ITV trailing in the BBC’s wake

Tonight’s matches in Group D of Euro 2012 have only served to accentuate the ever-increasing difference in quality of television coverage between the BBC and ITV. The latter, in my view, having earned the coup of covering the group’s flagship fixture (England v France), failed to capitalise upon this opportunity. Unlike England, who rather surprisingly put in a semi-respectable performance this evening, ITV’s performance aroused feelings that we usually associate with our national team at major tournaments: disappointment. 

The ITV studio team - mirror.co.uk

Even before touching upon the actual quality of coverage, ITV’s Euro 2012 title sequence, featuring disturbing models of European legends past and present, set to the backdrop of a somewhat odd rendition of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, is just bizarre, and ultimately quite tacky. In fact, I think it is uncannily reminiscent of ITV’s overall performance.

Whilst not saying that every aspect of their coverage is substandard – the commentary, on the whole, is good – the bread and butter of the core studio team is being left in the wake of Gary Lineker & Co. Admittedly the BBC pundits had a little more to talk about tonight with the headline-grabbing performance of Shevchenko in Ukraine’s 2-1 win over Sweden, but there just seems to be a studio rapport and a level of easy class that ITV just cannot live with. The exemplification of this is the gulf in class between Gary Lineker – a broadcaster who has grown into his role wonderfully over the years – and the rather hapless, and I am sorry to say, hopeless Adrian Chiles who just seems out of his depth (his ceaseless bothering of “Emiliano from Milano” in the café build-up to yesterday’s Italy – Spain match gave off an unerringly cringeworthy stench of the tactless and embarrassing Brit abroad).   

Chiles was not helped, however, by the quality of his company. ITV’s post-match interview with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a rare gem by comparison to your average footballer interview. The young Arsenal winger expressed himself articulately and earnestly but when prompted to respond to this impressive debut (for me, a refreshing and actually interesting talking point), Jamie Carragher could only respond with the generic, cliché-ridden incoherence that would usually be reserved for the interviewee.

The BBC’s coverage, by comparison, is going from strength to strength. They have a wealth of talent in their substantial pundit armoury which has been bolstered by the excellent Clarence Seedorf. The evergreen Jake Humphrey is showing everyone that he can excel in yet another area of broadcasting and continues to openly declare how much of a lucky bastard he is! But above all, BBC’s first choice studio panel of Lineker, Hanson, Dixon and Shearer presented for the England game tonight exude a level of comfort with each others’ company no doubt borne from their lengthy experience together. ITV cannot boast similar strengths and their analysis has tended to be awkward and disjointed with Chiles having to noticeably prompt his nervous, unforthcoming and uninsightful guests. If the fumbling Chiles’ is the lynchpin of their coverage, then ITV really are clutching at straws.