Looking forward to a sporting 2008
This is the season for carols, mince pies - and an overload of end-of-year reviews. But not here. I've always believed ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Sport is at its best looking forwards, not backwards. So in that spirit, here's a guide to what you can expect from us in the next 12 months and beyond.
The most obvious point is that 2008 is an even year - and we like those! Two major landmarks will be the in Austria and Switzerland in June; and then the in August. , of course, but our coverage will be comprehensive on TV, on radio and online.
There should be some thrilling games along the way, without having to live through the inevitable England defeat in a penalty shoot-out.
Then from Beijing we'll be delivering about 2,400 hours of live sport with an unprecedented choice of events, as well as our commitment to delivering the the Games whenever and wherever you want to see them. Look out too for what may already be identified as the most significant moment of the year. On 24 August in the closing ceremony, the Olympic flag will be passed to the - and that will be the point where we fully realise that the UK is on an extraordinary sporting journey between then and 2012.
The Euros and the Olympics supplement our regular portfolio - and you can see how it all fits together in our latest TV trail:
Everyone will have their own favourites, but let me pick out both codes of rugby. After the success of the Rugby World Cup, the should be a real cracker in 2008. What's driven audiences up in recent years is partly its sheer unpredictability: you never know who's going to come out on top.
This time round, England need to live up to their World Cup finalist status and France will be looking for revenge. So France v England will be an epic contest scheduled at 8pm on a Saturday night.
Meanwhile, and will want to show they're on the way back; and there are two appetising games at Murrayfield in Scotland v France and Scotland v England. Every try, every kick of the ball will be live on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.
Then in Rugby League: a few weeks ago we signed a new deal with the RFL that keeps the exclusively live on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ - and also brings live back to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ screens from 2009 with an England game each autumn. So we'll be following the Cup through to the Final at Wembley in August and then for three more seasons beyond that. We're delighted that both Rugby League and Rugby Union have a long-term future with us.
Also coming in 2008... We'll continue to strengthen our sports journalism: delivering the fastest news service and asking the questions you want answered. We'll also keep innovating: there will be more ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ High Definition TV coverage than ever before, more broadband streaming of our content - and new services via your mobile.
This website will make it easier to watch our video content - look out for developments early in the New Year - and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ will be the place to debate every sporting issue under the sun on and our expanding range of blogs.
So quite a year in prospect - and we have every intention that things will get bigger still as we move towards 2012.
