The BBC has axed Football Focus after 52 years amid plummeting viewing figures following a ‘woke’ revamp that aimed to ‘modernise’ the show. The Mail has the story.
The BBC has announced that long-running football show Football Focus will be coming to an end at the end of the season after 52 years on TV screens.
First broadcast in 1974, the show has been a staple of televised football ever since, but dwindling viewing figures have seen the channel scramble to try and keep offerings of interest.
But they have failed to do that, amid criticisms that the show has been pedestrian, vacuous, uninspiring and uninformative in recent times in a bid to modernise programming.
In March 2024, Simon Jordan wrote in the Daily Mail that the show had become “too smug, comfortable and pally-pally” after Dion Dublin interviewed former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, and debate arose over why a gay West Brom supporter had been invited on to talk about his sexuality.
Former pundit and BBC regular Mark Lawrenson, meanwhile, has previously argued that the channel is “top of the woke league” following its rebrand that saw him lose his job.
And fans on social media appear to have seen the cancellation as a good thing.
One posted on X: “Good – it’s been an awful woke joke for years. #defundtheBBC.”
Another wrote: “Football Focus put out of its misery at long last. Alex Scott was the death knell imo. She drove an agenda of overindulgent woke nonsense, aided and abetted by BBC. Shameful stuff.”
A third added: “Go woke, go broke!”
The BBC is keen now to adapt how it brings football coverage to fans, with mobile and on-demand viewing on social media platforms increasing all the time.
This year, the broadcaster is set to invest in its digital output and content across all of its platforms, with “fresh formats, big personalities and more frequent, always-on content tailored for digital audiences” presented.
It means presenter Alex Scott, who took over from Dan Walker as host of the show in 2021, will no longer be fronting the coverage too.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport said: “Football Focus has been a hugely important programme in the history of BBC Sport and has played a key role in telling the stories of the game for generations of viewers.
“This decision was made before last week’s wider BBC savings announcement, reflecting the continued shift in how audiences engage with football and our commitment to evolving how we deliver content to reach fans wherever they are.
“Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future.
“She will remain at the heart of our sports output across both the Men’s World Cup this year and the Women’s World Cup in 2027, as well as continuing her lead role on the Women’s Super League and BBC Sport Personality of the Year.
“We are also working on a very exciting new project with her – more to come on that soon.”
Kay-Jelski was referring to last week’s announcement that the BBC is to cut up to 2,000 jobs in a bid to save money in what will be its biggest downsize in 15 years.
Staff were informed of the cuts on Wednesday last week, with around 10% of employees to lose their jobs.
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The programmes are about the presenters and not what you switched on to watch.
The ITV racing channel now has more presenters than the number of horses running in some races!
Attenborough and Packham believe themselves to be top scientists able to share their views with the world not just autocue readers.
They have other programmes were the presenters all meet up to compete to bake a cake or dance. No wonder folks are switching off in ever larger numbers.
They are all in on the the woke stuff though, not just the BBC. We see on almost every football panel where there is usually a presenter who can be male or female there will be 3 punters. I would say that 99% of the time one of them will be a woman and the other two will be men. It is obvious that they must have one woman there at all costs. They dare not have a panel of three men and no women. This manipulation of perception is what people cannot stand. Most people have no problem with a woman being on the panel, but what they don’t like is that the woman is put there to tick inclusive and woke boxes. —-It is all becoming pathetically tedious.
Why don’t they just use one of those “modern women” (Gervais) the ones with a beard and a cock, after all trans wimmin are real wimmin, problem solved, all presenters could be wimmin, would certainly make for more ‘diverse’ programming…. Hehehehe
“Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future.”
This is typical of BBC sophistry. Hugely popular with who? BBC execs? The woke FA who ban political and religious messaging while bedecking often reluctant players with rainbow armbands and allowing Islamic ceremonial breaking of Ramadan fasts on the pitch? Lesbians with a crush? It’s a statement that could literally mean anything.
Wasn’t Alex Scott given a game show a couple of years back where her complete lack of charisma and awkward interactions with the contestants made it cringeworthy and unwatchable? Seems to have disappeared without trace. Certainly never made prime time.
When will the BBC learn they are meant to be the nation’s shop looking to sell quality merchandise not a low rent 70s Soho strip club that that relieves punters of their cash with menace while presenting mediocre product.
I don’t understand the hate for FF. Ive watched it for the past couple of months and really enjoyed it. I actually like Alex Scott!
There – I’ve said it.
I absolutely loathe woke garbage but I dont see any on the programme.
If the BBC are cutting 2,000 jobs it proves that people not buying a TV licence because they’re sick of funding left wing propaganda is having an effect. Not that the BBC will accept that this is the reason they’re losing a huge amount of income, and do something about it.
Haven’t paid mine for 18 years.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
It seems to me that BBC sports coverage is aimed at people who don’t really follow sport. For example, the Timmy Henman crowd who dust off their Union Jack bowlers for Wimbledon, but have no interest in the sport outside that fortnight.
The demographic for football is overwhelmingly obsessive blokes – BLOKES! – who have zero fascination with the human interest stories that Alex Scott et al want to tell.
Bring back Ron Manager!
I’d forgotten all about Tim Henman
He’s very good at golf
All I remember about Tim Henman is one year Viz comic promising to back Henman “all the way to the quarterfinals (at Wimbledon).” They even printed a cut-out-and-keep wall chart that terminated at the quarterfinals!
That year – Henman reached the quarterfinals before losing to Sebastien Grosjean 7-6 3-6 6-3 6-4.
I genuinely believe that there’s room in the TV schedule for a ‘3 blokes in a pub’ programme to cover, well, practically any sport you’d care to mention…
There’s so much more interesting sports related punditry on YouTube, to suit all tastes
I think you’ll find that a lot of blokes that actually enjoy watching good old fashioned football, the game that’s originally designed as a contact sport, are now to be found at their local non league clubs on a Saturday at 3pm
I simply don’t understand why these people who identify themselves as football fanatics don’t switch off the telly and go to watch local amateur teams. They will find the true heart of the game local not in a professional stadium where the men playing are just spoilt rich, narcissistic prats.
I wonder how many people were involved behind the scenes, given that 10% are going to lose their jobs, Another over-manned BBC production I guess, unless 10% is a trivial number, which I am sure would not be mentioned if it were.