The man who signed Audley could head Beeb

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 03 Feb 2004, 17:50

The BBC sports chief who brought Match of the Day back to the corporation has emerged as a surprise candidate to head the Beeb in the wake of Greg Dyke's resignation.
Peter Salmon worked hand in hand with Mr Dyke to restore the corporation's reputation following a demoralising drain of live sport to BSkyB in the 1990s, and is the former director general's personal choice to take over from him in the top job.
Sources close to Mr Dyke said he considers Mr Salmon to be "a brilliant leader" very much in his own image, who had revitalised the sports department and restored morale.
One of Mr Dyke's stated aims when he joined the corporation in November 1999 was to restore its reputation for sporting coverage.
That ambition suffered a body blow when ITV snatched the rights to Premier League highlights three years ago, but Mr Dyke and Mr Salmon - who believed the commercial network had overpaid - were proved right when the BBC won the rights back last year.
Mr Salmon also recently extended the BBC's deal for FA Cup ties and home England internationals, games that he believes have a natural home on the BBC.
Coverage of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and last year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester were also highly regarded, while the corporation also won back the rights to Six Nations rugby from BSkyB.
But not all of Mr Salmon's decisions have been quite so successful. In a bid to revitalise the BBC's boxing coverage, he signed up Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison - but the heavyweight turned out to be an expensive flop as he struggled to establish himself as a professional.
The new BBC chief will be appointed within three months.
Salmon is just one of several candidates.

Goz · Post by **Goz** » 04 Feb 2004, 05:25

Lets hope Salmon smokes em then.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 04 Feb 2004, 06:33

Salmon sounds like a good catch, though he must've taken a bit of a battering over the Audley deal. Let's hope he doesn't cash in his chips and sell boxing down the river as a result. This all sounds a bit fishy to me.

Goz · Post by **Goz** » 04 Feb 2004, 07:49

MightyWarrior wrote:Salmon sounds like a good catch, though he must've taken a bit of a battering over the Audley deal. Let's hope he doesn't cash in his chips and sell boxing down the river as a result. This all sounds a bit fishy to me.

Beautiful...

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 04 Feb 2004, 10:45

MightyWarrior wrote:Salmon sounds like a good catch, though he must've taken a bit of a battering over the Audley deal. Let's hope he doesn't cash in his chips and sell boxing down the river as a result. This all sounds a bit fishy to me.

Have you quite finn-ished? Lol i was under pressure to perform after your succession of quick fire puns. But i think i failed miserably

8)

Lugh · Post by **Lugh** » 04 Feb 2004, 10:50

MightyWarrior wrote:Salmon sounds like a good catch, though he must've taken a bit of a battering over the Audley deal. Let's hope he doesn't cash in his chips and sell boxing down the river as a result. This all sounds a bit fishy to me.

You really take your commitment to antiques restoration seriously, don't you MW!

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 04 Feb 2004, 11:59

Lugh wrote:
MightyWarrior wrote:Salmon sounds like a good catch, though he must've taken a bit of a battering over the Audley deal. Let's hope he doesn't cash in his chips and sell boxing down the river as a result. This all sounds a bit fishy to me.
You really take your commitment to antiques restoration seriously, don't you MW!

This is neither the time nor plaice for comments like that Lugh.

Bard of Boxrec · Post by **Bard of Boxrec** » 04 Feb 2004, 20:47

I think I'll bass on the fish puns. None of you actually haddock any desire to hake a serious contribution to this thread. you don't even know you're prawn. This is herring thin.

signed dynamite 'sar'dean phillips.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 04 Feb 2004, 21:49

Listening to you lot carping on, It's bream positively ridiculous, it's making me quite tench, in fact I feel eel listening to all the codswallop on here.

DIRT SUGAR · Post by **DIRT SUGAR** » 05 Feb 2004, 07:45

I'm having a whale of a time reading this and I'd cast my vote for Salmon if it meant keeping boxing on the Beeb but we'll just have to keep our fishfingers crossed on how he jellied eels about it if he gets the job. We'll have to sea how it goes. Okay, who's next up to take the bait?

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 05 Feb 2004, 08:25

Cod help us this is now getting ridiculous. Salmon will no doubt find it an upriver struggle to keep boxing on the Beeb. Anymore signings like Danny Williams and he could well find himself in deep water, possibly even having to jump ship to another channel.

Matchfixer · Post by **Matchfixer** » 05 Feb 2004, 08:42

I've halibut enough of this!

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 05 Feb 2004, 08:47

Hey Danny will be back again, he just needs a couple of easy tuna ups.

:(