Match of the Day's Gary Lineker admits ITV 'rivalry' as BBC host set for Euro 2024 ratings war

Simon Duke

18 June 2024 at 5:07 am·2-min read

Match of the Day's Gary Lineker — -Credit: (Image: Getty Images)

While he has tried to play down the competition between the two broadcasters, Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has admitted there is definitely 'rivalry' between the BBC and ITV when it comes to football, with it being reignited by the start of Euro 2024.

Ex Spurs and England striker Gary has been at the helm of Match of the Day for years now, fronting the weekly Saturday night roundsups of the latest Premier League action, as well as anchoring a growing list of major tournaments. And now, as the eyes of football fans around the world fall on Germany for this year's Euros, he's bracing himself for a hectic work schedule over the next few weeks.

Having been helm at the helm of the BBC coverage of Italy v Albania on Saturday night, alongside colleagues like Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, Gary was back in the studio as England opened their campaign win a 1-0 win against Serbia. Right after the match, Gary teamed up with Micah for a new episode of The Rest is Football, in which the pair discussed everything from England's performance to what's going on with the managerial situation at Manchester United.

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One of the talking points during the recording was BBC v ITV when it comes to football and, while Gary kicked things off by saying he 'got over it' years ago, he then added: "Naturally we are sporting people, we are competitive, so that is a little bit of competition. It's not important to anyone else, but us."

He continued: "England television does football very well. ITV do it brilliantly...we do it slightly better!" before revealing that the rivalry between the two channels really comes to a head when it's the final of a tournament, as that is the only time they are in direct competition with each other, with viewers given the choice of watching on either BBC or ITV; all the other games, including England's fixtures, are divided between the two.