June 16th 2024.
Laura Woods is the main presenter for ITV's coverage of Euro 2024, which kicks off tonight with England facing Serbia. Fans are excited for the tournament, but some are hoping that ITV stays away from England's fixtures. It's been noted that the national team tends to perform better when their games are broadcasted on the BBC rather than ITV, with some even believing that ITV's coverage is cursed. But is there any truth to this belief? Metro has analyzed the data and found that there may be some merit to it.
Looking back at England's matches in major tournaments since 1998, it's shocking to see that only eight out of 30 games broadcasted on ITV have resulted in a victory for the Three Lions. This gives the broadcaster a low win-percentage of just 26.6%, with 10 draws and 12 losses making up the remaining results. Many of England's most heartbreaking moments have been shown on ITV, including defeats to France and Croatia in the last two World Cups, as well as the humiliating exit to Iceland in Euro 2016. Even going back further, ITV has broadcasted some of England's lowest moments, such as the World Cup penalty shootout losses to Portugal and Argentina, which both occurred after key players were sent off.
In contrast, the BBC's record when it comes to England games is much better. Over the same time period, they have broadcasted 19 wins out of 27 games, resulting in a win-percentage of 70.3%. They have only recorded one draw and seven losses. However, the BBC has also shown some disastrous results for England, including the infamous 4-1 defeat to Germany in the 2010 World Cup. Both broadcasters also showed the heart-wrenching penalty shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Moving on to the upcoming Euro 2024, the BBC will be showing England's first two games against Serbia and Denmark, with ITV taking over for their final group stage match against Slovenia. Additionally, ITV has already broadcasted the opening game of the tournament between Germany and Scotland, while the BBC will show the rest of Scotland's group stage matches against Switzerland and Hungary. In the knockout rounds, ITV has first pick for the round-of-16 and semi-finals, so it's possible that one of those games may spell the end for England. The BBC will have priority for the quarter-finals and both broadcasters will show the final in Berlin on July 14th.
So, is there really a "curse" on ITV's coverage of England games? The data suggests that there may be some truth to it, but ultimately, it's up to the players on the field to determine the outcome of the matches. As fans eagerly watch the tournament unfold, they can only hope that ITV's coverage doesn't affect England's chances of bringing football home.
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