There's still more work to be done on the BBC Handbook of How to Fire Top Talent. Even Tim Davie, who's been directly and publicly involved in the handling of a Sports Department contract, has been outsmarted by canny Gary. What can be nicer, after 25 years on one show, Match of the Day, than an extended contract to front FA and World Cup coverage over the next two years ?
Who knows what his contract without Match of the Day will be worth ? It'll be the next question for the Fleet Street sports editors. In his last full year, Gary fronted 26 editions (plus a good number of the cheap filler/tv podcast, Match of the Day Top Ten). A typical shift requires 12 hours in darkened rooms in MediaCityUK, and over 25 years, Gary has done a brilliant job bigging up some editions of frankly uninspiring sport. Being 'at a match' is clearly more fun.
DG Tim's matey personal style has seen little improvement in talent-handling. Pressures set at the centre - for gender balance, diversity, 'reaching under-served audiences', or driving down talent costs - have seen tangled endings to the BBC careers of Ken Bruce, Simon Mayo, Sue Barker, Steve Wright, Emily Maitlis, and more. How close will today's formal BBC press release come to the leaked draft that came from inside BBC Sport ?
No comments:
Post a Comment