The Big Match
The Big Match

Series·1968·1 Season

The Big Match

Country

GB

Episodes

2

CineAI Pitch

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// overview

The Story

The Big Match is a British Association football television programme, which screened on ITV regularly between 1968 and 1992. The Big Match originally launched on London Weekend Television, the ITV regional station that served London and the Home Counties at weekends, screening highlights of Football League matches. Other ITV regions had their own shows, but would show The Big Match if they were not covering their own match – particularly often in the case of Southern and HTV. The programme was set up in part as a response to the increased demand in televised football following the 1966 FIFA World Cup and partly as an alternative to the BBC's own football programme, Match of the Day. The Big Match launched the media career of Jimmy Hill, who appeared on the programme as an analyst, and made Brian Moore one of the country's leading football commentators. The Big Match originally screened match highlights on Sunday afternoons but in 1978 ITV audaciously won exclusive rights to all league football coverage, in a move termed "Snatch of the Day". Although the Monopolies and Mergers Commission blocked the move, the BBC were forced to allow ITV to take over the Saturday night slot in alternating seasons, starting in 1980.

Themes

football (soccer)

Production House

London Weekend Television
LWT

Audience Score

100%

1 votes

Skip1%
Timepass4%
Go for it10%
Perfection85%

Where to watch

Streaming availability not listed for your region yet.

// cast

Cast

Brian Moore

Brian Moore

Presenter/Commentator (1968 - 1983)

Elton Welsby

Elton Welsby

Presenter (1983 - 1992)

Jim Rosenthal

Jim Rosenthal

Presenter

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