Newcastle: Steve Bruce looks ahead to Man City clash
The BBC aired their first Premier League game on Saturday as Crystal Palace claimed a 2-0 win over Bournemouth. The top-flight season is back underway again after a three-month stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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The remaining fixtures are being played behind closed doors but every game will be shown live in the UK.
The BBC picked up the rights to four games in total and, like regular broadcasters Sky and BT, the corporation has added crowd noise to their coverage.
“We decided to make a really late call on this,” said Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport.
“We have taken lots of feedback from our talent and much more widely.
“There is a broad consensus that actually some sound enhancement makes it a better viewing experience.”
The BBC also rights to FA Cup games in the UK, along with BT Sport.
How to turn off crowd noise on BBC
Viewers can disable BBC’s crowd noise by pressing the Red Button.
Alternatively, fans can watch the games without crowd noise on the iPlayer.
The feature has been met with mixed reviews across the different broadcasters.
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BBC Premier League crowd noise: Premier League resumed on June 17 (Image: GETTY)
The BBC’s next live game is the FA Cup clash between Norwich and Manchester United
Discussing the crowd noise option, BBC presenter and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker said: “I’ve watched quite a bit with both and I much prefer it with.
“And actually 75 per cent of the people who polled [on Twitter] – and I think it was about 170,000 people actually replied to the tweet – preferred it with.”
Speaking to Zoe Ball on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show last week, Lineker also discussed how the absence of fans can impact the players.
He said: “There are some interesting effects of this.
“One is that it seems to get rid of any home advantage because you’ve got that home crowd pulling you on.
“So far, all the Leagues that have started I think there’s been more away wins than home wins.
“The other thing that I think is quite interesting is that obviously behaviourally the players are different on the pitch and… there’s almost 10 minutes a game extra play which means balls in time… The games so far, there’s been 70 minutes of action.”
BBC Premier League crowd noise: Crowd noise can make a great atmosphere (Image: GETTY)