23-04-2022, 01:12 PM
(23-04-2022, 09:45 AM)News Engineer Wrote: This really is one Steve Williams will know for sure, but I think there have been others.
I’ve read of a Scotland game against Australia(?) in the 1980s which ended up on Channel 4 as it clashed with TV-AM. Not sure if that was a competitive international or a friendly.
It was a competitive match, it was their play-off against Australia for the 1986 World Cup. The Australian leg was an 8.30am kick-off and broadcast live on Channel Four in October 1985. Of course, in those days C4 was basically ITV2.
In those days the Beeb and ITV would faithfully split all televised football 50-50, so they would always take it in turns to show an England game or have one leg each of a two-legged tie. I would assume that had the Beeb had that match in Australia they'd have shown it on BBC2 with Breakfast Time taking priority.
I was trying to remember what England match had been live on BBC2 but Sweden vs England, the Terry Butcher match of course that saw them qualify for the 1990 World Cup, was on BBC2 in September 1989, as was the match against Poland two years later where they qualified for Euro 92. Both of those were 6pm kick-offs and the news took priority on BBC1. Hard to imagine now sports rights go for millions but in those days England matches would work around existing schedules, not the other way round.