The flagship Saturday highlights programme will follow, at 6pm if the ITV sports department can convince the channel's advertising executives that enough people will watch. The 20 Premiership chairmen have already voted unanimously in favour of the new slot.The name of the new flagship programme is a closely- guarded secret, known only by a handful of insiders, but might include branding as part of a simple title The theme tune will certainly be the U2 song Beautiful Day. It is being remixed by Bono especially and may become Beautiful Game. Lynam will host the show, which will be 75 minutes long, and be assisted by Venables and McCoist, who has signed a three-year deal with ITV this week.
The channel has resisted the urge to poach any of the BBC's main presenters who in any case will continue at MOTD for other live games although the commentator John Champion and some MOTD backroom staff will swap channels. Robbie Earle and Andy Townsend are likely to feature as occasional pundits.A new Premiership magazine programme, set to be presented by Gabby Yorath, will be screened on either Sunday (after 9pm) or Monday (after 10pm) evenings. The day will vary depending on the weekend's fixture list.The Premiership's move to ITV is by no means the only big change to schedules. Although Sky will retain its Sunday and Monday live Premiership matches, the Nationwide League will move to the subscription ITV Sport Channel.Supporters of clubs from the First, Second and Third Divisions will see radical changes to the structure of their fixture lists as matches are played every Thursday and Sunday evening for the purposes of subscription TV. There will also be Nationwide football on Friday evenings, but only on pay-per-view at a cost of around £7 a game. Pay-per-view Premiership football will also be available, on Sunday afternoons, via an array of broadcasters who are still in negotiations over a deal.
A price of up to £10 a game is expected.Which only leaves the FA Cup (on BBC and Sky), the Worthington Cup (ITV Sport Channel), the Champions' League (ITV and ITV Sport Channel), the Uefa Cup (bids to be offered on a game-by-game basis) and England matches (Sky and BBC). Oh, and football from Italy (Channel 4), Spain (Sky), and the Netherlands and Argentina (Channel 5) Season ticket, anyone?. The Birmingham manager, Trevor Francis, and some of his staff and players could face action by the Football Association following their behaviour during City's First Division play-off second-leg defeat at Preston on Thursday. Yesterday the Football League also rejected Birmingham's calls for a replay. The Birmingham manager, Trevor Francis, and some of his staff and players could face action by the Football Association following their behaviour during City's First Division play-off second-leg defeat at Preston on Thursday. Yesterday the Football League also rejected Birmingham's calls for a replay. Francis could be in trouble for comments made to the referee, Paul Danson, as he disputed at which end of the ground the penalty shoot-out should take place. In his report Danson has included incidents of "physical and verbal intimidation" aimed at him after the game.
