Bravo have dropped the popular Gazzetta Football Italia show from their schedules this season.
They say the magazine show, which is hosted by the face of Italian football in the UK - James Richardson, was not attracting enough viewers to their Serie A coverage.
This news comes after they decided to drop the Monday night highlights show last season and the numerous changes to the Football Italia schedules on their channels.
The live games will continue for the time being, but James hinted if there wasn't an improvement in the viewing figures, that could be gone before the end of the season too.
In yesterday's final show, when he was talking about 'sosta' - the Winter break (which this season is extended to three weeks) - he said, "for some of us, it [winter break] could prove to be a little longer!".
The joint two-year deal for Serie A on Bravo and Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports concludes at the end of this season.
With Setanta about to cover the English Premier League next season, it looks like Football Calcio will need to move homes once again - if it can find one...
Channel 4 first introduced Italian Football and James Richardson to the British public back in 1992. The main reason being the transfer of England's best player Paul Gascoigne to Lazio.
After covering Serie A for a full decade with live Sunday afternoon matches and Saturday morning Gazzetta (voiced by the late Kenneth Wolstenholme), they decided not to renew the deal in 2002. This was mainly because of the high asking price and that the 'top matches' were normally played in the evenings.
British Eurosport purchased the rights midway through the 2002-03 season and held onto it for another two seasons. Even though James hosted the shows, Eurosport was critisised for its poor coverage.
Since then another move came in 2005. Setanta Sports and Bravo signed a joint deal taking them through to the end of this season. Bravo was hailed for sticking to the original C4 format by covering a 'top' live match along with Gazzetta and Mezzanotte. On top of that, Setanta had another three games each week.
After the triumph in Germany for the Azzurri, this is worying times for Football Italia fans in the UK again. Let's just hope someone picks up the rights for next season...
hang on this is stupid! we have just won the world cup and you would think they would show more italian football this year rather than less. This is a real worry, someone needs to get in touch whith the people upstairs and find out whot the blazes is going on.
It surprises me that SKY haven't tried touching it although their interests are in Spain and not Italy. Actually, their interests are merely in Madrid and Barcelona and only about five of Italy's clubs would get decent viewing figures. But, afternoon games clash with SKY's Sunday complement of Premiership football and the evening is when Spanish games are on the air. Quite simply, nobody other than SKY can make it in their economic interests to air Italian football because of the huge cost.
I think it might be the end this season for several reasons.
First, I get the vibe James himself has had enough. I spend a lot of time on the Guardian website, and he is branching out into British football coverage through their podcasts.
Second - and possibly this is why James is making friends elsewhere - Italian football is in steep decline. It sounds crazy to say that of the nation that are newly-crowned World Champions, but look at how many of those world champion players chose to leave Italy when Calciopoli broke. Juve are in B, Napoli, Verona and several other big clubs are with them, and crowds are falling in the top tier.
Third - Italy as a nation is kind of standing still. As Capello said last season, "Italy is asleep" while Spain is a thrusting, ambitious, dynamic nation. I think Italy needs a kick up the backside in order for Serie A to revive.
I love Italian football and I am always defending it against anti-Italian Premiership fans but this season I feel like I have lost the argument. I don't know what I will do for Roma coverage if James and his team stop bringing Serie A to our screens. The coverage has been so, so good, and even if it ends I know there will be a large band of us in Britain who will fly to Italy a few times a year to watch our sides.
Thanks James and Co for the best football coverage British TV has ever seen, and here's hoping you can eke it out a while longer.
Originally posted by leccese tifoso: hang on this is stupid! we have just won the world cup and you would think they would show more italian football this year rather than less. This is a real worry, someone needs to get in touch whith the people upstairs and find out whot the blazes is going on.
You'd think that would be the case wouldn't you mate but I think Channel 4 is rubbish by and large these days. I used to find myself watching it a lot. It used to have a lot of decent topical programmes now it seems to me all that's ever on the channel is endless programmes about Islam/Muslims (Channel 4 there are other ethnic groups in the UK did you know? What about a programme about Jewish or Sikh life in the UK for a change?). Either that or it's an omnibus of the godawful Hollyoaks, some naff cheap production music programme or a 100th time repeated '100 Best Of...' programme - pure naff
Originally posted by Bracey: cheap, sub-standard, degenerate trash.
This aptly describes about 95% of TV output.
On the Italian Football thing considering the cost involved in purchasing the rights etc. and if it is true that Bravo have dropped it then I'm afraid I can see it fading from our screens for a while. I feel that the financial hardship of top clubs such as Lazio and Parma over the last few yeas was extremely bad for competition. Add to this Roma's ban on transfer activity and you have 3 clubs realistically competing for Serie A: Juve, Milan and Inter. Now bring in the whole math-fixing scandal affecting Juve and Milan and you have a league devoid of appeal beyond its loyal fan base. The sad fact is TV in the current period is run on popular viewing that is very short-term until the next 'popular' thing comes by. The success of Spanish football on SKY in contrast depended on English exports added to the acquisition of major players with commercial appeal.
This is very sad but also I think has been on the cards for a while. I dont think JR is fed up I think he realises he's flogging a dead horse.It's a tragedy and as my fellow blue (Bracey) pointed out Skys La Liga coverage merely extends to two clubs.Very rarely do they venture into other subjects than Barca, Real and the odd mention of Valencia and Sevilla.hey never mention for instance the fact that there's been some mumblings in Bilbao about changing their Basque only policy...no...they would sooner talk about Beckhams new tattoo .At least Gazzetta was a little more diverse and featured other than the big three. I can honestley see the day coming when there won't be any Italian footy on..and thats bad news. Looks like the web sies gone too..although I could be wrong on that one.
Italian football needs to act more upon recent precedents like rooting out corruption and scrutinising hooliganism. Here are a few more issues that need addressing:
1. Quality and safety of stadia. Most grounds need a bit of a revamp, especially if Italy is serious about hosting in 2008.
2. Big clubs in the top league - like them or loathe them, Juve and Napoli are two of the big boys that Serie A needs to be competitive. Throw in the likes of Bologna and Genoa and the division has an impressive repertory of big teams.
3. Clubs need to balance the books and prove they are financially solvent. Lazio and Parma are two that have slipped from grace in recent years in this department.
Italian football will be viewed with less disdain if these matters are resolved.
Originally posted by man city nigel: This is very sad but also I think has been on the cards for a while. I dont think JR is fed up I think he realises he's flogging a dead horse.It's a tragedy and as my fellow blue (Bracey) pointed out Skys La Liga coverage merely extends to two clubs.Very rarely do they venture into other subjects than Barca, Real and the odd mention of Valencia and Sevilla.hey never mention for instance the fact that there's been some mumblings in Bilbao about changing their Basque only policy...no...they would sooner talk about Beckhams new tattoo .At least Gazzetta was a little more diverse and featured other than the big three. I can honestley see the day coming when there won't be any Italian footy on..and thats bad news. Looks like the web sies gone too..although I could be wrong on that one.
SKYs la liga coverage was excellent until Beckham moved to RM,then it just became awful;they dont seem to realise that sport fans want just that,if all we were interested in was celebrity we'd buy Hello.This is the main reason i stopped my Sky Sports subscription. I think there is an inherant bias against all Italian football in this country that is media led;not for any deep,dark reasons but because most journalists are thoroughly lazy and would rather just occasionally stir the man in the streets misconceptions(italian football-its all negative,0.001 goal per game etcetcetc)than write anything interesting. To be honest Gazetta has been a little big team orientated itself,but i suppose thats to be expected, and was truly dreadful when the unsufferable yobbo Gascoigne was at Lazio-why on earth they gave him a job on the programme for this year i dont know-i love these nostalgia pieces normally but him presenting it just made me want to fast forward. Finally i dont think Italian footballl did itself any favours this year-it had the chance to make a real statement about corruption this summer but bottled it;instead of coming out whiter than white all we've seen is another shade of grey
Originally posted by steviemacd: was truly dreadful when the unsufferable yobbo Gascoigne was at Lazio-why on earth they gave him a job on the programme for this year i dont know-i love these nostalgia pieces normally but him presenting it just made me want to fast forward.
You still haven't forgiven him for what he did to you in Euro '96, have you?
Setantas coverage has been very good so far. There highlights show goes on for an hour and just give u 5 minute highlights from each game, nothing but football and the odd post match interview. Gazzetta probably doesnt work cos it gets boring. The interviews and features they do are alrite, but id rather just see more football action.
Also, Does any1 remember La Parita c4 used to show on a Sunday night? That was a lot better than waiting 6 days to even see the goals on Gazzetta. If i had the choice id rather just have Sunday night highlights than 1 live game a week.
Originally posted by steviemacd: was truly dreadful when the unsufferable yobbo Gascoigne was at Lazio-why on earth they gave him a job on the programme for this year i dont know-i love these nostalgia pieces normally but him presenting it just made me want to fast forward.
whyd you have to go and bring that up,i was in recovery! Seriously,call me unreasonable but i prefer my telly presenters not to be monosyllibic
You still haven't forgiven him for what he did to you in Euro '96, have you?
1. There are hundreds of channels these days and they show all sorts of stuff... to think there is no room for Serie A is just silly. Somebody will pick it up.
2. I don't think the quality of the league is that important in determining whether it's on TV or not. US Major League Soccer is on the telly, FFS. All that really matters is whether they can reach an agreement on the asking price.
3. That said, Serie A will draw higher viewing figures than any other league in the world apart from Spain, possibly Scotland and, obviously, the Premiership. And, in terms of quality, you can think what you like, but I don't think any rational person can argue that Serie A isn't in the top three leagues in the world.
4. Last time, there were three bidders for Serie A: Eurosport, Bravo and Setanta. That's pretty healthy, IMHO. Setanta won and then sold the rights to one evening game per weekend on to Bravo. Obviously Bravo did their sums wrong and paid too much for it. But that doesn't mean that Serie A can't be a good choice for another channel (at a different price).
5. Setanta will screen around thirty Premiership games next year. They didn't buy the whole thing, just the odd game at 5:15 on Saturday, 1:30 on Sunday and 8 pm on MOnday. That's it. They still have to fill their schedule somehow. They are committed to European football and will no doubt continue showing it. And, of all the leagues they show, Italian football is the biggest draw. 6. I don't think Sky will bid. They can't accomodate another league in their schedules.
1. There are hundreds of channels these days and they show all sorts of stuff... to think there is no room for Serie A is just silly. Somebody will pick it up.
2. I don't think the quality of the league is that important in determining whether it's on TV or not. US Major League Soccer is on the telly, FFS. All that really matters is whether they can reach an agreement on the asking price.
3. That said, Serie A will draw higher viewing figures than any other league in the world apart from Spain, possibly Scotland and, obviously, the Premiership. And, in terms of quality, you can think what you like, but I don't think any rational person can argue that Serie A isn't in the top three leagues in the world.
4. Last time, there were three bidders for Serie A: Eurosport, Bravo and Setanta. That's pretty healthy, IMHO. Setanta won and then sold the rights to one evening game per weekend on to Bravo. Obviously Bravo did their sums wrong and paid too much for it. But that doesn't mean that Serie A can't be a good choice for another channel (at a different price).
5. Setanta will screen around thirty Premiership games next year. They didn't buy the whole thing, just the odd game at 5:15 on Saturday, 1:30 on Sunday and 8 pm on MOnday. That's it. They still have to fill their schedule somehow. They are committed to European football and will no doubt continue showing it. And, of all the leagues they show, Italian football is the biggest draw. 6. I don't think Sky will bid. They can't accomodate another league in their schedules.
Agree on most of those points.
Sky are about to launch another sports channel - Sky Sports 4.
But when I sent an email last week, they said they had no interest in purchasing the Serie A rights.
