Millers vs BBC Radio Sheffield (Wednesday)

It's something that we all moan about on the boards, some take it to the airwaves, just to be put down by the presenters.

But the Millers recieving no coverage for their long trip to Brentford on Friday night while being the only local team playing sent regular MillersMAD poster Grumpy King of the West into his grumpiest mood ever, so much so he was moved to send Radio Sheffield a written complaint.

A copy of his email, and the resulting correspondance is below!


Mr Walker,

I am contacting you to complain, in the strongest possible way, regarding your dismissive attitude towards Rotherham United FC.

Tonight, and indeed this weekend, there are no matches involving your beloved Sheffield football clubs. Yet you chose to not do a live commentary from Griffin Park where the Millers are playing Brentford. Let us not forget that you are a public service broadcaster, financed by the licence fee. Radio Sheffield is NOT a commercial radio station, and despite its name must represent the whole of South Yorkshire (and the North Midlands). Despite shockingly poor recent attendences, Rotherham United FC play a major role in the lifes of the Rotherham public, and the town itself. The club represents the town, and borough, on the national stage and yet you, our supposed local public sector broadcaster, dismiss it as though it were just some tinpot minority club, with which to pay lip service.

Tonights match is exactly the type of match which you should be covering as let's face it, how many Rotherham United fans will be able to attend an away match in London on a Friday night? Instead, you chose to go to Millmoor on Tuesday, no doubt so that you could "chalk one off" in the "Millers covered" section.

Honest answer, would you be covering Sheffield Wed or Sheffield Utd if they were playing tonight, HOME OR AWAY????? Of course you would.

It makes my blood boil to think that you cannot be bothered to cover a Millers league match, yet had a reporter at Sheffield Wednesday pre-season FRIENDLIES. Plus, you even had a reporter on a foreign tour with Sheffield United. How on Earth can you justify such obvious bias?

I await your response. Your reply will go someway in determing whether or not I take this matter up with the BBC Complaints Dept, Glasgow.

Regards,

Grumpy King Of The West

Thanks for your email about Rotherham United's game tonight at Brentford. We would love to cover the match, but have to be realistic with our budgets. Only a few years ago most games were played on Saturdays, but these days there can be as many as five local games in a week. This pushes our costs up tremendously. Instead of maybe two commentary games, there could be five on different days or nights open to us. We have to pay the home and away team for each commentary game, and we simply don't have the funds to cope with so many matches. As you point out in your email, we are financed by the licence fee and are funds are not unlimited.

In addition I also have to consider our regular output on non traditional football nights, that is away from Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We work hard to build up a loyal and hopefully growing audience on shows like Phil Butler's 70s and 80s Night, which is transmitted on Fridays and would have to be scrapped if we did a football commentary tonight. This would clearly upset the thousands of people who tune into Phil's show. The station has decided that the best way forward tonight, both editorially and financially, is to have regular updates from Brentford into Phil's show.

I should add that no other radio station invests in local football to the extent of BBC Radio Sheffield, although I accept that we will never please all supporters of all our local clubs all the time. It has to be acknowledged that there are thousands more of our listeners interested in the fortunes of the two Sheffield clubs, and we must take this into account when planning which matches to cover as commentary games. I note that you indicate that interest in Rotherham 's games in the town is so low that it's resulted in "shockingly poor recent attendances." Despite these poor attendances, BBC Radio Sheffield will continue to be the only station that invests in live commentary of Rotherham 's games; the only station that sends reporters to every Millers' game and the only station to broadcast regular news of the club and the views of its fans, six nights a week. Our coverage of clubs like Rotherham is unrivalled anywhere else on the radio dial.

Thank you for your email. Feedback is always welcome from our listeners and I hope my reply has helped clarify the situation.

Mike Woodcock
Assistant Editor
BBC Radio Sheffield

Mr Woodcock,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my email. I must however respond to some of your comments:

" we simply don't have the funds to cope with so many matches. As you point out in your email, we are financed by the licence fee and are funds are not unlimited."
-Yet you feel that sending a reporter ON A FOREIGN TOUR to cover pre-season friendlies is justifiable do you?

"In addition I also have to consider our regular output on non traditional football nights, that is away from Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We work hard to build up a loyal and hopefully growing audience on shows like Phil Butler's 70s and 80s Night, which is transmitted on Fridays and would have to be scrapped if we did a football commentary tonight. This would clearly upset the thousands of people who tune into Phil's show." -I will bear this in mind the next time one of the Sheffield clubs has a match on a Friday night. I trust that you will stick to the same principle so as not to upset the THOUSANDS of 70'3 & 80's pop pickers. But, I won't hold my breath.

"It has to be acknowledged that there are thousands more of our listeners interested in the fortunes of the two Sheffield clubs, and we must take this into account when planning which matches to cover as commentary games" - Sheffield Wednesday's support has dropped by approximately 25% over the last 5 years. Has their live coverage dropped proportionately? No, of course it hasn't. Your station used Rotherham United's relegation from the Championship as a reason to cover the team less the following season and yet SWFC's coverage INCREASED upon their relegation to League One!!

BBC Radio Sheffield will continue to be the only station that invests in live commentary of Rotherham 's games; - Rother FM would like to provide live commentary but are prevented from doing so by the contract between the BBC and Football League. Either you did not know this and were naive, or you did and chose to be patronising.

"the only station that sends reporters to every Millers' game" - What utter clap trap. Often for our away matches, you chose to employ the BBC's local reporter. Leading to a situation where we have to put up with feedback from someone who gets our players names wrong and patently has little or no interest in how the team are performing. In addition you have no "Rotherham United" expert as you do with the Sheffield teams. Ever since the great Brian Chappell left, we have had to put up with reporters who either don't care about the club or simply cannot be bothered to do the research. You even have one presenter (Seth Bennet ) who appears to actively dislike Rotherham United FC.

"regular news of the club and the views of its fans, six nights a week" - Highly subjective. WIthout exeption , every Football Heaven show starts with the presenter trying to start debate surrounding the Sheffield clubs. Any news items concerning them are broadcast very early in the show thus encouraging their fans to ring in. Sometimes, articles featuring the Millers are not played out until around 6:45 leaving very little time for fans to phone in and discuss. Another particularly annoying trait is to play an interview with a Sheffield player/manager over a TWO NIGHT PERIOD. That really does take the biscuit. Your reporters visit the Sheffield clubs on an almost daily basis leading to almost nauseous reports about trivial things. Whereas, Millmoor gets a weekly telephone call.

As stated previously, I would have no issue were you a commercial radio station. I would simply chose to listen to something else. However, the BBC monopoly coupled with the fact that I have to pay for your "service" really makes my blood boil regarding the bias you have towards the Sheffield clubs. In addition, it is in-defensible to ever chose a home fixture for live commentary. If the "thousands" of Sheffield fans want to see/hear their team, let them go to the match.

You should be doing more to promote the likes of Rotherham United not treat them like an annoying afterthought. You have already alienated Barnsley FC, and it's fans. If you are not careful, Rotherham United and the other "non Sheffield " clubs may follow suit. Then where will you be with regards your Customer Charter?

Yours

Mr Grumpy King Of the West