The Goal Rush

The Goal Rush was a live ITV television programme that aired from 2001 to 2003, produced by Granada Television.[1] The programme was broadcast on Saturdays as a rival show to Final Score on BBC One, and provided live football scores from the Premier League and The Football League. Coverage began on ITV2 and then continued on ITV1. The programme was presented by Angus Scott.[2]

The Goal Rush
Presented byAngus Scott
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time35-120 minutes
Release
Original network
Original release2001 (2001) –
2003 (2003)
Chronology
Preceded byFootball First (1998-2001)
Related showsThe Premiership (2001-2004)

ITV ran the programme during the two of the three seasons that it held the rights to show Premier League highlights. After the rights were lost, The Goal Rush was axed.

Format

The Goal Rush was announced in 2000 by Brian Barwick, ITV Controller of Sport. The programme was a replacement for Football First which had aired exclusively on ITV2 since its launch in late 1998. It was described as having the style and feel of the Bloomberg Television channel.[3] It first aired on 18 August 2001 after ITV won the rights to Premier League highlights.[4] The format was similar to that which is used by the BBC's Score and Sky's Soccer Saturday; with live match reports, on screen scores and a ticker.[5]

Each episode started at 2:30pm on Saturdays on ITV's digital channel, ITV2. At varying times after 4pm the coverage would switch to ITV1. The service was hosted by presenter Angus Scott, and former footballer and football manager Ron Atkinson provided expert analysis.[6] Other analysts included Clive Allen who still provides analysis for ITV, Paul Elliott, Jim Beglin and John Barnes who later moved on to work on football programmes for Five.

Reception

The look of the service resembled the BBC's service quite closely and commentators criticised ITV for this.[7] The programme never achieved a high number of viewers and on 6 April 2002 the show won ITV's lowest ever audience share with 3% during the broadcast of the 2002 Grand National on BBC One.[8]

References
  1. Harris, Nick (3 August 2001). "ITV puts football firmly back into the prime time". The Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  2. "BFI Film & Television database entry". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  3. Wilkes, Neil (16 December 2000). "Rolling football service for ITV2". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  4. Rudd, Alyson (3 March 2003). "Stelling avoids snarl-ups directing the goal traffic". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  5. O'Rouke, Colm. "Into the premier league". Transdiffusion.org. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  6. Leonard,Tom and Wallace, Sam (3 August 2001). "Des will kick off at 7pm on Saturdays". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2008.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. McKinlay, Alan (21 September 2002). "No Rush to tune into ITV rip-off". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  8. "ITV figures at all-time low". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
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