Grandad Grandstand Put To Bed
The recent months have seen the sad demise of some of television’s best-loved institutions. Now, as of last week, Top of the Pops and Magnus Magnusson are joined by the venerable Grandfather of TV sport, BBC’s Grandstand in the “Fondly Remembered” section of TV’s archives.
The landmark sports programme that defined the weekend for millions of sports fans throughout its time is no more- the fact its title is so close to “Grandad” is convenient, for that’s the esteem it is rightly held in.
What is sad is not that it has been scrapped, but the manner of its passing. It could hardly be said to have indulged in a grand finale. After a slow but irresistible decline into old age, a large majority of people would be completely unaware it has now disappeared from our screens, while the sports featured in the last ever instalment of televised sport’s original icon were a scant mixof ice-dancing and carpet bowls.
Once upon a time every cup final, every world record, and every medal of every tournament would have been shown on BBC. And Grandstand would have been the vehicle to carry it. Yet these days, now sport isn’t limited to Saturday afternoons, Grandad Grandstand had become a fondly thought-of but largely senile elderly relative; struggling every weekend to claw its way back up to the coverage given by its competitors throughout the week. It was confined to the armchair and wetting the bed.
What reduced it to this state is pretty clear. With the rise of satellite TV, the BBC faced competition from new, advertising-funded, dedicated sports channels. Sport is only one strand of the BBC’s enormous remit, all of which the license fee had to stretch to.
The BBC couldn’t ask every year for money simply to buy the rights to more sport. There would be uproar from all its other services, and from the taxpayers. But as the BBC became increasingly unable to compete in the financial climate of sports television, the quality of service reduced, to the point where the taxpayer was now asking why it was worth paying for at all.
To ask if it could have been saved is really to miss the point- there simply isn’t any amount of re-jigging that could make up for the fact that Saturday afternoon isn’t the be all and end all of sport, at least not on a shoestring budget. It became a haven for obscure sports, and the better-known ones so horrifically painful to watch that they were cheap enough for Grandstand to show. Grandad’s pension doesn’t stretch very far these days, of course.
It was first broadcast on October 11th, 1958, making the show 58 years old. In a way it seemed much older; an archaic remnant of the age it came from. It brought us one of the most memorable theme tunes of all time, and it is entirely possible that the show was kept running just to be able to preserve it. Towards the end it was spruced up; but the introduction of Craig Doyle’s vertiginous hair and some slightly more trendy livery didn’t make up for the agonising lack of real sporting action on show.
It is ironic that, in this age of ruthless TV executives, Grandstand lasted months longer than Top of the Pops, which even to the end had bands to play and a chart to report on. Grandstand really only had a studio, some presenters, and what sporting insight they could conjure from the Swiss Under-21 clay pigeon shooting championships.
And so, while we mourn the loss, we must accept that it was the kindest thing to do. We will miss it; but not as much as Grandstand itself missed being able to do what it did best.
The landmark sports programme that defined the weekend for millions of sports fans throughout its time is no more- the fact its title is so close to “Grandad” is convenient, for that’s the esteem it is rightly held in.
What is sad is not that it has been scrapped, but the manner of its passing. It could hardly be said to have indulged in a grand finale. After a slow but irresistible decline into old age, a large majority of people would be completely unaware it has now disappeared from our screens, while the sports featured in the last ever instalment of televised sport’s original icon were a scant mixof ice-dancing and carpet bowls.
Once upon a time every cup final, every world record, and every medal of every tournament would have been shown on BBC. And Grandstand would have been the vehicle to carry it. Yet these days, now sport isn’t limited to Saturday afternoons, Grandad Grandstand had become a fondly thought-of but largely senile elderly relative; struggling every weekend to claw its way back up to the coverage given by its competitors throughout the week. It was confined to the armchair and wetting the bed.
What reduced it to this state is pretty clear. With the rise of satellite TV, the BBC faced competition from new, advertising-funded, dedicated sports channels. Sport is only one strand of the BBC’s enormous remit, all of which the license fee had to stretch to.
The BBC couldn’t ask every year for money simply to buy the rights to more sport. There would be uproar from all its other services, and from the taxpayers. But as the BBC became increasingly unable to compete in the financial climate of sports television, the quality of service reduced, to the point where the taxpayer was now asking why it was worth paying for at all.
To ask if it could have been saved is really to miss the point- there simply isn’t any amount of re-jigging that could make up for the fact that Saturday afternoon isn’t the be all and end all of sport, at least not on a shoestring budget. It became a haven for obscure sports, and the better-known ones so horrifically painful to watch that they were cheap enough for Grandstand to show. Grandad’s pension doesn’t stretch very far these days, of course.
It was first broadcast on October 11th, 1958, making the show 58 years old. In a way it seemed much older; an archaic remnant of the age it came from. It brought us one of the most memorable theme tunes of all time, and it is entirely possible that the show was kept running just to be able to preserve it. Towards the end it was spruced up; but the introduction of Craig Doyle’s vertiginous hair and some slightly more trendy livery didn’t make up for the agonising lack of real sporting action on show.
It is ironic that, in this age of ruthless TV executives, Grandstand lasted months longer than Top of the Pops, which even to the end had bands to play and a chart to report on. Grandstand really only had a studio, some presenters, and what sporting insight they could conjure from the Swiss Under-21 clay pigeon shooting championships.
And so, while we mourn the loss, we must accept that it was the kindest thing to do. We will miss it; but not as much as Grandstand itself missed being able to do what it did best.
Labels: Sport / TV
posted by Matt at 5:39 pm
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