Long-running BBC sports programme Football Focus will conclude at the end of the 2025-26 season after 52 years.

The British broadcaster confirmed the news in a press release on Thursday, citing “changing audience behaviours” as a reason for the decision.

The programme was first broadcast in 1974, with former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson presenting the show during its first 20 years.

Former Arsenal and England defender Alex Scott replaced Dan Walker as Football Focus host in 2021, and the BBC said she would continue to work for the corporation and would remain “at the heart” of its football coverage.

“Changing audience behaviours mean fans are now increasingly consuming football content in different ways and we need to respond appropriately as we face difficult decisions around how the licence fee is spent,” a statement from the BBC read.

Football Focus airs weekly at Saturday lunchtime, before the afternoon’s 3pm kick offs, and consists of features, interviews and analysis. The BBC said Kelly Somers’ The Football Interview would move to a 12:45pm (BST) slot from next season.

Steve Rider, Gary Lineker, Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin all had spells as the Football Focus presenter before Scott assumed the role five years ago, the first woman to be the show’s permanent host.

“Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men’s and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future,” the BBC’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski said. “We are also working on a very exciting new project with her.”

‘Once a staple for football fans, now a tired format’

Analysis from Football News Reporter Philip Buckingham

Media audiences have changed and keep on changing. The modern world, particularly those youngest viewers, seeks short-form content, often through smart phones and tablets.

Those altered habits are a threat to the establishment and TV channels accept the fight for engagement can no longer be won through the traditional means.

Football Focus’ demise is a measure of that. Once a Saturday lunchtime staple for football fans in the UK, audiences for its live broadcasts on BBC1 each week have dwindled. A tired format no longer attracted viewers in a hugely competitive market.

The figures fronting Football Focus have changed in recent times, with former England international Alex Scott the last to helm the show, but in a world of content creators and personality-led YouTube shows, the BBC’s long-standing programme has been unable to cut through louder noise.

The BBC has not been one for sentiment, axing the classified football results from their Sports Report show on the 5Live in 2022. Football Focus will merely be the next thing to disappear from a fast-evolving media landscape.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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