1990s and 2000s
With the breakaway of the top clubs in England to form the Premier League in 1992, the BBC regained highlights of matches (though Sky gained exclusive live rights), and regular Match of the Day programming resumed with highlights of three main games and for the first time all the goals from the other games played that day. Sky's emergence made the TV rights market more competitive, with the BBC losing European Cup matches after UEFA's revamping as the Champions League in 1993. In 1997, the BBC lost all live rights to the FA Cup meaning Match of the Day's live coverage was restricted to UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup matches. However the BBC were still able to show Saturday evening highlights of FA Cup games. However things got much worse for the network when, in 2001, the Premier League awarded highlights rights to ITV in a three-year contract.
Match of the Day did not totally disappear; the same year the BBC regained full live coverage of the FA Cup and England's World Cup qualifying matches, as well as retaining UEFA Cup coverage. ITV's league highlights programme, The Premiership, fared poorly and, in 2004, Premier League highlights returned to the BBC with an innovative new deal. MOTD would show highlights of all the Premier League games played on a Saturday, with commentators at every ground. A sister programme, Match of the Day 2 was launched on BBC2 on Sunday nights to cover the increasing number of Sunday fixtures in the Premier League. This show was closer in style to the old style Match of the Day, as typically only two or three games are played. The BBC has twice since renewed its Premier League rights with MOTD streamed live on the BBC website. As it only covers PL games the title MotD could now be seen as irrelevant, but such is the history of the programme that the title has remained.
Traditionally, midweek BBC football shows were included under the Sportsnight banner, particularly highlights from matches on Wednesday night. However, as the 1990s progressed the vast majority of football coverage was shown on Match of the Day, a situation that increased further when Sportsnight was cancelled in 1997. Match of the Day currently airs on any weeknight in which at least six matches are scheduled (including a two night period with as many matches) or if the BBC negotiates special dispensation with the Premier League for a key game.
ITV regained live FA Cup and England matches from 2008, meaning there was very limited live football on the BBC in the 2008/09 season. From the 2009/10 season, the BBC picked up 10 live Championship games a season, as well as the League Cup Semi-Finals and Final, as part of a deal with the Football League that allowed it to show Football League highlights in a separate programme after Match of the Day.
In 2005–06, a Save of the Season competition was introduced (in addition to the traditional Goal of the Month and Season contests) with the inaugural winner being Tomasz Kuszczak, then of West Bromwich Albion. In 2006-07, Jussi Jääskeläinen of Bolton Wanderers won the award.
Read more about this topic: Match Of The Day