JUST IN: Gary Lineker Reignites BBC and ITV Rivalry with Cutting Euro 2024 Remark.
Gary Lineker fires brutal five-word dig to ITV and stokes BBC rivalry at Euro 2024.
After the BBC broadcast England’s opening Euro 2024 match of the season, where they overcame Serbia 1-0 owing to a header from Jude Bellingham, host Gary Lineker of the BBC mercilessly mocked ITV. Three Lions matches and international competitions are shared by the two public broadcasters. Lineker was eager to point out that the BBC would also broadcast England’s second Group D match against Denmark, giving fans a chance to see both of Gareth Southgate’s team’s first games before ITV gets one, which might turn out to be a dead rubber of a matchup against Slovenia in the final group round.
While having a conversation on The Rest is Football podcast with fellow BBC analyst Micah Richards, the former Manchester City defender inquired about his rivalry with rival broadcaster.
Richards queried, “But we do like ITV, don’t we? We don’t need to be in competition with Keano (Roy Keane) and Wrighty (Ian Wright).
While praising ITV’s skills, Lineker could not help but poke fun at them. “They are excellent. English television does a great job with football. ITV does it excellently, but we do it slightly better, was followed by a caustic five-word comment.
Lineker stated that he doesn’t pay much thought to any hint of rivalry behind the scenes because the BBC and ITV share the rights to England matches, not clashing with their coverage and splitting games instead of competing.
“How many watch on the BBC do you know?” Richards asked. Do you have the numbers? When they publish the numbers and other information, what type of competitiveness exists between ITV and the BBC?”
“There is no rivalry,” Lineker retorted. That was something I moved past a long time ago. Since we eventually switch games between us, I don’t really care. Naturally, there is some competitiveness since we are both driven by competition. Yet how would you evaluate that? Do you measure it by the number of spectators at a game, since we all know that when England plays, you get more viewers? Whether it’s on ITV or the BBC, there’s just one channel where everyone can view it. That was a long time ago for me.
But according to Lineker, there is one exception to the norm, and that is on July 14. When the Euros finish in Berlin, BBC and ITV will fight for viewers by airing the international tournament finals.
“One thing, though—both BBC and ITV broadcast the finals,” Lineker clarified. There is a little competition because, well, we are competitive and athletic people. Although it matters to us, it doesn’t matter to anyone else.” In the UK, almost 20 million people watched the World Cup final between France and Argentina in December. At its height, 14.9 million viewers watched on BBC One, while 4.3 million watched on ITV.
