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England v Spain is a tough match to call on Sunday but there is one contest for which we already know the result. The BBC and ITV will both broadcast the Euro 2024 final live, and the BBC is set to enjoy a significantly larger share of the viewing figures.
Three years ago, a peak of 31 million people tuned into the Euro 2020 final, which England lost to Italy on penalties. It was the UK’s most-watched TV event since Princess Diana’s funeral and the BBC picked up 25 million (81 per cent) of the audience, compared to ITV’s 5.9 million.
That difference is the natural consequence of trying to push Gillette razors at every possible interval, which seems to include the miniscule gap between national anthems and kick-off these days. But might that ratio shift this time around? Could ITV eat into the BBC’s giant share of the pie?
Take a temperature reading on social media over the past few weeks and the broad consensus is a win for ITV in its coverage of the tournament so far. There is a measured approach to discussion in contrast the more impassioned and often irate monologues on the BBC, the sort that tend to leave you feeling somehow less informed.
The avuncular spirit of Mark Pougatch brings a calmness to ITV’s proceedings, but really it is the trio alongside him that make the show: Gary Neville’s articulate analysis is usually placed very deliberately between the child-like joy of Ian Wright and the furrowed brow of a deeply unimpressed Roy Keane, whose eye-roll is the perfect antidote to any English jingoism that might break out.
Christina Unkel has been a smart addition in the VAR room, speaking with clarity on the rules of the game, even when she doesn’t like them. And then there is ITV’s on-the-ground reporter, Gabriel Clarke, not so much asking interview questions as airing pithy philosophical statements in a sombre tone to confuse England’s players. “When are you at your maddest?” Clarke said to Jordan Pickford in their dark-room sit-down before the semi-final. A follow-up question went: “Have you got the bottle?” Set to moving music, it is the sort of wildly melodramatic stuff that comes into its own on nights like this one.
The BBC’s equivalent, Kelly Somers, helms pitchside coverage well, but overall the channel has been a harder watch at times. Alan Shearer nearly combusted while commentating on the 1-1 draw with Denmark, and it turns out simmering fury in a Geordie accent doesn’t necessarily make a drab game any more enjoyable to watch.
In the BBC studio, there is less of an even keel and too much of the broadcast is conducted via the medium of shouting. Rio Ferdinand swings wildly from gloom to predictions of glory while saying “man” more than one might expect from a 45-year-old. Gary Lineker’s inability to withhold his own frustration takes away from his ability to chair an interesting discussion. Frank Lampard gives off a kind of hostage energy. Micah Richards without Roy Keane is like a beach without the sea.
The BBC might have an ace up its sleeve, though, this Sunday. Wayne Rooney was its best pundit in Germany before he departed to take up his role as manager of Plymouth Argyle, but Cesc Fabregas has been a close second with frank opinions and original points of view, and he would make an excellent addition to coverage of the final as a winner of the 2008 and 2012 tournaments with Spain, should he be available.
And on the match coverage itself, the BBC has the stronger line-up with Guy Mowbray as its lead commentator, the best in the business for some time. Mowbray keeps it simple and always seems to find the right words in seismic moments, without hijacking them.
ITV’s lead is Sam Matterface, who has slightly reeled in his Patridgean style during this tournament to become almost palatable, usually complemented by the comfortingly dour input of Lee Dixon and the boundless enthusiasm of Ally McCoist. Interestingly, McCoist recently reposted a petition calling for the veteran Clive Tyldesley to commentate on the final, after Tyldesley was let go by ITV during the tournament. Plenty of fans would agree.
Perhaps the answer is a blend of the two: ITV for the pre-match build-up, BBC for the in-game experience. The polls are predicting a landslide, but this time ITV will back itself – with good reason – to at least sweep up more than the 19 per cent of audience share that it won in the last men’s Euros final.
Let us know which channel you’ll be tuning into in the comments below.
