UEFA should control the excessive pre-match stadium PA noise – listening to respected radio broadcasters like Mike Ingham and Alan Green struggling to hear and be heard is not on.
Well done Sky Sports News for their comprehensive event reports and plaudits to the match directors and production teams who have delivered consistently high standards of match coverage.
Roll on Brazil and the 2014 World Cup.
