BBC Sport confirms 2014/15 football season coverage

The 2014/15 football season is about to get under way and the BBC is set to offer more coverage than ever to audiences across TV, radio and online.

BBC Sport’s flagship football programme Match Of The Day celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, which will be marked by a special documentary airing on August 22 at 10.35pm on BBC One.

Gary Lineker starts his 16th year as MOTD presenter and the new season sees Ruud Gullit, Philip Neville and Rio Ferdinand join the team along with Alan Shearer, Robbie Savage and Danny Murphy.

The programme will continue to use a wide range of pundits and guests including current Premier League players and managers throughout the season, and incorporate innovative analysis graphics, Opta statistics, live social media votes as well as Gary Lineker’s manager interviews.

After a six-year absence, the FA Cup returns to BBC TV with 16 live matches and highlights of every round. Extra prominence will be given to the early rounds, utilising the BBC’s multiplatform capabilities across TV, radio and online to bring the full magic of the tournament to audiences.

With all the usual BBC weekend football programmes returning for the new season, the corporation is offering audiences over twelve hours of football on weekends to television audiences and this season, The Football League Show also gets a Sunday morning repeat show on BBC Two.

After a successful launch season, MOTD 2Extra will continue to combine the views of players, managers, pundits, journalists and commentators to audiences across TV, Radio and Online.

There’s more Women’s football on the BBC than ever before, from the FA WSL to the FA Women’s Cup and England’s World Cup qualifiers, all receiving extensive BBC television coverage.

Radio 5 live once again boasts the most extensive live radio commentary portfolio available, while audiences will benefit from comprehensive online coverage across PC, tablet, mobile and PC through the BBC Sport website and Sport App.

This season for the first time fans can sign up for goal alerts through the BBC Sport app for mobiles and tablets – latest line-ups, kick-offs, goals, half-time and full-time scores as they happen – straight to your phone – for more than 150 teams across nine top domestic leagues.

BBC Sports News will be ever present throughout the season with all the results and all the big stories across TV and radio.

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, says: “Following on from an amazing World Cup we can be in no doubt about the huge audience appetite for football.

Across TV, radio, online and our digital platforms BBC Sport is excited about delivering more content than ever before.

“MOTD turning 50 is a broadcasting milestone, we’re hugely proud of the show, one of the most iconic and best loved programmes on the BBC.

We are looking forward to continuing to evolve this national institution and having the FA Cup back live on TV as well as all the highlights from the Premier League enables us to make even more impact with our coverage.”

Full details of BBC Sport’s 2014/15 football coverage below:

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MATCH OF THE DAY

As the new football season kicks off this August, the television institution that is Match Of The Day celebrates 50 years since it was first aired.

The occasion is marked by a special documentary on August 22 which charts the history of this iconic programme and highlights its long-ingrained place at the heart of Saturday night television.

Gary Lineker once again takes the helm for the 2014/15 season which gets underway on Saturday 16 August, 10.30pm, BBC One with the eagerly awaited new Premier League start.

Ruud Gullit, Philip Neville and Rio Ferdinand, who were part of the BBC’s World Cup team, will all be joining the MOTD line-up this year, adding to the regular roster of pundits including Alan Shearer, Robbie Savage and Danny Murphy.

The programme will continue to use current Premier League players and managers as guests throughout the season.

The anniversary season will feature a new title sequence, taking the audience on a journey through the last five decades of television football coverage, plus there will also be a few extra touches of nostalgia on the anniversary weekend itself on Saturday, August 23.

Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Jonathan Pearce, Simon Brotherton and Steve Bower all return as the programme’s leading match commentators, as does the legendary John Motson, who has been with the programme for over 40 of the 50 years.

MOTD first broadcast on Saturday 22 August 1964, with highlights of Liverpool against Arsenal at Anfield and the programme quickly grew to be essential weekly viewing during the season.

It is now a must for all football fans, with regular audiences of up to 6 million across the weekend, watching extended highlights of every Premier League game.

Innovations have also seen the programme family grow with Sunday’s MOTD2, now presented by Mark Chapman, introduced in 2004, and the ground-breaking cross-platform MOTD2 Extra which was introduced last year.

The Sunday lunchtime chat show is the first genuinely multiplatform sports programme and broadcasts live simultaneously on BBC One, BBC One HD, Radio 5 live and via the BBC Sport website.

Players, pundits, managers, journalists and commentators all have their say on the weekend’s talking points to audiences in excess of one million across the three platforms.

In addition MOTD3 runs online every Monday at bbc.co.uk/football, while MOTD Kickabout is a weekly preview show for younger fans every Friday on CBBC.

MOTD2 starts this year on August 17 and Chapman will be joined across the season by Alan Shearer, Philip Neville, Danny Murphy, Mark Lawrenson, Martin Keown, Jason Roberts, Kevin Kilbane, Neil Lennon, John Hartson, Les Ferdinand and Dion Dublin.

MOTD2 Extra also starts from August 17 on BBC One after a successful inaugural season, with the programme discussing the best of Saturday’s action and previews all Sunday’s key games with an intriguing dynamic, with fans able to interact through social media with pundits, commentators and leading sports journalists.

Once again from midnight on Monday night, the latest episode of Match of the Day will be available to view and download on the BBC iPlayer, and MOTD2 will be available from midnight on Tuesday.

Mark Cole, the BBC’s Lead Executive for Football, says: “This season we aim to blend the old with the new.

“There will be archive sequences to celebrate 50 years of coverage, but we will continue to lead the way with our award-winning augmented reality graphics, detailed Opta statistics, live social media votes and Gary Lineker’s popular post-match interviews.

“After 22 years, Alan Hansen will no longer be with the show, but the World Cup really showcased the strength of the new BBC punditry team.

“We will continue to evolve the Saturday night panel and feel we have a really good blend of regular studio guests. Alan Shearer has established himself as one of the top pundits in the UK, while Danny Murphy and Philip Neville will regularly provide added tactical analysis.

“There will be strong opinions from Ruud Gullit and Robbie Savage, while Rio Ferdinand will continue to give excellent insight around his playing commitments.

“We will continue to mix our team of regular analysts with current players and managers, which featured Roy Hodgson, Thierry Henry, Vincent Kompany and Roberto Martinez last season.

“We are confident we have put together a varied team full of insight and opinion, led by Gary Lineker, who has consistently proved to be amongst the best presenters in the UK.”

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The FA Cup returns to BBC Television for the 2014/15 season, after a six-year absence, with 16 live matches and comprehensive highlights of every round of the competition.

Plans are in place, including access-all-areas coverage, interactive Final Score programmes, Football Focus roadshows and a new Monday night cup draw, which is also being taken around the country.

In a first for FA Cup coverage, the BBC will be giving extra prominence to the early rounds of the competition, placing lower league clubs in the spotlight.

In the first and second rounds there will be eight matches moved to a new Sunday slot at 2pm, as part of an interactive Final Score, with goals and key moments shown to the BBC One audience as they happen.

Fans will be able to enjoy every twist and turn and if there’s a goal in any of the eight games, Final Score will show it, if there’s a penalty, the programme will go live to see it being taken and if a match is reaching an exciting conclusion, the audience will be able to witness the exciting conclusion.

Supporters will also be able to enjoy enhanced coverage and live video text commentary via the BBC Sport website.

The extensive BBC digital offering will include a total of 16 games streamed live on the BBC Sport website, via the online Match Centre and there will be a special FA Cup Catch-Up service providing downloadable highlights at every stage of the competition.

The FA Cup has a longstanding relationship with BBC radio and 5 live will continue to provide all the news, goals and analysis from the start.

There will be live commentary of selected first and second round matches on 5 live sports extra and 5 live will pick up fully from the third round onwards.

In addition, local BBC regional radio will chart the route to the first round proper, as hundreds of amateur clubs aim to earn a match with a league team.

As part of their FA Cup coverage, the BBC , along with BT Sport, will also turn the competition’s key month of January in to ‘FA Cup month’, which will see both broadcasters give enhanced prominence to the tournament on their channels.

As well as Match Of The Day, Match Of The Day 2 and the FA Cup, all the familiar BBC football favourites return for the new season.

The 2014/15 season sees Football Focus celebrate its 40th anniversary, as Dan Walker once again takes the helm on BBC One.

New for this campaign the programme welcomes the magic of the FA Cup to the BBC and Dan and the team will have a series of live outside broadcasts from some of the grounds playing host to must-watch matches, as teams from all leagues battle it out for the coveted cup.

The 40-minute programme returns to screens at 12.10pm on Saturday 16 August with special archive features to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Match Of The Day.

The popular Premier League Predictions feature continues, as celebrities from the worlds of sport, music, film and television take on Mark Lawrenson.

With a history for obtaining must-watch interviews, Football Focus will this season maintain and look to build on this reputation – gaining unrivalled access to the week’s leading stories as well as the individuals making the headlines from the world for football.

Last season, Jose Mourinho, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Giggs and Daniel Sturridge all provided exclusive interviews, while there were also special contributions from Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, David Cameron and Sylvester Stallone.

The Focus team also produced special access all area shows from a host of Premier League clubs, the iconic Wallsend Boys Club and most memorably, a Christmas special from Afghanistan in front of thousands of troops.

Philip Neville will also be a regular guest on the show and will look to provide a series of analytical previews to the big matches. Neville will also be one of a series of former top flight stars to put their questions to current Premier League players.

Robbie Savage, Kevin Kilbane and Garth Crooks will also be on reporting duty for the show, alongside Mark Clemmit, Damian Johnson and Juliette Ferrington.

After his first season in the Final Score hot-seat, Jason Mohammad is back with all the goals and breaking news on BBC One, BBC One HD and the Red Button, from Saturday 9 August. Jason and special studio guests will analyse the action with the famous vidiprinter, live on-screen updates and pitch-side reports – viewers won’t miss a moment of the Saturday afternoon action.

New for the 2014/15 season, Final Score welcomes the FA Cup with special Sunday afternoon programmes for each crucial stage of this historic competition. Jason and the team will show live action and goals as they happen, as well as interviews with players and managers before the games kick off, savouring all the pre-match build-up.

In addition to its network slot, Final Score is available on the red button between 2.30pm and 6.00pm every Saturday, as well as through live streaming on the BBC Sport website, the BBC Sport app and Connected TVs.

The show will feature a range of pundits including Garth Crooks, Martin Keown, John Hartson, Kevin Kilbane and Dion Dublin. Regular reports from Damian Johnson, Ivan Gaskell, Juliette Ferrington, Jonathan Legard and Jacqui Oatley.

The Football League Show returns to BBC One and BBC One HD from 11.30pm on Saturday 9 August, with a new regular Sunday morning repeat on BBC Two.

Away from the Premier League attention turns to the Championship, League One and League Two, Manish Bhasin brings comprehensive highlights from arguably one of the toughest and most entertaining leagues in the footballing world.

Alongside Manish will be a host of football experts, including regular guests Leroy Rosenior and Steve Claridge, while the ever-present Mark Clemmit will be access all areas across the Football League with regular Saturday night reflections from the key game of the day.

Getting underway straight after Match Of The Day every Saturday night of the Premier League, viewers in the UK will also be able to follow a live simulcast of the show on the BBC Sport website, as well as catching up on BBC iPlayer for an unparalleled parade of league football highlights.

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From the Super League to the FA Cup to the World Cup qualifiers, BBC television and BBC Radio 5 live sports extra will be home to more women’s football than ever before over the next 12 months.

As the domestic season continues apace, the Women’s Football Show on BBC Three & HD remains the focal point of the BBC’s television coverage, as Jacqui Oatley brings all the goals and talking points from the Super League and beyond.

Tina Daheley continues in her role as roving reporter – meeting players, managers and fans from now until the climax of the season in October.

Faye White and Sue Smith are among the regular guests on the show, bringing their wealth of knowledge and experience to the programme. Viewers can also follow the Super League on the BBC Sport website for all the latest news and interviews.

Later this month attention turns to England’s World Cup qualifier away to Wales on 21 August and the match will be shown live on BBC Three.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra remains the go-to network for women’s football, with continued live commentaries from the Super League until the end of the current season.

WSL players feature alongside the commentary team, bringing their expertise, unique awareness and knowledge of the game to audiences. Extensive access to clubs, alongside interviews with players and coaches, ensures audiences are also given exclusive insights as the WSL goes from strength to strength.

The BBC Sport website has a twice weekly goals round-up video throughout the WSL season with regular match reports, online goal highlights, news and team-by-team previews features. England matches are also streamed on the BBC Sport website, on desktop, mobiles, tablets and BBC Sport app.

Looking ahead, 2015 is set to be a thrilling year for women’s football, as the FA Cup gets underway in February.

The Women’s Football Show and BBC Radio 5 live sports extra will have the very latest news as current holders Arsenal chase their 15th title and BBC Two will once again have all the build-up and full match coverage of the FA Cup final.

From there BBC television, radio and online will look ahead to the highly anticipated World Cup in Canada from June 6 to July 5, 2015. Full details of the BBC’s coverage will be announced at a later date.

ONLINE / DIGITAL COVERAGE

 

Audiences will be able to follow live text commentary of every Premier League game, in-depth Champions League, Football League, League Cup and SPL coverage, including live scores, stats, match reports and reaction, whether they’re at home, on-the-go or at the ground.

The return of the FA Cup to the BBC will see FA Cup matches streamed live across four screens, using the BBC’s state-of-the-art live coverage service that brought audiences together for the World Cup, Wimbledon and Commonwealth Games this summer.

Highlights will also be available at every stage of the competition and we’ll be unearthing all the stories of heroism from the oldest club cup tournament in the world.

Fans from Arsenal to Accrington can sign up for FA Cup goal alerts through the BBC Sport app for mobiles and tablets for the first time this season, alongside alerts for more than 150 domestic football teams for the rest of the season.

Fans can also add their clubs to the app’s Quick Links menu for easy access the latest news from their team.

Once again from midnight on Monday night, the latest episode of Match Of The Day will be available to view and download on the BBC iPlayer, and MOTD2 will be available from midnight on Tuesday.

Expect extra in-depth analysis from Match of the Day 2’s top team of pundits along with 5 live’s Pat Nevin. The ever-popular Lawro’s Predictions returns along with Garth Crooks’s Team of the Week.

Robbie Savage will tackle some of the weekend’s big talking points and the BBC’s other football pundits will also provide insight and opinion in the big footballing issues.

On BBC Red Button and across our digital platforms, Midweek Final Score will keep fans up to date with all the latest scores via our graphics service. Online, MOTD3 offers post-weekend analysis, views and opinions from the MOTD2 team. The website will also live stream Football Focus, Final Score, 606 and MOTD2 Extra.

Building on the success of the 2013-14 season, BBC Sport will also feature expanded coverage of the top European clubs giving fans more information and live updates from La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and other top leagues.

And there will be extensive coverage of the Home Nations as they embark on their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaigns along with build-up to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Closer to home, all senior English and Scottish clubs have their own dedicated club index featuring the latest news, match coverage, fixtures, results and other stats and Women’s Football features prominently with a twice weekly goals round-up video throughout the WSL season, regular match reports, online goal highlights, news and team-by-team previews features. England matches are also streamed on the BBC Sport website, on desktop, mobiles, tablets and BBC Sport app.