Match of the Day has undergone a revolution in recent years, with Premier League highlights now available instantly and more viewers able to watch weekend matches online.
Gabby Logan with fellow Match of the Day hosts Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman (Image: Credit line: BBC / Charlie Clift)
Match of the Day was a “fantastic” success despite losing 10 percent of its audience. BBC sports director Alex Kagelski said overall viewership numbers were increasing due to increased digital output.
Once established in 1964, the BBC’s flagship football show underwent a major shake-up this season, with Gary Lineker taking over as main presenter.
Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman are currently splitting their duties between Saturday and Sunday nights, and the latest figures show both shows have a weekly audience of 6.88 million viewers, 770,000 less than the August-December 2024 average.
However, the BBC is now showing a wide range of highlights on its iPlayer app, which has seen a 21% increase in digital viewership. This means the BBC lost just over 750,000 viewers on Match of the Day broadcasts on BBC One and BBC Two, but gained double that number in digital viewership.
Speaking at the FT Live event, Kay Jelski said: “The numbers across the brand are great because on top of all the other great work we’ve done with our traditional programs, we’re hitting 20 to 21 percent more people overall because we added clips this year.”
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“That’s great. I’m sitting here right now worrying that my numbers are wrong, but I know they’re up a lot and I’ll accept that.”
There was a backlash when England legend Lineker first replaced the high-profile host of the world’s longest-running soccer show.
But a new generation of viewers is now watching highlights on their phones, iPads, and laptops with games available later in the day or before the Game of the Day. Highlights often last up to nine minutes, and the packages shown on “Game of the Day” are available online.
Kay Jelski added: “We’re living in this very, very, very different media environment now, where most of us speak first on our phones anyway, swiping, swiping, swiping on the same tiny little screen.
Lineker left the BBC at the end of last season (Image: Getty Images)
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“But we’re not competing with anyone we’ve competed with before. Traditionally, the BBC might have thought they would compete in the same way as ITV and Sky and various other broadcasters. We’re not.”
“We are in a two-for-one competition to avoid receiving chicken breasts sold to us by holidaymakers, clothing companies, or supermarkets or soccer teams or athletes.
“Competing in a much broader environment than we have in the past will require all of us to become smarter, better and more engaging people.”
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