{"id":289686,"date":"2023-09-23T11:34:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T11:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=289686"},"modified":"2023-09-23T11:34:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T11:34:24","slug":"alex-scott-hits-back-as-former-football-focus-presenter-dan-walker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/alex-scott-hits-back-as-former-football-focus-presenter-dan-walker\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Scott hits back as former Football Focus presenter Dan Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"
Football Focus presenter Alex Scott has hit back at her predecessor\u00a0Dan Walker, who said that it’s ‘hard’ to see the iconic BBC show struggling amid a dramatic slump in audience figures that could see it axed.<\/p>\n
Walker presented the BBC One show for 11 years between 2009 and 2021, before Alex Scott took over from him.<\/p>\n
As revealed by Mail Sport\u00a0this week, the 49-year-old programme has lost more than one third of its early-season viewers in the space of four years.<\/p>\n
Taking to X, Walker wrote: ‘It’s hard to see Football Focus struggling. I loved it growing up and it was an honour to present it and I still miss it. We poured everything into that show every week and worked hard to keep it relevant. I hope it stays part of the TV landscape.’<\/p>\n
And this led to Scott to respond in GIF format, simply saying: ‘Interesting.’<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Former Football Focus presenter Dan Walker has expressed his sadness at the iconic BBC show’s slump in viewing figures over recent years\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The show has continued to decline since Alex Scott took over from Walker in 2021\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Walker said on X that he feels ‘sad’ about the show’s decline and hopes it remains on the air<\/p>\n
Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n
Walker was classy in his reply to Scott as he wished her well for the show on Saturday.<\/p>\n
‘I\u2019m not saying you haven\u2019t Alex,’ he wrote. ‘It\u2019s a saturated market and it\u2019s hard work every week.\u00a0I hope you have a good show today.’<\/p>\n
However, Scott didn’t stop there as she put out another message to the critics of the show, posting the show’s Sports Journalist Association award from 2022.<\/p>\n
She wrote: ‘We have big interviews with Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal captain Martin Odegarard coming up on the \u2018Award\u2019 winning Football Focus tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Make that a headline.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Football Focus isn’t thought to be under immediate threat of disappearing from Saturday schedules, reversing that decline will be a priority for the corporation’s new director of sport once Barbara Slater retires next spring.<\/p>\n
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Scott responded to Walker’s initial tweet, replying with a GIF<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The former Gunner then continued to put out her own tweet about the criticism<\/p>\n
Walker, who followed in the footsteps of presenters Sam Leitch, Bob Wilson, Steve Rider, Gary Lineker, Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin in 2009, expressed his regret over the sad situation.<\/p>\n
The weekly average viewing figures for August fell from 849,000 in 2019 to just 564,000 last month.<\/p>\n
The most dramatic fall coincides with Scott replacing Walker as the main presenter in 2021.<\/p>\n
In Walker’s last season before he was moved on the average weekly August audience was 827,000, before dropping to 809,000 in 2021, 599,000 12 months later and 564,000 this year.<\/p>\n
Scott is not being blamed by her bosses, though, and remains highly regarded at the BBC, who are set to give the former England defender a prominent presenting role at next summer’s Olympics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Des Lynam (left) listens in while Bob Wilson and Jimmy Hill lead Football Focus back in 1979<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mark Lawrenson, who appeared on the programme for 25 years before being let go last year, told Mail Sport that he believes the show has ‘served it’s time’.<\/p>\n
He said: ‘It has served its time. It’s a football magazine show, but there are so many other options for viewers these days and so much competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘It doesn’t surprise me. Football Focus is coming up to 50 years, which is an unbelievable run, although there was no competition 50 years ago.’<\/p>\n
BBC sources insisted the decline in viewing figures mirrored those experienced by all linear channels in recent years.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson told Mail Sport: ‘Football Focus continues to herald the start of a whole weekend of sporting coverage across BBC Sport. Week-on-week it is the most watched programme during that time slot and iPlayer viewing figures are also strong, so we know its popularity is enduring for fans.’<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Football Focus row: Alex Scott and Dan Walker in public spat over the future of BBC programme after the former presenter claimed it was ‘struggling’ […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n