1960s Although the title was first used by the
BBC for its
Wimbledon tennis highlights programme in June 1964, the first football-related edition of
Match of the Day was screened on
BBC2 on 22 August 1964, and showed highlights of a game between
Liverpool and
Arsenal at
Anfield. The programme's audience was estimated at only 20,000, less than half of the attendance at the ground.
Match of the Day was not universally welcomed in the football world; in 1965 several clubs attempted to block a renewed deal with the BBC in fear of a drop in gate attendances at matches. Eventually, a compromise was reached where the BBC agreed not to reveal which match was to be shown until after the day's play had concluded. Following the success of the
England team at the
1966 FIFA World Cup, the programme was moved from BBC2 to
BBC1 for the start of the 1966–1967 season. The first
colour edition was shown on 2 November 1968, when the programme moved back to BBC2 for one week, and a game between
Chelsea and
Manchester City was featured (BBC 2 was transmitted on
625 lines capable of showing colour). Two other First Division games from the 1968–69 season were also broadcast on BBC2 in colour. The first
colour edition of
Match of the Day on BBC1 was shown on 15 November 1969, where it featured a game between
Liverpool and
West Ham United.
1970s and 1980s Slow motion replays were first introduced in 1969. Between 2001 and 2004, the
Match of the Day brand was used for the BBC's live football coverage and the network had earned some consolation in losing by managing to regain live terrestrial coverage of the FA Cup and England internationals for that period. Rights for
UEFA Champions League qualifiers, which are held by the home team and fall outside the rights for the competition proper, were obtained on an ad hoc basis for English teams in this period, which is currently the case for the BBC with Scottish and Northern Irish teams. Both legs of Manchester United's 2002–03 third round qualifying matches against
Zalaegerszeg were shown live on the BBC. From the 2004–05 season, Premier League highlights returned to the BBC in a revived
MOTD. In addition,
Match of the Day 2 was launched, which showed highlights of the increasing number of Sunday fixtures, and was initially presented by
Adrian Chiles.
2010s From the
2011–12 season, a web-only
Match of the Day 3 programme was launched on Monday mornings as a light-hearted addition to
Match of the Day 2. Although broadcast as a separate programme, it is recorded immediately following the conclusion of
Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night. In November 2011,
Match of the Day moved from London to a brand new studio in
Dock10,
MediaCityUK as part of BBC Sport's relocation north, this allowed the programme to be recorded in
high-definition. At the start of 2012–13 season
Match of the Day 2 moved to
BBC One. Upon regaining the
FA Cup rights in 2014, highlights from the early and later rounds of the competition were given their own separate programme instead of being broadcast on an extended
Match of the Day straight after the
Premier League highlights, as it was before the BBC last lost the rights in 2008. Highlights of the latter rounds occasionally sequence from the Premier League highlights, as they did until the previous decade, but both segments are considered separate programmes. In January 2018, the
Premier League awarded the UK highlights to BBC Sport. The rights cost £211.5 million and were to cover three seasons from 2019 to 2020. The January 2018 agreement also includes
Match of the Day 2,
Match of the Day 2 Extra,
Match of the Day Kickabout,
Football Focus,
Final Score and
The Premier League Show.
2020s During the
COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the
2019–20 Premier League season,
Match of the Day split into a televised podcast called
Match of the Day: Top 10 Podcast in which Gary Lineker and the pundits discussed and ranked certain roles from the start of the Premier League in 1992 (such as Top 10 Goalkeepers) and
Match of their Day which featured a pundit picking three of their favourite Premier League matches. Upon its resumption, the BBC broadcast four games live.
Bournemouth versus
Crystal Palace became the first Premier League game shown live on one of the five main terrestrial channels, and the BBC's first live top-flight English football match since
1987–88. A further eight games were shown live during the
2020–21 season. In July 2022, the BBC acquired the rights to show highlights of the men's
UEFA Champions League on television,
iPlayer and digitally from the 2024–25 to 2026–27 seasons. As part of this, on 21 August 2024, the first episode of
MOTD: UEFA Champions League aired on
BBC One. In March 2023, Lineker was suspended following political controversy over a tweet he had made criticising UK government policy, which the BBC argued breached guidelines over social media use by employees and freelancers. Several presenters, pundits and commentators, including
Alex Scott,
Ian Wright and
Alan Shearer, refused to participate in the BBC's football output, while some football clubs announced their refusal to conduct BBC interviews. Radio and television programming across BBC Sport's football division was severely disrupted on 11 March, while BBC director general
Tim Davie apologised to viewers for the disruption. Both
Match of the Day and
Match of the Day 2, presented the following day, followed a shortened format with no studio presentation, punditry, or interviews. On 13 March, Lineker was reinstated as host of
Match of the Day and the BBC began a review of its social media guidelines. At the end of 2023, the BBC and Premier League agreed on a deal whereby Premier League highlights will be shown on
Match Of The Day,
Match of the Day 2 and
Football Focus up to and including the 2028–29 season. The deal also includes a significant increase in the amount of digital content that can be used across BBC Sport platforms. In 2025,
Gary Lineker ended his run as the longest-serving presenter of
Match of the Day. == Studio ==