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I have said repeatedly that Euro 2008 will still get large audiences so I am not surprised by this. Like you say, people still have an interest even if the home nations are not present.

I have enjoyed the coverage so far and think your decison to have all the presentation teams in Austria was the right one. The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ coverage just has a better feel and atmosphere to it compared to ITV who have stayed in the UK.

The online features and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖi features have also been a good companion to the TV and radio coverage. I have especially enjoyed watching clips of old tournaments and MOTD unplugged has been good although it could get more behind the scenes like was promised and show everyone at work and what is involved, just having pundits/commentators reiterating what has already been said on MOTD about matches is a waste of the show IMO.

Keep up the good work though, you are doing much better than ITV and I fell it will only get better as the tournament progresses.

I here murmurings today of a beefed up Sport Interactive service to come in the Autumn - any more info on what that will include on top of what's currently offered?

Roger

Euro 2008 has been very good

The Euros should also stay on fta TV

Can ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖTV bring back fantasy football to the tv as here in Ireland Apres Match funny shows have been very succesfully on RTEtv

I think ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖtv was right not to bid for the UEFA Cup rights from 2009 as most of the games are very bad and boring

Can bbctv buy the last year of itv's football league coverage and start your new Football League coverage from 2008 instead of 2009

Hello Mr Mosey,

I as well predicted that the Euros would still get high figures and i have to say i have really enjoyed watching most of the games.

I just hope the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and ITV will fight UEFA all the way and ensure the Euros and the World Cup are kept on free to air tv.

Is the next World Cup definetly going to be on free to air tv?

I am enjoying the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ HD coverage on Sky.

What sound is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ providing. My AV amp decodes 5 channels, but the balance does not seem right. The Sky Guide indicates no DD!

ITV angers me in not having their matches in HD unless I get the new FreeSat receiver, which I am unwilling to do. I have complained to UEFA, asking them to provide the HD feed to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, but nothing heard.

Good Football is good football, even if no UK team managed to get through.

I think the prediction you made on this blog a couple of months ago has been proven correct. While there was little hype before the tournament began, now that its here, there is a great deal of interest.

The use of video highlights and features on the website has been a definate improvement. Its been fantastic, for instance when I was unfortunate enough to miss the great Spain match, to watch it back in its entirety on the iplayer.

I don't see how the failure of the home nations to qulify would make anyone think that the ratings wouldn't be high. This is the European Championships, one of the biggest sporting competitions in the world, of course people are going to tune in to watch it. Some of the football on show has been breathtaking and it's only going to get better.

In fact, in a way the failure of the home nations has made the coverage slightly more bearable to watch, as most fans here north of the border will understand...

re 5 Does not the sky box tune to the ITV HD channel? If it doesn't Free SKy is pretty useless.? Please could techi tell the nation!

From an English perspective, it is refreshing that we are not there. To the rest of Europe, we are idiots, and rightly so.
1) We think we're the best, we're not
2) We think we have a God-given right to reach the latter stages of every big competition, we don't
3) Our travelling fool fans take a negative booze-fuelled 'behaviour' with them along with their passports, rather than any real love of the game or sincere patriotism
4) For every five 'fools' there's one mild-mannerd middle-class metrosexual bloke who will say that not all English fans are like that, quietly defending the hoarde, but doing nothing to stand up against these idiots when actually in a foreign country observing this 'behaviour'
5) The English team is a very reflection of manhood in general in modern Britain, a bit undeveloped to be honest and sadly regressing

We should start to focus on sports that we might do better at as a nation, let this one take a back-burner, get coaches and academies to instil a new ethos and approach among yong players and who knows, one day we might actually pleasantly surpise the rest of Europe with a mature-beyond-our years, skillful and accomplished football performance.

Quite frankly a distant distant reality. Focus on boxing, rugby, athletics but forget about the national team until there is a real c-change in the social dynamic of this country. Only when there is wisdom and maturity on the streets, will this be replicated on the football field.

OK I get that this might not be too important to many sports fans but will someone PLEASE do something about what Gary and the other pundits are wearing for the Euros.

Every night they seem to be in uniform, with matching shirts and trousers.

Last night all four of them had pale blue shirts and dark trousers. When I saw the wide shot I started laughing. Given the studio colour they almost disappeared.

I understand they are not going to be calling each other up before the show to discuss outfits but surely the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ wardrobe department must be able to find a spare shirt somewhere, even for just one of them.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is greater than ITV in every respect. With Lineker, Hanson and Martin O Neill there is great conversations and even laughs. Didnt like Shearer at first but have to admit he is going on my and he has loyalty to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ with turning down job offers.

The ITV show is ruined with the adverts. We have two adverts before the match, two at half time and two at the end. The main presenter Steve Rider is awful, I mean is this guy a robot because his emotions are non-existant.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ are doing a great job and I enjoy listening to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ pundits when they get into a little banter. The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Sport website I feel is ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖs greatest achivement so far. Watching live footy, listening to commentary on 5LIVE and watching highlights and past euro videos is great. I allways check the site at least 4times a day.

Thankyou for reading
Ross

I notice that Fabio Capello was interviewed AGAIN tonight. Will there be interviews with the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish managers too ... or are the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, once again, thinking that England = Britain.

Please remember what the first B in ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ stands for.

If footballing fare like the Netherlands/France game is to be served up for the rest of the tournament it's going to be superb. What a game.

I love the interactivity, and the You Are The Ref discussions - please keep that going on a weekly or biweekly format after the tournament.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is again streets ahead of ITV, especially in terms of ITV shamefully taking an advert break after the national anthems....

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I will no doubt get shouted down for this but to be honest I am enjoying this tournament so much more because England are not in it. There are no drunken yobs strolling the street singing the national anthem and there are no 'animals' kicking in bus stops because England has lost. I don't have to wince every time I see a tabloid newspaper declaring war on another nation simply because they dared to play better than the three lions.

Bring back Steve McClaren and long may England not qualify for tournaments.

Hi Roger,
I think the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and ITV have done well.
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ have done well by sending the team to Vienna and having a studio based in 1 place like they did 2 years ago in Berlin rather then having the team flung across the countries.
ITV have done a good thing by having them based in the UK in a studio (Saves Steve Rider travelling across the world to cover Football and F1!)
However that studio they use looks like one of the Local News studios and the one that they use for the Japanese and Chinese GP's(to save Rider all the hassle of travelling for the Champs League Football and F1!)
I hope that the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and ITV can fight UEFA and FIFA from selling major tournaments to pay-per-view broadcasters such as Sky and Setanta. (Hope our Government makes one right decision!)
However one small silly flaw in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's coverage, Jonathan Pearce asking Fabio Capello stupid questions.
Also Roger, may I ask one question : Is this John Motson's last tournament as ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Commentator?
Everey year, the media says it is but can you tell us if it is?
But overall, brilliant coverage however that will be all lost when ITV gets the England contract
(Cant wait for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖs 2010 and 2014 WC, Euro 2012 Coverage and coverage of the Olympics, F1, Football League and Wimbledon!)

Hi Roger,

Given the good viewing figures for the EURO 2008 games, is there any chance you could show some World Cup qualifiers with non-home nations as a replacement for the England matches?

From my easy chair here in Florida I have enjoyed the Euro games very much. Can't think why some pundits over there doubted that the campaign would not be a success.

Some thoughts from afar: Some really bad referee decisions throughout the games so far; A terrific Netherlands team who really seem destined to win the cup; the absence of crowd problems and no apparent need for increased police presence either in Austria or Switzerland (Could it be due to there being none of those boozy English fans in attendance?); and the ridiculous "dives" that seem to have become so much a part of football in these modern times. As a Villa fan of yore, I don't recall players in my day resorting to such unsportsmanlike conduct in order to win a foul or penalty call.

And what in the world is scoring a goal a reason for pulling off a shirt or pulling it over the head, then sliding towards the fans on the knees!

i think that the bbc has been covering this tournament very excellent.

Audiences do seem to be well down on the World Cup from two years ago when many games - even those not involving England - got over 10m viewers. See link below.

/blogs/sporteditors/2006/06/top_ten_updated.html

Can't seem to find any figures from Euro 2004 though. Does Roger know how viewing figures this year compare with four years ago?

Hello

As it happened at the World Cup in Germany, after hearing again the Brazilian fellow talking on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ about Scolari's appointment, why not bring more often a different opinion on the games ?

Sometimes it is brilliant to hear someone not so " British" talking about our game!

Ricardo is like a fresh view around the opinions we hear all over. Is anyone out there sharing this opinion with me ?

Keep on the good work

Mark

"Does Roger know how viewing figures this year compare with four years ago?"

I'd imagine that if the comparison is favourable he will be happy to oblige.

From a quick googling it seems that the highest rated match in Euro 2004 was England Portugal (20.7m average). The highest rated group game was Croatia England with 18.1m.

Excluding England matches the final managed 10.9m and the highest rated group game was Portugal-Spain with 8.7 m. There were several group games around the 8m mark.

So so far it looks like the figures aren't holdinhg up even to those games where ENgland weren't playing at Euro 2004.

Having said that it is probably a bit early to tell. And I'm sure Mr Mosey has a better comparison, whether it is favourable enough to post is another question.

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I agree with #11 about ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ having better talent than ITV ... but I just wish they'd use their talent like they did on the football pitch.
Cut back to studio and how bored do Lineker and Hansen look. They act and talk as if they wish they weren't there, but on the golf course Lineker mentioned the other night.
Take last night. Hansen:"The tournament starts tomorrow (Italy v France)." What rubbish. There's been some great games so far. has he not been watching. Get excited guys.
It just about sums up the studio team's attitude this season.
Take England v USA friendly. Which wasn't that bad a match, especially for an England friendly. Studio: 'Wish we were watching The Apprentice'.
Was it a 6th round replay between M'boro and someone. Studio: "Wish we were watching the news".
FA Cup semi-final. They wanted to be anywhere but Wembley.
Come on guys wake up and smell the roses. Do you not enjoy the game anymore? If not, move on.
Thanks goodness for Marcel Desailly ... someone who really looks happy and in to his football.
We know you're so much better than the other channel ... please Roger, can you get them enthusiastic again.

Hello Roger,

I think it is fair to say competitve football at the highest level will always attract alot of interest even if non of the home nations are there. Thats why i am a bit dismayed about UEFAs plan to try and get the Euros onto Skysports.

In your opinion Mr Mosey how realistic to you think it is that Sky or Setanta could be broadcasting the next Euro tournament?

Is this the place to say how good it's been to hear Danny Baker back on 606. Someone who enjoys football and doesn't just grumble all the time like Greeny.