''On the Ball'' is an English

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Saturday lunchtime television show about

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, which ran as part of '' ''World of Sport'''' from 1968 until the mid 1980s, and as a stand-alone show from 1998 to 2004. There was another ITV television show called ''On the Ball'' which was a game show hosted by

Nick Weir Nicholas David Weir (born 20 November 1964) is an English people, English entertainer and presenter. He was the second presenter of ''Catchphrase (UK game show), Catchphrase'' and is currently the Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Royal C ...

in 1997, shown only in the

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

region.

Overview

The original ''On the Ball'' was a half hour football round-up segment shown as part of the '' World of Sport'' Saturday afternoon sports programming on ITV, preceding the traditional Saturday afternoon 3pm kick off time. Initially presented by Brian Moore, it was later hosted by

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key mem ...

and

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...

. When ''World of Sport'' was discontinued in 1985, ''On the Ball'' was replaced by ''

Saint and Greavsie ''Saint and Greavsie'' was a British television show in which former footballers Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves discussed current football themes such as the day's matches. It ran on ITV from 1985 to 1992. Format Englishman Jimmy Greaves and Sco ...

'', a stand-alone lunchtime football show hosted by the same presenters. ''Saint and Greavsie'' ended in 1992 when

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

gained the rights to broadcast

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

football, although ITV lunchtime coverage of football continued with occasional Champions League shows. ''On the Ball'' was revived on

from the beginning of the 1998–99 season, presented by

Gabby Logan Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh presenter and a former international rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. She hosted ''Final Score'' for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She has also p ...

, initially co-presented by

Barry Venison Barry Venison (born 16 August 1964) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. As a player was a defender from 1981 to 1997. He played for Sunderland, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Galatasaray and ...

. The show was extended to an hour in 2001, coinciding with ITV's capture of the Premier League highlights package from the BBC which also saw the launch of ''

The Goal Rush ''The Goal Rush'' was a live ITV television programme that aired from 2001 to 2003, produced by Granada Television. The programme was broadcast on Saturdays as a rival show to Final Score on BBC One, and provided live football scores from the Pr ...

'' Saturday afternoon results show and ''The Premiership'' Saturday evening show. ''On the Ball'' was discontinued again in 2004 after the BBC regained the rights to the Premier League.ITV axes 'On The Ball'
Digital Spy, 2 April 2004

References

{{reflist 1965 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 1960s British sports television series 1970s British sports television series 1980s British sports television series 1990s British sports television series 2000s British sports television series Association football television series British television series revived after cancellation English-language television shows English Football League on television ITV (TV network) original programming ITV Sport Premier League on television

Overview

See also

References