[Rdd]

Meanwhile twenty years ago, this happened. Do you think the BBC would ever change the famous Match of the Day theme tune? RTE decided to do the Irish equivalent and replace the Sunday Game’s theme with an “ominous chanting” tune.

www.rte.ie 

Pitch imperfect - When The Sunday Game changed its tune
Twenty years ago today, Ireland suffered one of its greatest sporting injustices…
  Source: www.rte.ie

It took them four years and one other change of theme tune before they backed down and reverted to a “modernised” version of the original (slower with “na-na-na” chants in the background). Apparently the original didn’t sound good in stereo, they had previously tried to replace it with a more radical rearrangement during the mid-1990s which didn’t last long.

Now what the article doesn’t mention is that “Ominous Latin Chanting” style themes were in vogue in RTE Sport in the mid 2000s, after an era in which it was suggested that some of the previous themes were a bit naff. (And some were, who can forget the infamous RTE Racing theme?). It passed by, although the rugby one lingered on right into the 2020s when it was finally replaced (unfortunately, along with Hans Zimmer’s Backdraft theme which they used as a secondary theme).

[Brekkie]

I guess Match of the Day is the longest running sports theme on TV now in the UK at least. Looks like Bugler's Theme, used for the Olympics in the USA, predates it by a few months, debuting at the Winter Games in 1964.

[Steve in Pudsey]

Meanwhile twenty years ago, this happened. Do you think the BBC would ever change the famous Match of the Day theme tune?

I think they learned their lesson after this debacle

www.youtube.com 

[lookoutwales]

Only just catching up on the World Seniors snooker on Channel 5 - and surprised to see Ray Stubbs as host - first time he's presented something on FTA for a while?

Coverage is a good step or two up from what it was on BBC Red Button at least - think IMG have stepped in to produce?

[Jon]

The lower thirds are very similar to the current ITV Sport snooker ones.

[Stuart]

I think they learned their lesson after this debacle

www.youtube.com 

I actually thought that was quite a nice remix at the time. It was less bombastic.

Not that the programme lasted much longer IIRC.

[SuperSajuuk]

The lower thirds are very similar to the current ITV Sport snooker ones.

For me, they feel much closer to WST’s generic graphics used on most Eurosport tournaments [Home Nations Series and German Masters], but coloured the same as the sponsor instead of red and without the nationality flags of the players.

To answer an earlier post: its being produced by IMG, but not the Scotland branch that handles the network BBC events.

[VMPhil]

I actually thought that was quite a nice remix at the time. It was less bombastic.

Yes it was a nice modern version, I've always liked the modern version of BBC Sport themes. When they reverted to the old version, it didn't fit the title sequence nearly as well.

[Rdd]

I preferred the original BBC golf theme over the modern version, but they don’t really have any golf to play it on nowadays. (Open and Irish Open highlights is all that’s left I think?) but I digress.

RTE had previous had an awful rearrangement of the Sunday Game theme they used between 1996-97 but they reverted. You think they’d have learnt from that, but then they went down this road. The 2004 titles (which you can watch in the article linked to) didn’t help with their general cheesiness (Celtic warrior looking around, wacking something with his hurl) and only lasted a season, but RTE seemed determined not to bring the old theme back despite the predictable backlash and kept the new theme for three years (with different titles for the latter two), then changed to a more conventional title sequence in 2007 that had a rather forgettable tune. Finally in 2008 they brought the original theme back, in another rearrangement, but one much closer to the original (as I say slightly slower and with added chanting) than the disastrous 1996 version. Oddly enough it fit the 2007 visuals perfectly….

[nbafan890]

Only just catching up on the World Seniors snooker on Channel 5 - and surprised to see Ray Stubbs as host - first time he's presented something on FTA for a while?

Coverage is a good step or two up from what it was on BBC Red Button at least - think IMG have stepped in to produce?

he presented the Darts on 5 last year