Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

97 ATHLETIC AND TELEVISION Athletics in Britain had been televised by the BBC since 1953 (at that time there was no alternative, of course) and viewers enjoyed some of the great moments during the 1950s and 1960s including the epic Chataway v Kuts race at the White City. ITV attempted to break this stranglehold unsuccessfully for year after year but had managed only to secure a domestic foothold with its broadcasting of the popular end of season meeting (“the Coke meet”) promoted by the International Athletes’ Club (IAC). During the 1980s athletics was on a high after the record breaking and Olympic exploits of Coe, Ovett, Daley Thompson, Alan Wells, etc. and John Bromley, the charismatic head of ITV Sport, decided that ITV’s time had come. The BBC contract was coming up for renewal and Bromley made his move in 1984 by making an offer that took the breath away; ITV would pay £10.5 million for the rights to broadcast British Athletics for five years from 1985 to 1990. Moreover, the contract could include a number of cross country and road running events (hitherto the Cinderellas of the sport) plus the British League club’s final; plus the Welsh Games, Scottish Championships, Women’s AAA championships, and the Northern Ireland Ulster Games; a total of 25 events annually. The BBC made a competing offer that came close to ITV’s but the sport opted for ITV and signed up. ITV agreed a parallel contract with the IAC to cover three road races, one cross country and one track and field event and, having made it a condition that any other new athletic events had to be first offered to ITV, had the sport sewn up. Had it been simply a choice between the two offers, the sport may well have opted to continue with the tried and tested BBC, even if the fees were slightly lower, but the ITV contract offered something that the BBC could not; advertising. The opportunities to offer greater value to sponsors (who, for example, could enhance their sponsorships by taking advertising in the commercial breaks during an athletics programme) that came with the ITV culture, and which also meant much higher sponsorship fees, could not be ignored and made the difference.