THE future of Football Focus is reportedly in doubt due to a huge drop in viewing figures.
The popular BBC show , which has been on air since 1974, has lost more than a third of its early-season audience in the space of four years.
According to The Daily Mail, the average weekly viewing figures for August fell from 849,000 in 2019 to just 564,000 last month.
Football Focus is not thought to be under immediate threat, but the long-term future of the show has been plunged into doubt.
The programme is set to celebrate it’s 50th anniversary next year and BBC chiefs are understood to be considering a major rebrand.
England legend Alex Scott replaced Dan Walker, who had anchored the show for 12 years before leaving, in 2021 and the major change coincided with a drop in viewing figures.
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The average viewership dropped by around 18,000 when the switch was made, but the BBC have placed no blame on fan favourite Scott, who has covered several major tournaments as well as the Olympics.
Raising hopes that the show can survive, a BBC spokesman said: ‘Football Focus continues to herald the start of a whole weekend of sporting coverage across BBC Sport.
“Week-on-week it is the most watched programme during that time slot and iPlayer viewing figures are also strong, so we know its popularity is enduring for fans.’
Football Focus would become the second iconic sports show to be axed, following the end of Soccer AM.
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The popular Sky Sports show was pulled off air at the end of the 2022-23 Premier League season in May.
It was axed because of a significant drop in weekly viewers.
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The final episode featured many references to the show’s past, shout-outs to those who worked behind the scenes and final appearances for fan favourites.
It’s Saturday morning slot has now been taken up by Saturday Social – which previously aired before Soccer AM at 9.30am.
The football show focuses more on the social media side of the game in the hope of appealing to younger viewers.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
