New football deal: What do you think?

Premiership football highlights will return to BBC TV on Saturdays and Sundays under a new agreement.

However, under the arrangement ITV loses its highlights package at the end of the forthcoming season.

The deal which runs for three years from the 2004/5 season will mean that live games continue to be shown on Sky.

Sky's satellite deal is worth £1.02bn, while the BBC paid £105m for its highlights contract.

Is the deal good news for sports fans?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

Glad to see that Match of The Day will be back on our screens next year - the ITV coverage was extremely lack-lustre. It's disappointing that SKY have captured all of the live match coverage though. I find it hard to believe that anyone else even bid for it. Perhaps it's time that legislation was bought in to enforce that a certain percentage of popular sport must be shown on terrestrial television, this would include premiership football rather than just the odd, dare I say uninteresting, European game. Imagine if the FA cup or Grand National were a subscription only affair - doesn't bear thinking about.
Giles Clinker, UK

I stopped watching match of the day yonks ago due to it being on so late. I've bought Sky now and its excellent so I doubt MOTD will pick up any more viewers than it has already, what's the point of watching old news when you can see it live?.
Dave Hough, UK

I think it is high time the British populace devolved its sporting interest. Football in itself isn't absolutely awful, but it is incredibly boring the way the country gives so much attention to football and nothing else. We ought to spread our interest in sports more evenly.
Graeme Phillips, Germany, normally UK

Glad the BBC got rights back. ITV coverage was appalling. If people want more arts and minority sports instead of football then get yourselves a satellite dish. Football is by far the most popular sport in this country and deserves to be shown to the widest possible audience. I agree that there is too much money in premiership though.
Geoff Gwillym, UK

It would be better to spend the cash on some real programmes to replace all the unreality TV Guy Chapman, UK

The premiership is about as interesting as the inside of a ping-pong ball. It's completely dominated by the richest clubs, and this deal helps to keep it that way. It would be better to spend the cash on some real programmes to replace all the unreality TV and makeover shows. Thank God for digital radio!
Guy Chapman, UK

Ah yes, that time of the year (10 whole months of it) when the wishes of 50% of the population are ignored, and we get nothing on every radio channel but football, football, football and.... football.
Gloria, UK

Who cares? I'm sick of football, football and more football. It's time those in charge of programming realise that not everybody in this country wants to have 24-7 coverage of football. We like to watch other things instead and certainly don't like having schedules disrupted because of an over-running game! Keep footy on its own channel!
Linda, England

The people complaining about football coverage on the BBC are at best misguided, and at worst, hypocrites. Do they think the BBC shouldn't show Wimbledon or the Olympics because not every single license payer is interested in those sports? And what about the Proms? I don't imagine everybody who owns a TV is interested in classical music. Just because you don't like one aspect of the BBC's output doesn't mean it should not be shown.
Garry Evans, U.K

To put so much of our licence fee into a game where 80-90% of it goes straight into player's pay packets is ridiculous. The BBC hasn't done either the game or the public any sort of service. Leave football to the pay channels where it belongs (after all you don't get into the ground free do you?) and use this money for sports that need it and which don't have obscene salary bills for their players.
John R Smith, UK

Let's look forward to the first show and the sound of THAT theme tune Richard, England

I am not a football fan, but the coverage I saw on ITV was poor. And it is obvious that football is the MOST popular sport in England so why in all honesty should the BBC increase coverage on horse trials which only a fraction of the public care about when a much larger percentage watch football. Let's look forward to the first show and the sound of THAT theme tune.
Richard, England

I would be quite happy to see football banished from our screens altogether. It is such an annoyance when programmes are changed or altered, just so that live coverage of a group of men kicking a ball about can be shown. With the amount of football shown on TV, I think the only other alternative would be a reduction in the TV license for anyone who isn't interested in this boring game. That way, it would become a subscription sport, and only those who want it would get it.
Andy, UK

So that's roughly a MILLION license fees just to show a few pathetic highlights that fans would already have seen in live matches? How is this justified? Even if I LIKED football, I would still be outraged at this!
Dan Slatford, Wakefield, UK

It will be nice not to have to watch a load of adverts interspersed with some half-decent football. But, as others have said, I fear for the game as a whole. Such sums of money should be more evenly distributed; otherwise the premiership will be the only 'organised' league in the country.
Bob, UK

It's not surprising that Sky have won all the bids for live coverage. The BBC admitted they didn't bid for live coverage and ITV, NTL and Telewest are in such financial trouble they obviously didn't bid enough. I don't have SKY but they have won fair and square.
Craig Ambrose, UK

We can now look forward to a top class highlights show fronted by professional presenters Antony Forst, England

What a relief that Match of the Day will be back. What ITV served up never really caught the imagination at all. I think it was only a matter of time before it came back. We can now look forward to a top class highlights show fronted by professional presenters!
Antony Forst, England

Scrap the licence fee. If the BBC is so obsessed with Football then let those that watch it pay as they view.
Philip Cleveland, UK

The price of the game has gone beyond most families to afford and the BBC wasting the public money on paying for this is crazy. The game will decline as less children can afford to watch or play, even the leagues no this. The BBC need to go private or change their whole position.
Graham, UK

I can't believe all the whinging on this thread. Football is a nationwide sport enjoyed by millions and its rightful place is on the BBC. Well done BBC at last something nearing the worth of the licence fee.
Stephen T, UK

A pure obscenity. The football industry needs to get back to financial reality and deals like this are just going encourage excessive spending on already excessive wages to excessive egos.
Ken, Scotland

Let this be a lesson to the Premier League; they knew the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Well done MoTD and the BBC.
Martin, Sydney Spurs, Australia

The BBC should spend the licence payers' money on under-represented sports John, UK

Utter waste of licence payers' money. The highlights would have appeared on ITV even if the BBC hadn't bid up the price. The BBC should spend the licence payers' money on under-represented sports. This year's coverage of the Badminton Horse Trials was appalling.
John, UK

Geoff Taylor's comments don't make sense. Non-commercially viable programmes are those that, by definition, attract fewer viewers. As long as the Beeb is funded by a universal tax, it should produce and buy programmes that appeal to a broad audience. Let's be grateful for the return of MOTD, and stop whinging please!
Steve, France

What on earth is a public service broadcaster doing entering bidding wars with commercial TV? Let the market provide the content it wants, and let the BBC serve the public, as it ought, with output the commercial guys wouldn't find viable. Like minority sports, for example. Football is well served by the market, and does not need help from the taxpayer.
Geoff Taylor, UK

Unfortunately money speaks louder than common sense Dan, UK

The fact that the BBC has recaptured the highlights package from ITV is a relief for every football fan. However, the fact that Sky are allowed to keep their stranglehold on live coverage will only serve to increase their influence over the game which many supporters feel is already too powerful. My only hope is that the EU win their battle to make football coverage competitive and force the Premier League to create two live packages, at least one of which must be sold to a terrestrial broadcaster. This would increase the public's access to live football, making it in the best interests of both football and the fans. Unfortunately money speaks louder than common sense.
Dan, UK

No doubt, after spending £1BN, Sky will pass on this cost on to me as a customer - even though I don't subscribe to the sports channels. It would be nice for Sky to invest that sort of money in better programmes and less repeats on the film channels.
Phil Brown, UK

Well done to all at the BBC Phil, UK

Joy! This is the best news about football on TV for ages! My wife will be as happy as a parrot with some incurable disease but I'm over the proverbial moon and already looking forward to my evergreen favourite Match of the Day. Well done to all at the BBC. This restores my faith in this great institution.
Phil, UK

The way the BBC are going on about football coming home you'd think they won the rights to full live games, not another pathetic dose of highlights. Remind me again why I pay the license fee?
Steve Branley, England

What a waste of licence payers' money. Let football fans watch it on the pay channels and use the money to give us better programmes as an alternative to football. It is this continual outbidding that is making football so blooming expensive - after all it's only a ballgame! Duncan I totally agree!
Ben G, England

What a waste of money Duncan, UK

£105M for a few clips of football in the evening. What a waste of money. No wonder the BBC has to keep repeating tired old episodes of Only Fools and Horses if this is how they squander the money.
Duncan, UK

Could never get used to The Premiership on ITV, it just wasn't right. Can't wait for MOTD on BBC1 again! Just hope they don't make too many changes to it.
Hulio, UK

Clever move by the FA. Splitting the live deal into four packages has resulted in Sky paying more than they would have if it was one package. Can you imagine how many subscribers they would have lost if any of those four packages had ended up on terrestrial?
Ray, London, UK

Back of the net BBC! Roll on Saturday nights with sensible comment (and no ads)...
Ian Marshall, UK

As long as they don't change the 'Match of the Day' theme tune, this looks like good news to me.
Bobby, UK

Finally, football is coming home Connor, England

It takes a few months to get fully used to a new regime and to forget how the old one used to be. Not so with ITV highlights - I have never got used to them or felt comfortable with them. It has felt like being away from home. Finally, football is coming home and we won't have to listen to U2 every 15 minutes!
Connor, England

I think that the BBC ought to put ALL sport on to a separate channel on Freeview and leave the rest of us in peace.
John R. Smith, UK

Speaking as a lawyer and a football fan, it seems to me that the whole fiasco surrounding TV rights to the Premiership needs to be investigated for possible breach of anti-trust law - something very fishy has been going on here.
Nigel Pond, Brit living in the USA

I am a football fan but fear for many clubs. I grew up supporting a Premiership team but moved many miles and now support a local non-league team. More live games on Saturday will cost the smaller clubs dearly in gate receipts (midweeks are already a lost cause at our level thanks to European matches on TV).
Roger, GB

I think that this deal is far from concluded Saf, UK

I thought the whole idea of splitting the live football package up was so that a terrestrial broadcaster would be able to show some live games. I think that this deal is far from concluded.
Saf, UK

Fantastic news. I can't decide whether I am happier about the highlights show not being filled with commercial breaks or the fact that after this year we won't have to put up with the woeful analysis of Andy Townsend and the other ITV experts.
Matt Newman, Wales

So long Gabby and Barry, you have both bored me rigid. Gary and Alan back on our screens every Saturday! Now you're talking.
CJ, UK

Good for the BBC. Hopefully you guys will also show it on BBC America. It's the only way I'll get to see any quality football over here.
Shaun, Ex-Pat USA

It is great news. Goodbye ITV. No more adverts. No more frustration. However, it would have been more reasonable to show some live matches on BBC to justify the "very expensive" licence fee.
Tony, UK

Of all the things going on in the world, of all the beauty, of all the culture, of all the happenings, of all the changes, of all the activities, I honestly cannot think of anything that I could care less about, than a television deal about a series of football matches. How completely boring.
Patricia, UK

When the ITV highlights programme started it was every bit as bad as I expected. By the end of last season it had got a good deal worse. Clive Tyldesley is a dreadful commentator although even he is better than Peter Drury. Now I can look forward to a professional highlights package again. It's just a pity there's another year to wait. Having said that, I think it's probably time for Barry Davies to retire. The BBC has usually found plenty of good commentators. I'm confident that will continue.
Simon, UK