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Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Printable Version

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Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - JHarper_2022 - 22-03-2023

Quote:Sky Sports is planning to cancel Soccer AM after nearly three decades on air.
The programme has been a fixture on Saturday mornings since 1995, with its light-hearted mixture of football chat, celebrity guests and wacky games.
The broadcaster is proposing the final edition should be on 27 May, at the end of the current football season.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65041484 


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - fusionlad - 22-03-2023

Way past its 'golden age'.

But they could never recreate what they had before with today's political correctness standards. It would stick out like a very ugly sore thumb.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - nwtv2003 - 22-03-2023

It’s one of those that’s had very mixed reactions on social media, mostly the view that it’s long past its best and should’ve been axed years ago. I’m of the view it never really picked up after Tim Lovejoy left, but with Helen Chamberlain at the helm it was still watchable until she was pushed a few years ago. It’s never been the same since.

Certainly a lot of people have fond memories of the show, but many memories are from the era of things we wouldn’t get away with now, such as the Soccerette. It’s a shame it’s another Sky Sports legacy show that’s got the boot (see Sunday Supplement and Goals On Sunday) with almost nothing to replace it. I see they’re trying things like Saturday Social, but they don’t seem to click in the same way.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Gary Baldy - 23-03-2023

It's a shame because Soccer AM was the last remnant of anarchic Saturday morning TV (I know it wasn't kids' Saturday morning but it was in a similar fun style)- now endless cookery shows are the 'edgy' morning shows.... sad.

The show was undeniably at its best with Tim and Helen at the helm though- they had real warm rapport, but also felt connected to their audience. It's never recreated that magic. The current show suffers from an issue that many shows have now- it lacks warmth.

I think as well, whilst they were right to remove it, the show really started struggling after losing the Soccerette feature, because that was a huge part of the show for years- the hilarity of the crew running on to the show always put a smile on my face. I think Soccer AM used to feel a bit like an "anything-can-happen" type show so people watched it even if they weren't into football- it felt accessible, in the way the current version doesn't. I always like its Big Breakfast-esque atmosphere.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Brekkie - 23-03-2023

Yes - I never saw much of it but it was a reminder that Saturday morning TV wasn't just for kids. Must admit though I thought it had been axed a few years back.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - nwtv2003 - 23-03-2023

Not quite Soccer AM, but does tie into it somewhat, some of the papers today are reporting that some Sky Sports reporters are being invited to reapply for their jobs, similar to a move back in 2021 when many long term reporters, presenters and pundits left.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/sky-sports-cuts-soccer-am-29528740 


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Amber Avenger - 24-03-2023

The soccerette was never that big a part of the show - at the height of it's power the show was on for three hours, and the Soccerette was maybe five minutes of that and even then not until the final hour. Infamous certainly but the show was so much more than that.

The link of the show's decline with the removal of the soccerette is also as much to the show really struggling to find it's feet again after not only Tim Lovejoy leaving but also many of the crew who worked on the show (and also characters on the show) following him out the door.

Max Rushden - Tim's long term replacement after Andy Goldstein didnt work out - said this week he wanted to ditch the Soccerette straight away but the show wouldn't let him. Perhaps they should have done as it really had a bit more of a stable identify, although less popular, after that rather than straight apeing the Lovejoy era. I'd say its really suffered post losing Helen - Fenners is good, but kind of was stuck between two stools of being a bit too laddy, and having the old fans drift away and not doing enough to attract the young audience.

The internet is probably as much a culprit of taking away the shine from some of the shows content - the funny clips from matches, the best goals of the week all online within five seconds of them happening now. Previously they were a show that had viral clips before viral clips were a thing, Tractor Boy and Pearl Diving especially.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Rdd - 24-03-2023

I haven’t watched it in years - tbh after the retool after Rushden left, when they changed the titles, set, and music, it seemed like a completely different show. Maybe only cosmetically but that felt like the end of the familiar Soccer AM format. Maybe I’m a bit old for it at this stage anyway and just aged out of the viewership. But to me it ended at that point.


RE: Soccer AM axed after nearly 30 years on air - Daveuk - 27-05-2023

Just turned into the final Soccer AM… what a pile of …..


Not watched it for years but the show is totally unrecognisable from what once was. Understand it would change with the times but it’s a totally different show.

Clearly a show of it times