Hosted by Supporters Direct Scotland
Date: 16th September 2022
The Scottish Cup tie between Pollok and Huntly is an exciting fixture this weekend and it was no surprise to see BBC Scotland select it as their televised game for the first round.
Now obviously a big news story has taken the attention away from almost everything else that’s happening currently in the UK. I wasn’t entirely surprised to see BBC Scotland issuing a statement saying that they would no longer be covering the tie as their resources had been stretched this week.
Yet the more I think about it, the more I felt a bit flummoxed by it.
I was wondering what our national broadcaster would’ve done had it been an FA Cup game or an England international match. I’m guessing they’d manage to scrape together enough of a broadcasting team to cover the game.
But that’s just me guessing.
Then I looked at the BBC Sport website and noticed that The Women’s Super League (WSL) was starting in England this weekend and there was a link to a page with the headline – Women’s Super League: How to watch biggest games and stars on BBC.
A quick glance through that page shows you that at 12:15pm on Sunday, the BBC will be covering the game between Aston Villa versus Man City in the WSL. So how can the broadcaster show one live game but not another?
BBC Scotland might say it’s because they’ve outsourced all their teams down south to cover the Queen’s funeral but at what cost? Financially and environmentally, it doesn’t make much sense for BBC Scotland to send so much of it’s resources down to London. Surely they could share feeds and satellite trucks with other BBC channels. If the BBC really need the Scottish crews and equipment on Friday then why wouldn’t they need those they’re sending to cover Sunday’s WSL game?
By the way, I think The WSL getting national exposure is fantastic and I support it 100%. But I also believe Pollok and Huntly deserve more exposure and extra income that comes with hosting a TV fixture. It’s roughly a three and a half hour drive to get from Huntly to Glasgow. The fact the game has been moved to a Friday night, ironically because of the BBC, means it will be extremely difficult for away fans to get to Newlandsfield Park. Having the game on the box would at least give everyone the chance to watch the game but now that opportunity is gone.
The timing of the cancellation is also pretty rotten. BBC Scotland confirmed the news on Wednesday, just two days before the game. They could’ve and should have done it on Monday. Pollok have had fans down at the ground volunteering all week to spruce the ground up a bit before it’s big TV date.
I just think this once again shows a lack of thought to the ordinary football fan and a lack of real care any broadcaster has for the Scottish game. Yes these are historic times and they need to be covered but it shouldn’t mean others should suffer.
The game tonight is a sell out, again showing the appetite for the fixture, and I hope those that can make it to the ground have a wonderful night!
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