This weekend’s coverage will be nothing like what was shown in 1983 when the BBC broadcast its first live league game
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog
There was very little hype. No cheerleaders on the pitch, no fireworks, no whole new ball game as Sky sold it when they started broadcasting the Premier League. The first league match shown live on the BBC – Manchester United v Tottenham on Friday 16 December 1983, nearly a decade before the birth of the Premier League – was in many ways the complete opposite to what we experience now. The product was undersold and it very much exceeded expectations.
The BBC started its TV service in 1936 and it showed a specially arranged friendly between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves at Highbury the following year. That broadcast only went out to a few homes in north London, but it was a start. The corporation soon moved into coverage of the FA Cup, international games and highlights shows, but it took nearly half a century before they broadcast a league match live.
Continue reading…This weekend’s coverage will be nothing like what was shown in 1983 when the BBC broadcast its first live league gameBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports BlogThere was very little hype. No cheerleaders on the pitch, no fireworks, no whole new ball game as Sky sold it when they started broadcasting the Premier League. The first league match shown live on the BBC – Manchester United v Tottenham on Friday 16 December 1983, nearly a decade before the birth of the Premier League – was in many ways the complete opposite to what we experience now. The product was undersold and it very much exceeded expectations.The BBC started its TV service in 1936 and it showed a specially arranged friendly between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves at Highbury the following year. That broadcast only went out to a few homes in north London, but it was a start. The corporation soon moved into coverage of the FA Cup, international games and highlights shows, but it took nearly half a century before they broadcast a league match live. Continue reading…