XC a no-go on the BBC
As reported earlier today on MST (we hadn’t seen this AW article) this weekend’s World Cross Country will not be aired on the BBC. This Athletics Weekly article suggests that a contractual breakdown is the root cause…
Reading between the lines it’s all about money, and as we know the BBC has an obligation to fee payers in this day and age and cannot chase events whatever the price.
The BBC states that it is as committed as ever to the blue-riband Olympic sport, however one cannot help thinking that a if a small portion of the cost of bringing the extensive 4-day coverage of the World Track Cycling Championships to our screens was attributed, there may have been a way forward. But when it comes down to British success athletics just can’t compete with sports such as cycling at the moment…
World XC will be absent from British screens in 2010
Luckily with the advent of social platforms like Twitter, on-the-spot reporting can now deliver accurate and immediate commentary – but will never replace the visual power that the telly brings. Shame.
Follow AW’s man-on-the-ground Jason Henderson on Twitter, here
