Football and television have been interwined in
culture for more than 50 years and Brian Barwick has
played a massive role in the continuing inter-reaction
between them. Are You Watching the Match Tonight? tells
the story of how football on television became a
national obsession. The first live football match in
England was the 1938 FA Cup final, and the winning goal
was a penalty in the last minute of extra time - proof
that football can deliver the dramatic like no other
sport. Football on television went from grainy
film-edits in the 1950s to the first dedicated
highlights shows; Match of the Day first aired on 22
August 1964 (ITV's regional shows began in 1965). The FA
Cup final, once the only match ever certain to be shown
live, became an all-day event with ITV's FA Cup
Wrestling Special competing with the BBC's It's An FA
Cup Knock-out. The 1966 World Cup brought live
international matches into the public's home for the
first time and the BBC coverage of the final will
forever be remembered by Kenneth Wolstenholme's
legendary, "Some people are on the pitch...they think
it's all over...here comes Hurst...it is now!" Soon
commentators, presenters and analysts such as
Wolstenholme, Barry Davies, John Motson, Brian Moore,
Martin Tyler, Keith Macklin, Gerald Sinstadt, Jimmy
Hill, Brian Clough and Terry Venables became national
figures and their sucessors, Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan,
Jeff Stelling, Adrian Chiles, more so. Satellite TV
moved football into a new stratosphere with almost 40
per cent of all Premier League matches shown live every
season and the FA's sale of broadcast rights in 2012 for
that league alone brought in GBP 3 billion. Are You
Watching the Match Tonight? is full of fascinating
stories from in front of and behind the cameras, a
remarkable story spanning 75 years. Written by a man who
has held every key post in TV football, and filled with
personal anecdotes and interviews with famous faces,
this is a must-read book for all football fans.
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