Salmon's buzzing as he sets out to revive BBC Sport

13 April 2012

It seems reasonable to wonder why anyone would want to be head of BBC Sport these days, given its diminishing rights portfolio. Of course the rumoured £300,000 salary is persuasive, but it still seems like signing up to be a licensed punchbag.

Peter Salmon arrived as BBC Sport's director last month amid reports he isn't frightfully keen on the job. Yet, table football is set up next to his secretary's desk. There is a basketball hoop in his office, from which hangs a Burnley shirt bearing his name (he is "passionate" about the club, whom he last saw losing at Fulham last month). The screensaver on his computer reads 'Up The Clarets'. You wonder whether he felt the need for quite so many self-conscious symbols of cred when he was BBC1 controller.

Perhaps they are merely personal touches. Photographs of his three children crowd the windowsill, although there was none I could see of the actress Sarah Lancashire, for whom he left his children's mother earlier this year.

Ask BBC types what they make of their new sport chief and three stories emerge repeatedly. One is unprintable. The second is that he sees the job as a staging post until something better comes along. The third is that he has been brought in to axe Grandstand in favour of "event TV'' - the new buzz word to describe big sporting occasions which bring the nation together.

This means less emphasis on the public service duty of showing 40-odd sports a year and instead cherry picking major events and diverting funds to them. In other words, doing what ITV does.

Buzz phrases, such as "out of the box'' and "refreshing the gene pool'', are certainly 44-year-old Salmon's forte judging by this interview. But "event TV'' was not among them.

"I don't think axeing Grandstand is an option,'' he sighed. "Everything should be reviewed for long-term potential. If it means making modifications, we should do that.

"Do I see Grandstand as the flagship? I don't really understand what 'flagship' means. Grandstand is hugely important.'' So its future is safe? "Yes. It is very important to us.''

He was politely offended by the idea he sees director of sport as a staging post.

"To what? Yes, of course this is a promotion. I'm on the board that runs the BBC for the first time. The controllers of BBC1 and BBC2 aren't. This is a dynamic opportunity. It's going to be a positive and happy time. I'm very committed to it. I want to bring authority, colour and editorial leadership as an informed breath of fresh air.

"I want to work creatively with all my people. I'm ideas-oriented. I'm hungry for them. It's not just about coverage. I want to add more texture to the big events by inventing stories to tell alongside them. "I'm not an anorak about sport. But I am pretty knowledgeable. Remember, I was the one who scheduled Match of the Day earlier, to my credit, and I created the Sunday morning repeat. I wanted people to know it was loved and cherished. I still think 10.30pm is a fantastic time for it.''

But not beyond this season, because ITV have snatched the rights to Saturday night Premiership highlights. Salmon thinks ITV's rumoured early evening slot is all wrong.

"I doubt it will attract a big enough mainstream audience. Trying to build an audience beyond the seven million we get will be a struggle. I would be rubbing my hands if I were the BBC1 scheduler.'' So does he wish he were?

"No, I wish I were...'' he began, then broke off. "I'm glad I'm doing this job. Regaining the Premiership rights is one of my ambitions. But I also have a pastoral role caring for 40 or 50 other sports each year, and I'll be looking to see which lesser sports have the potential to make it big.''

To many, 2000 was a good year for the BBC thanks to the Olympic Games. The superlative quality of their exclusive coverage, combined with the biggest medal haul in 80 years, will dominate the annual Sports Personality of the Year broadcast on Sunday evening.

"There were four equal highlights of the year for me,'' said Salmon. "The Games were just one, although the BBC Olympic website had 41 million impressions in September alone.'' Impressions? Does he mean hits?

"Hits, yes. Pete Sampras winning Wimbledon was also wonderful. Euro 2000 was a triumph for the BBC. And at The Open it was fantastic to see Tiger Woods come through as an extraordinary superstar.'' Surely he was already? "No, not in Britain,'' replied Salmon.

Perhaps Woods will be informed of this when he is named Overseas Personality of the Year on Sunday's programme.

It will be interesting also to see how the rank failure of the recent Rugby League World Cup is treated. Salmon acknowledges the BBC "did have a say in the structure of the competition - we have a lot of lessons to learn from that tournament''.

But one suggestion he declares surplus to requirements is a dedicated digital sports channel.

"I don't see it as an issue. You need a huge income for that. If we have too many poorly funded channels, we devalue our brand. My priority is to service the existing channels and exploit the BBC archive profitably. It's about passion,'' he says.

Right. But you wonder what that means. He is so "passionate'' about EastEnders that he requested a walk-on role and duly got it. So presumably he was glued to the box when it went out?

"Oh no,'' he shrugged. "It was on a couple of Mondays back but I didn't see it. I didn't video it. I didn't know when it was on. I didn't ask. I only saw my bit because EastEnders sent me the clip on video, and a photograph.''

He showed off a freeze-frame of Martin Kemp (EastEnders' Steve Owen) in the Queen Vic. Someone is standing behind Kemp, smiling, looking keen. But it is hard to be surely exactly who it is. The figure is moving. Alas, all the detail is blurred.

MORE ABOUT

Basketball

Burnley Fc

Salmon

Shirts

Salmon's buzzing as he sets out to revive BBC Sport

Read More