Gary Imlach's excellent biography of his dad has a fascinating chapter on the 1958 World Cup which shows that the Scottish FA refused to broadcast live midweek games due to fear they would affect domestic attendances. This struck me as curious because I didn't know that Scotland had domestic football in June 1958 but also because it suggests that there wasn't the media interest in the national team that we associate with the 1974-90 World Cups.
This leads me to my main query which is how long it took for the World Cup to become a fully televised event. I am aware, of course, that simultaneous kick-offs meant that many important games went unseen all the way up to Mexico 86 (when the Beeb would incredibly sometimes only show the 2nd half). Was it the threat of competition of Sky for TV rights that caused BBC and ITV to finally show all the games they could live? Was it the poor image of football in the 80s that allowed them to deprive viewers of games?
What's your most annoying memory of missing a game you wanted to see because the Beeb and ITV decided it wasn't important enough to screen?
This leads me to my main query which is how long it took for the World Cup to become a fully televised event. I am aware, of course, that simultaneous kick-offs meant that many important games went unseen all the way up to Mexico 86 (when the Beeb would incredibly sometimes only show the 2nd half). Was it the threat of competition of Sky for TV rights that caused BBC and ITV to finally show all the games they could live? Was it the poor image of football in the 80s that allowed them to deprive viewers of games?
What's your most annoying memory of missing a game you wanted to see because the Beeb and ITV decided it wasn't important enough to screen?
Comment