{"id":243850,"date":"2023-12-15T21:26:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=243850"},"modified":"2023-12-15T21:26:35","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:26:35","slug":"bbc-axes-a-question-of-sport-after-more-than-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/lifestyle\/bbc-axes-a-question-of-sport-after-more-than-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC axes A Question of Sport after more than 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Question of Sport has been axed by the BBC\u00a0after running for more than 50 years, the corporation revealed tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Making the shock announcement, bosses blamed inflation and dwindling ratings for the cut of the long-running sports quiz show that spanned more than 1300 episodes.<\/p>\n
The decision to halt production comes less than a year after the Beeb sacked long-running host Sue Barker – sparking a furious response from its loyal audience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A BBC spokesperson told The Mirror: ‘Due to inflation\u00a0and funding challenges difficult decisions have to be\u00a0made, therefore Question of Sport is currently not in production at the moment.’<\/p>\n
The corporation are said to have confirmed that the brand is not for sale, hinting that the format could possibly be revived in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Question of Sport has been axed by the BBC after running for more than 50 years, the corporation revealed tonight<\/p>\n
The show first debuted in 1970, and initially fronted by former Match of the Day reporter David Vine, but is best known for being presented by\u00a0Wimbledon\u00a0semi-finalist Sue Barker, who captained the programme for 24 years.<\/p>\n
The tennis star joined the programe in 1997 quickly progressing to become the face of the show.<\/p>\n
In 2020, however, she was ousted in a shock move, that the presenter admitted left her feeling ‘slightly damaged’.<\/p>\n
‘Naively, I’d expected more after 24 years,’ she wrote in the Mail following the fallout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Don’t get me wrong: I had no problem with being replaced,’ she said. ‘Everyone has their day. Producers must always have the right to refresh a programme and take it in a new direction.<\/p>\n
‘It was the way it was handled. It taught me there is actually no way of leaving a role in a nice, pleasant and helpful manner, with your head held high.’<\/p>\n
Following Miss Barker’s departure, ratings for Question of Sport slumped to an all time low dropping to an average of 850,000 for last year’s series.<\/p>\n
One episode on August 19 peaked at 750,000, with the programme being beaten by a Channel 5 show about a farm shop.<\/p>\n
Between four and five million viewers regularly tuned in when Sue was host before she was given the boot in 2020 when bosses decided to refresh the programme.<\/p>\n
MailOnline has contacted the BBC.\u00a0<\/p>\n