Presenters Dan Walker and Alex Scott have clashed over BBC’s Football Focus programme after reports that it could be axed.
This week, it was reported that the popular Saturday football show could be removed by the BBC.
According to the Daily Mail, the programme has lost more than one-third of its early-season viewers in the space of four years.
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After the latest development, former presenter of the show Walker, took to social media to raise concerns.
He wrote: “It's hard to see Football Focus struggling. I loved it growing up and it was an honour to present it and I still miss it.
“We poured everything into that show every week and worked hard to keep it relevant. I hope it stays part of the TV landscape.”
The current presenter of the show, Scott, replied to Walker with a GIF before Walker said: “I’m not saying you haven’t Alex. It’s a saturated market and it’s hard work every week. I hope you have a good show today.”
The weekly average viewing figures for August reportedly fell from 849,000 in 2019 to just 564,000 last month.
Mark Lawrenson, who was a mainstay of Football Focus before leaving last year, told the Daily Mail: “It has served its time. It's a football magazine show, but there are so many other options for viewers these days and so much competition.
“It doesn't surprise me. Football Focus is coming up to 50 years, which is an unbelievable run, although there was no competition 50 years ago.”
Whilst a BBC spokesperson said: “Football Focus continues to herald the start of a whole weekend of sporting coverage across BBC Sport. Week-on-week it is the most watched programme during that time slot and iPlayer viewing figures are also strong, so we know its popularity is enduring for fans.”
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Topics: Football, Premier League, Alex Scott
Marcus Chan