{"id":292165,"date":"2023-09-23T13:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T13:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=292165"},"modified":"2023-09-23T13:36:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T13:36:00","slug":"football-focus-scott-and-williams-joke-about-viewing-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/football-focus-scott-and-williams-joke-about-viewing-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"Football Focus: Scott and Williams joke about viewing figures"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Football Focus: Alex Scott and Fara Williams laugh off concerns about the show&#8217;s viewing figures as they joke singing Martin Odegaard&#8217;s new song would &#8216;put the ratings up&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fara Williams joked about Football Focus&#8217; viewing figures during the show\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Click here to watch the IAKO Battle of Old Trafford YouTube Special from the Mail Sport Studios\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mail Sport&#8217;s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Alex Scott and Fara Williams laughed off concerns about Football Focus&#8217; viewing figures during Saturday&#8217;s BBC show at lunchtime.<\/p>\n<p>As revealed by Mail Sport this week, the 49-year-old programme has lost more than one third of its early-season viewers in the space of four years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Football Focus isn&#8217;t thought to be under immediate threat of disappearing from Saturday schedules, reversing that decline will be a priority for the corporation&#8217;s new director of sport once Barbara Slater retires next spring.<\/p>\n<p>Scott took to Twitter to hit out at former presenter Dan Walker\u00a0as he offered his support for the show shortly before going live on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Scott hosted the BBC show with guests Stephen Warnock and Williams as they previewed the weekend&#8217;s action, with Gary Lineker interviewing Ange Postecoglou while Scott sat down with Odegaard.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/13\/75757933-12552371-image-a-85_1695472215820.jpg\" height=\"360\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fara Williams (left back) joked that Alex Scott singing Martin Odegaard&#8217;s chant would improve Football Focus&#8217; viewership<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/13\/75757931-12552371-image-a-86_1695472242084.jpg\" height=\"356\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The suggestion left Scott in stitches before she swiftly moved the conversation on\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/13\/75757935-12552371-image-m-88_1695472265347.jpg\" height=\"489\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Williams later joked about Scott&#8217;s EAFC24 card and suggested that showing it could also help improve viewing figures<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>It was after her interview with Odegaard that the situation surrounding the viewing figures came up, with Scott discussing his new chant at Arsenal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I love Martin Odegaard&#8217;s new song,&#8217; she said. &#8216;I&#8217;m not joining in, I&#8217;m not going to sing it!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>This prompted Williams to joke: &#8216;I reckon if you sing it our views for this show might go up!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The pair then continued to joke that the views would have increased simply by having Williams, England&#8217;s all-time appearance maker, on the show.<\/p>\n<p>The joke left the trio laughing before Scott swiftly moved on and directed the conversation towards Arsenal&#8217;s Odegaard and his impressive performances since joining Mikel Arteta&#8217;s side.<\/p>\n<p>However, this was not the last joke regarding the viewing figures at Football Focus as Williams couldn&#8217;t help herself towards the end of the show.<\/p>\n<p>Posing with Scott&#8217;s EAFC24 hero card, Williams once again suggested a way to increase viewership.<\/p>\n<p>Teasing Scott, she joked: &#8216;I&#8217;m just going cuddle it for the rest of the show&#8217;, while lifting the card up to be positioned next to her on the seat.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;That&#8217;s fine, it can sit with me on the couch! I feel like I&#8217;m at home anyway.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Might get some views up!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/41492092-12552371-Former_Football_Focus_presenter_Dan_Walker_has_expressed_his_sad-a-16_1695474222823.jpg\" height=\"481\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Former Football Focus presenter Dan Walker has expressed his sadness at the iconic BBC show&#8217;s slump in viewing figures over recent years\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75754353-12552371-Walker_said_on_X_that_he_feels_sad_about_the_show_s_decline_and_-a-17_1695474229110.jpg\" height=\"259\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Walker said on X that he feels &#8216;sad&#8217; about the show&#8217;s decline and hopes it remains on the air<\/p>\n<p>It came after Scott hit back at her predecessor\u00a0Walker, who said that it&#8217;s &#8216;hard&#8217; to see the iconic BBC show struggling amid a dramatic slump in audience figures that could see it axed.<\/p>\n<p>Walker presented the BBC One show for 11 years between 2009 and 2021, before Alex Scott took over from him.<\/p>\n<p>As revealed by Mail Sport\u00a0this week, the 49-year-old programme has lost more than one third of its early-season viewers in the space of four years.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to X, Walker wrote: &#8216;It&#8217;s hard to see Football Focus struggling. I loved it growing up and it was an honour to present it and I still miss it. We poured everything into that show every week and worked hard to keep it relevant. I hope it stays part of the TV landscape.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>And this led to Scott to respond in GIF format, simply saying: &#8216;Interesting.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Walker was classy in his reply to Scott as he wished her well for the show on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75756257-12552371-Scott_responded_to_Walker_s_initial_tweet_replying_with_a_GIF_th-a-18_1695474234276.jpg\" height=\"887\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scott responded to Walker&#8217;s initial tweet, replying with a GIF that said &#8216;interesting&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75702969-12552371-The_show_has_continued_to_decline_since_Alex_Scott_took_over_fro-a-20_1695474251584.jpg\" height=\"463\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The show has continued to decline since Alex Scott took over from Walker in 2021\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75756261-12552371-The_former_Gunner_then_continued_to_put_out_her_own_tweet_about_-a-19_1695474241881.jpg\" height=\"226\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The former Gunner then continued to put out her own tweet about the criticism<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m not saying you haven&#8217;t Alex,&#8217; he wrote. &#8216;It&#8217;s a saturated market and it&#8217;s hard work every week.\u00a0I hope you have a good show today.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>However, Scott didn&#8217;t stop there as she put out another message to the critics of the show, posting the show&#8217;s Sports Journalist Association award from 2022.<\/p>\n<p>She wrote: &#8216;We have big interviews with Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal captain Martin Odegarard coming up on the &#8216;Award&#8217; winning Football Focus tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Make that a headline.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Football Focus isn&#8217;t thought to be under immediate threat of disappearing from Saturday schedules, reversing that decline will be a priority for the corporation&#8217;s new director of sport once Barbara Slater retires next spring.<\/p>\n<p>Walker, who followed in the footsteps of presenters Sam Leitch, Bob Wilson, Steve Rider, Gary Lineker, Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin in 2009, expressed his regret over the sad situation.<\/p>\n<p>The weekly average viewing figures for August fell from 849,000 in 2019 to just 564,000 last month.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75706275-12552371-Des_Lynam_left_listens_in_while_Bob_Wilson_and_Jimmy_Hill_lead_F-a-21_1695474262470.jpg\" height=\"434\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Des Lynam (left) listens in while Bob Wilson and Jimmy Hill lead Football Focus back in 1979<\/p>\n<p>The most dramatic fall coincides with Scott replacing Walker as the main presenter in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>In Walker&#8217;s last season before he was moved on the average weekly August audience was 827,000, before dropping to 809,000 in 2021, 599,000 12 months later and 564,000 this year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/23\/14\/75707327-12552371-image-a-22_1695474268972.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Scott is not being blamed by her bosses, though, and remains highly regarded at the BBC, who are set to give the former England defender a prominent presenting role at next summer&#8217;s Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Lawrenson, who appeared on the programme for 25 years before being let go last year, told Mail Sport that he believes the show has &#8216;served it&#8217;s time&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8216;It has served its time. It&#8217;s a football magazine show, but there are so many other options for viewers these days and so much competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It doesn&#8217;t surprise me. Football Focus is coming up to 50 years, which is an unbelievable run, although there was no competition 50 years ago.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>BBC sources insisted the decline in viewing figures mirrored those experienced by all linear channels in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson told Mail Sport: &#8216;Football Focus continues to herald the start of a whole weekend of sporting coverage across BBC Sport. Week-on-week it is the most watched programme during that time slot and iPlayer viewing figures are also strong, so we know its popularity is enduring for fans.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12552371\/Football-Focus-Alex-Scott-Fara-Williams-viewing-figures-Martin-Odegaard-chant-Arsenal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Football Focus: Alex Scott and Fara Williams laugh off concerns about the show&#8217;s viewing figures as they joke singing Martin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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