Decisions on football icon Gary Lineker and Sir David Attenborough’s new nature series have taken the British broadcaster from one crisis to another this week.
As a result of the refusals, the BBC announces that, exceptionally, Saturday’s football match will be broadcast without a presenter and pundits, and without commentary.
– The real problem here is that the BBC has damaged its own credibility by its actions. Outwardly, it looks like the BBC has bowed to government pressure,” Dyke said on BBC Radio on Saturday.
Attenborough’s nature series episode blocked from being shown on TV
The other five episodes of the series will be broadcast on BBC One in prime time, as originally planned. The decision has angered the programme makers.
The BBC itself has denied that political influence or fear was the reason for withdrawing the episode. According to the company, the episode in question was not even intended for television distribution. The episode will be available to watch on the BBC streaming service. TV and streaming services reach different audiences of different ages.