£1.75m-A-YEAR LINEKER HAS JOB FOR LIFE, SAYS
GARY LINEKER will tonight host the BBC’s first live Premier League game — after being promised the
Match of the Day hotseat is his for as long as he likes. A record TV audience is expected to tune in for Bournemouth’s clash with Crystal Palace, which is the first top-flight match the Beeb have broadcast live since 1988. In a rare interview to mark the occasion, director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater has lauded the long-serving Lineker who is the corporation’s best-paid presenter, earning £1.75million last year. Asked if she expected him to remain their host for many years to come, Slater, 61, said: ‘From our point of view, yes we do. Quite frankly, he is the best in the business and he is a fantastic asset to this organisation and long may he continue to present
Match of the Day. ‘Obviously that is a decision that he will make, but there isn’t any doubt on our part that we really value Gary and his contribution.’ Lineker will present tonight’s 7.45pm kick-off from the BBC’s Salford studio alongside pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, with Steve Wilson and Jermaine Jenas the commentary team at the Vitality Stadium. The fixture is tipped to become the most watched Premier League game in
UK TV history, beating the record set in 2012 when four million viewers saw the Manchester derby on Sky Sports. As part of the Government’s call for a third of the remaining top-flight games to be shown free-to-air, the Beeb will also broadcast Norwich against Everton on Wednesday, Manchester City’s visit to Southampton on July 5 and one other match. In her 11 years as boss of BBC Sport, this is one rights agreement Slater (right) never saw coming. ‘We wish we weren’t in these circumstances but it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring topflight football to the
at the start of next season, there have been calls for the BBC to be offered more top-flight games — something Sky Sports and BT Sport will resist. But Slater said: ‘Our focus is on getting this season concluded, covering it in the very best way that we can and not speculating about the longer term.’ Top-flight football’s return to terrestrial TV bucks the trend of Slater’s time in charge, when many sporting events have gone behind paywalls because of BBC’s squeezed resources and the rise of streaming services. The Six Nations rugby union could be the next to go, with Sky bidding to take the tournament off the BBC and ITV from 2022. Slater admitted: ‘We are worried about it all. That process is paused so I probably shouldn’t talk about a live negotiation, but it is incredibly competitive. ‘These are premium rights. There is a cycle and sometimes you lose.’