Match of the Day

1960s

Although the title was first used by the BBC for its Wimbledon tennis highlights programme in June 1964, the first football-related edition of Match of the Day was screened on BBC2 on 22 August 1964, and showed highlights of a game between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. The programme's audience was estimated at only 20,000, less than half of the attendance at the ground.

Match of the Day was not universally welcomed in the football world; in 1965 several clubs attempted to block a renewed deal with the BBC in fear of a drop in gate attendances at matches. Eventually a compromise was reached where the BBC agreed not to reveal which match was to be shown until after the day's play had concluded. The first colour edition of Match of the Day on BBC1 was shown on 15 November 1969, where it featured a game between Liverpool and West Ham United. However the very first colour edition was shown on 2 November 1968 on BBC2 when a game between Chelsea and Manchester City was featured.

1970s and 1980s

Slow motion replays were first introduced in 1969. However, at the end of the decade the BBC lost a significant share of matches, with a new four-year deal in 1979 splitting the rights between the BBC and ITV (ITV had originally won exclusive rights, but a ruling from the Office of Fair Trading ordered that the rights be split). Match of the Day was moved to Sunday afternoons for the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons.

In 1983, the programme reverted to being shown on Saturday night, although that year four broadcasts were lost due to industrial action. The season 1983–84 also saw the first Match of the Day Live broadcasts of First Division matches, beginning with Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur on 16 December – a Friday evening fixture. (This came some two months after the start of ITV's Big Match Live.)

1990s and 2000s

League football highlights were not available to the BBC for a few years but MOTD returned in 1992, for the start of the Premier League era. Sky's emergence made the TV rights market more competitive, with the BBC losing European Cup matches after UEFA's revamping as the Champions League in 1992, although it did broadcast the 1994 final between A.C. Milan and FC Barcelona. In 1997, the BBC lost all live rights to the FA Cup meaning the programme's live coverage was restricted to the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup matches, the latter competition becoming defunct in 1999. However the BBC were still able to show Saturday evening highlights of FA Cup games. However things got much worse for the network when in 2001, the Premier League awarded highlights rights to ITV in a three-year contract.

In August 2003 it was announced that from the 2004/05 season, Premier League highlights were returning to the BBC and a revived MOTD. In addition, Match of the Day 2 was launched, which showed highlights of all the Sunday fixtures, and was presented by Adrian Chiles.

In 2009 the BBC announced they had retained their Premier League rights, allowing them to continue showing Match of the Day until 2013.

2010s

From the 2011–12 season a new web-only Match of the Day 3 programme was launched on Monday mornings as a light-hearted addition to Match of the Day 2. Although broadcast as a separate programme and with its own unique title, it is recorded immediately following the conclusion of Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night. In November 2011, Match of the Day moved from London to a brand new studio in Salford as part of the BBC's relocation north, this allowed the programme to be recorded in high-definition. At the start of 2012–13 season Match of the Day 2 moved to BBC One.

Upon regaining the FA Cup rights in 2014, highlights from the early and later rounds of the competition were given their own separate programme instead of being broadcast on an extended Match of the Day straight after the Premier League highlights, as it was before the BBC last lost the rights in 2008.

Presenters, analysts, and commentators

In 1973, Jimmy Hill took over as presenter after moving from ITV. Des Lynam later became the host.

Current presenter Gary Lineker joined as an analyst in 1995 before becoming the main presenter after Lynam's departure in 1999. Ray Stubbs was the deputy presenter of the programme for 17 seasons, from 1992 to 2009. Current stand-in hosts include Gabby Logan, Dan Walker, and Mark Chapman.

Each show features two analysts, most frequently in combinations of Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, and Ian Wright. Phil Neville, Jermaine Jenas, Martin Keown, and Ruud Gullit have also provided analysis.

The most frequently used BBC commentators, include: Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Jonathan Pearce, John Motson, Conor McNamara, John Murray, Tony Husband, Ian Dennis, and Alistair Bruce-Ball.

The BBC also uses a selection of freelance commentators, including: Steve Bower, Simon Brotherton, Alistair Mann, Martin Fisher, John Roder, and Mark Scott.

In April 2007, it was announced that Jacqui Oatley was to become the first woman to commentate on the programme.

Previous commentators include: Barry Davies, Stuart Hall, Alan Weeks, Alan Parry, Gerald Sinstadt, Idwal Robling, Harry Carpenter, Clive Tyldesley, Jon Champion, and Tony Gubba.

In August 2014, the BBC announced that as part of the show's 50th anniversary celebrations, Barry Davies would return to commentate for one last time.

Criticism

Criticisms aimed at MOTD are its format is tired and out of date compared to Sky's football coverage and new, more enthusiastic pundits are required with the atmosphere between the current presenter and pundits deemed "an old boy's club". In 2010, Wolverhampton Wanderers' American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann criticised the show for showing bias towards the bigger clubs in the Premier League, particularly Manchester United.

Premier League licensing

The BBC have purchased the rights to televise highlights of Premier League matches. In 2012 the BBC signed a three-year extension to their agreement which expired after the 2015/16 season at a cost of £179.7m. BBC director of sport Barbara Slater said that "The new contract will see MOTD celebrate its 50th birthday". In January 2015, the BBC extended this deal until the end of the 2018-19 Premier League season.

Theme music

The current theme tune for the series is called "Match of the Day" and was written for the programme in 1970 by Barry Stoller. Ironically, Stoller himself admitted that he isn't a football fan.

Stoller's brief was simply to write "something good"; the short closing fanfare occurred to him first. "Those fanfare harmonies give the music a gladiator feel," he wrote in 2014, "akin to entering the ancient games arena in Rome with all its expectations." The tune was recorded by him, a trumpeter and drummer, in the basement recording studio of his home. In May 2010 PRS for Music revealed that the Match of the Day theme tune is the most recognisable in the UK.

The theme is often incorrectly labelled "Off Side", the group name of an alternative 1970 version which was released as a 45 rpm gramophone single on the Pye label (7N 25534), arranged and conducted by Mike Vickers. The original theme tune, entitled "Drum Majorette", was written by Major Oleen Wrigley, the band leader of the Jade Petherick under the pen-name 'Arnold Stock'.

Match of the Day Annual

A Match of the Day Annual book is also produced.

Highlights of the day

A Highlights of the day 2 was presented by Gabby Logan.