Imagine that CBS began its coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this coming Thursday by going on the air and announcing that games could not be shown because hosts and analysts had boycotted the broadcasts to show solidarity for a suspended colleague.
This is a completely hypothetical scenario, but what if Charles Barkley said something critical of federal government policy regarding migrants seeking asylum in the United States? Then CBS asked Barkley to “step back” from March Madness studio coverage because of the remarks. But to support Barkley and protest the network’s social media policy, Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Wally Szczerbiak refused to go on the air as well.
That’s essentially what happened this past weekend on the BBC during what was supposed to be its regular Premier League coverage, particularly its Match of the Day highlights program. The show’s regular host (or “presenter”), Gary Lineker, was suspended by the network for a highly critical Tweet in which he compared the British government’s immigration policy to Nazi Germany.
Upon learning that Lineker was asked to “step back,” BBC Sport colleagues Ian Wright and Alan Shearer said they would not be available for Saturday’s broadcast. Soon thereafter, fellow pundits Alex Scott, Micah Richards, and Jermaine Jenas also decided not to appear on Match of the Day.
They were joined by commentators Steve Wilson, Conor McNamara, Robyn Cowen, and Steven Wyeth. BBC’s Football Focus and Final Score shows were replaced by rerun programming when hosts Alex Scott and Jason Mohammad also walked out. Even BBC Radio 5 Live had to air podcasts instead of live programming when presenters Colin Murray and Mark Chapman did not appear.
The protest also affected stadium reporters as current Premier League competitors wanted to stand with former players Lineker, Wright, and Shearer by not appearing on Match of the Day coverage and the network accommodated those wishes.
It should be pointed out that broadcasters and players declining to appear on BBC wasn’t necessarily a show of support for Lineker, but also due to concern that going on the air could be interpreted as a political statement. According to The Independent, several Premier League clubs were concerned about their players being put in such a position.
As a result, producers were faced with airing Match of the Day without commentary. Initially, the plan was to air the Premier League’s World Feed for coverage. But BBC did not have the rights to use that World Feed footage. With no commentary available, producers eventually aired a program that contained only 20 minutes of match highlights.
This raises the question of whether or not a similar situation could occur with a U.S. network. We already imagined such a scenario with CBS coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. If the protest was as widespread as the BBC’s perhaps it would have rippled into TNT, TBS, and TruTV broadcasts. Unless CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery opted for puppets in the studio instead.
Imagine if ESPN took Stephen A. Smith off the air because of an incendiary social media post and the First Take crew decided not to do the show in protest. Perhaps that isn’t difficult to imagine with the continuing belief among some fans and media complaining that the network’s coverage has “gone woke” and isn’t “sticking to sports.”
But what if the rest of ESPN’s daytime studio hosts then joined the walkout in solidarity? No This Just In, NBA Today, or NFL Live. No Around the Horn or Pardon the Interruption either. Sure, ESPN could run hours of SportsCenter… unless the anchors declined to appear on air. What if college basketball and NBA commentators also decided to join in? Would viewers get “silent” game broadcasts?
Most viewers probably don’t want to hear what Mike Greenberg thinks about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and whether or not the federal government should step in to bail out the U.S. banking system. People tune into Get Up or First Take for Aaron Rodgers, NFL free agency, Los Angeles Lakers, and NBA MVP talk.
Though such a possibility is fascinating to consider, the likelihood of a situation like the Gary Lineker suspension and subsequent talent walkout happening here seems pretty small. If there was a protest by on-air talent, it probably wouldn’t reach the level of bringing network coverage to a virtual halt.
For one thing, networks like CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC aren’t publicly funded as the BBC is. Those channels may feel a responsibility toward “due impartiality” for trust and shareholder satisfaction, but don’t face the same obligation because of public license fees that fund network programming.
As it stands, Lineker’s “step down” will not go into a second weekend. On Monday, the BBC announced that the pundit would be back on the air and an independent review of the network’s social media guidelines would be conducted. Repercussions will surely continue, especially with conservative politicians asserting that BBC director general Tim Davie relented because of the protests and fan uproar over the lack of sports programming. (Never mind that plenty of others argued that Lineker’s suspension was politically motivated.)
Considering how the BBC’s Premier League coverage collapsed due to talent walkouts, the network will probably be hesitant to take such drastic steps again. (Lineker could put BBC executives in another such position, depending on what changes are made to their social media guidelines.) Too much is at stake, including very public embarrassment.
Much more is at stake with U.S. networks and sports channels with the billions paid in TV rights partnerships and so much airtime inventory to fill. And from a pure people standpoint, would that many on-air personalities really show that kind of solidarity based solely on principle? You already know that money has far more influence than public trust.
