d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe rollercoaster qualifying campaign saw the resignation of Kevin Keegan, the recruitment of the first ever foreign manager (Sven Goran Eriksson), a 5-1 win away to Germany and a last-minute qualification goal against Greece.<\/p>\n
Unluckily for ITV, the early kick off times (due to the Asian time zone) meant there was no prime time clashes, with games coming on at breakfast or lunchtime.<\/p>\n
A particularly strange ITV moment happened when they covered the opening game of the tournament between France and Senegal.\u00a0Anchor Des Lynam (a high-profile defector from the BBC) asked pundit Paul Gascoigne what he knew about the African side. Gazza simply answered: “Nothing”.<\/p>\n
Their bad luck continued as they covered the disappointing opening 1-1 draw with Sweden, whilst the BBC broadcast the victorious 1-0 win over tournament favourites Argentina and the decisive 0-0 clash with Nigeria that saw them progress.<\/p>\n
Possibly because the kick off times in this tournament were much earlier than ITV would have liked, they opted to screen the England\u2019s knockout games with Denmark (3-0 win) and Brazil (a 2-1 defeat) alongside the BBC.<\/p>\n
But when they go head to head with the BBC in these matches, ITV always get a smaller share of the audience.<\/p>\n
Is this because audiences want uninterrupted coverage with no adverts? Better commentary? Or do some people really believe in that curse?<\/p>\n
England’s Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- England 1 Sweden 1<\/strong> \/ Sunday 2 June 2002 \/ Saitama Sutajiamu Niimarumarunii, Saitama-shi <\/span>\/ ITV – Clive Tyldesley and Ron Atkinson<\/li>\n
- Argentina 0 England 1<\/strong> \/ Friday 7 June 2002 \/ Sapporo D\u014dmu, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo-shi \/ BBC – John Motson and Trevor Brooking<\/li>\n
- Nigeria 0 England 0<\/strong> \/ Wednesday 12 June 2002 \/ \u014csaka-shi Nagai Rikuj\u014d Ky\u014dgij\u014d, \u014csaka-shi \/ BBC – John Motson and Trevor Brooking<\/li>\n
- Denmark 0 England 3<\/strong> \/ Saturday 15 June 2002 \/ Niigata Sutajiamu, Niigata-shi \/ BBC – John Motson and Trevor Brooking \/ ITV – Clive Tyldesley and Ron Atkinson<\/li>\n
- England 1 Brazil 2<\/strong> \/ Friday 21 June 2002 \/ Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi city <\/span> \/ BBC – John Motson and Trevor Brooking \/ ITV – Clive Tyldesley and Ron Atkinson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Channel Head-to-Head<\/strong>: BBC 7 \/ ITV 4<\/p>\n