The Big Match

The Big Match was a British football television programme, screened on ITV between 1968 and 1992.

The Big Match originally launched on London Weekend Television, the ITV regional station that served London and the Home Counties at weekends, screening highlights of Football League matches. Other ITV regions had their own shows, but would show The Big Match if they were not covering their own match – particularly often in the case of Southern and HTV. The programme was set up in part as a response to the increased demand in televised football following the 1966 FIFA World Cup and partly as an alternative to the BBC's own football programme, Match of the Day. The Big Match launched the media career of Jimmy Hill, who appeared on the programme as an analyst, and made Brian Moore one of the country's leading football commentators.

The Big Match originally screened match highlights on Sunday afternoons (while Match of the Day screened them on Saturday evenings), but in 1978 Michael Grade at London Weekend Television audaciously won exclusive rights to all league football coverage for ITV, in a move termed "Snatch of the Day". Although the Office of Fair Trading blocked the move, the BBC were forced to allow ITV to take over the Saturday night slot in alternating seasons. This new arrangement began with the 1980-81 season.

The Big Match had no less than six theme tunes in its life:
1968 to 1972: "The Young Scene" by Keith Mansfield.
1972 to 1974: "Cheekybird" by Don Harper.
1974 to 1980: "La Soiree" by David Ordini.
1980 to 1986: "Jubilation" by Jeff Wayne.
1986 to 1988: "Aztec Gold" by Silsoe.
1988 to 1992: "Goal Crazy" by Rod Argent. (The Match).

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