Match of the Day on Saturday night attracted its largest audience since November, drawing about 2.58 million viewers—up nearly 500,000 from the 2.09 million who watched the previous week, according to The Sun. The BBC aired a shortened 20‑minute highlights package at 10:20 pm.
The broadcast came after the controversy sparked by Gary Lineker’s suspension, following his tweet comparing the language used to introduce the government’s Illegal Migration Bill with that of 1930s Germany. As a result, the show featured no studio punditry. Regular analysts and presenters Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas, Alex Scott, Mark Chapman and Micah Richards all refused to appear, leaving the programme in crisis. Consequently, there was no host or commentary; the segment simply moved from game to game, showing only the highlights without any interviews with players or managers.
Despite the high viewership, many fans were unimpressed by the stripped‑back format. One viewer wrote, “Even the Match of the Day intro is protesting!” Another asked, “Why am I sat commentating on Match of the Day myself?” Others described the experience as a farce, surreal, or “different,” noting the lack of commentary. A few viewers, however, appreciated the change, calling it “fantastic” and “miles better” without presenters and over‑the‑top commentary.
The 2.58 million audience was the biggest since 2.63 million tuned in on 5 November, when fans watched Manchester City’s 2‑1 win over Fulham, Leicester’s 2‑0 triumph at Everton, and Leeds’ thrilling 4‑3 victory over Bournemouth, among other games. Sun columnist Piers Morgan was not impressed with the reduced offering, writing, “BBC should now adjust the licence fee so that everyone on Twitter pretending to prefer Match of the Day in the new format can pay £1 less a month but only ever watch it that way in future.”
Comments are closed for this story.