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| Todd Antony/BBC |
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have given the BBC a chance to showcase what they do best these days: broadcasting massive sporting events in great depth and with real flair.
The country has been basking
in something of a mini-London 2012, and the feeling of national pride
(amplified by the fact the home nations are split into individual teams for
these Games) has been simultaneously driven and reflected by the BBC’s
coverage.
Although Glasgow’s showcase
of sport is on a much smaller scale than London 2012, we have still enjoyed (or
tolerated, depending on your point of view) coverage from dawn until midnight,
across most of the TV networks and BBC Radio 5 Live. Many of our favourite
faces from BBC Sport have been rolled out to front it, including Hazel Irvine,
Gary Lineker and Clare Balding, whose usual warmth and impressive knowledge of swimming
statistics have made the nightly visits to the pool a must-watch.
‘Dame’ Clare has also been
paired with Mark Chapman for a late-night summary, Tonight At the Games – an
irreverent and celebratory hour in the company of the day’s medal-winning
athletes. The jovial atmosphere is helped along nicely by a live audience and
live band, all served with cocktails (yes, cocktails in Glasgow!) from the bar.
This is a new format that was not seen in London, and I think the experiment
has paid off well.
Jason Mohammad seems to be
enjoying an upsurge in his television career, having reported from Sochi and
Rio earlier this year, and now presenting on BBC1 during the day at the
Commonwealths. Personally, I find Mohammad’s style a little bland, and I wonder
whether his onscreen persona is distinctive enough for him to become a Des Lynam
or Steve Rider of the future.
Throughout the week we’ve
heard from a host of new pundits, thanks to several retirements from Team GB
post-2012. Sir Chris Hoy, analyzing the cycling in the velodrome named after
him, has a relaxed presence onscreen, and sitting alongside him is Dame (a real
one this time) Sarah Storey. It is encouraging to see another Paralympian join
Tanni Grey-Thompson in talking about able-bodied sports, just as able-bodied
athletes are often asked to commentate on the Paralympics.
Whilst the overall scale of the
coverage is certainly justifiable, with impressive viewing and listening
figures, my only quibble would be that TV and Radio 5 Live send their own
reporters to interview competitors immediately after an event. When every other
BBC department is suffering from drastic cutbacks, would it not make sense to
send one reporter to each event and ‘pool’ the interviews for television and
radio?
Apart from this, everything
has been pitch-perfect. I have complained before about Auntie Beeb’s arts
coverage which, when it appears on the mainstream channels, is often hugely
truncated and patronizing to its audience. Director General Tony Hall recently announced a raft of measures that will strive to improve the visibility of the
arts across the BBC. But I think that if they are serious about making improvements
in this area, they need to look at emulating the ‘set pieces’ they deliver for
occasions like Glasgow 2014 or London 2012. These events prove that when they
throw all of their best resources and talent at something, the BBC is capable
of producing truly world-class, compelling coverage to match.
The Commonwealth Games continue across the BBC until 3 August
