Soccer Saturday
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Soccer Saturday

Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday is a British football-focused programme broadcast on Sky Sports. It delivers live score updates and commentary on football matches across various leagues, particularly the Premier League and English Football League, on Saturday afternoons. First aired in 1998, it has become a staple for football fans in the United Kingdom who want real-time updates during the 3pm "blackout", during which time English and Scottish football games cannot be shown on television.

Originally hosted by Jeff Stelling, the show gained a loyal following due to his charismatic presenting style. Stelling stepped down at the end of the 2022–23 season, with Simon Thomas taking over hosting duties for the 2023–24 season. The show features a rotating panel of pundits, including former footballers like Paul Merson, Clinton Morrison and Sue Smith. Each of these experts provides analysis on matches and incidents as they happen.

The programme airs on Sky Sports News, typically from 12 noon to 6 p.m., and includes updates from reporters at various football grounds around the country.

Soccer Saturday grew out of Sports Saturday, which started in August 1992 and was hosted by Paul Dempsey and Sue Barker. Sports Saturday was similar in format to the BBC's Grandstand programme featuring a variety of sports and as with Grandstand, the programme finished with news of the day's football in a segment called Scorelines. Jeff Stelling joined the programme in 1994 and became its sole presenter a year later.

From the start of the 1998/99 season, it became a football-only programme and accordingly the name of the programme changed to Soccer Saturday.

Prior to May 2010, portions of the programme were simulcast on Sky Sports 1 as well as Sky Sports News. The portions simulcast were between 12:00 and 12:30, and 15:00 and 17:15, although this differed depending on the matches being covered on Sky Sports 1. From the start of the 2010–11 season these simulcasts were dropped and for the next three seasons the programme was exclusive to Sky Sports News. The Sky Sports 1 simulcast returned for the 2013–14 season as part of Sky Sports 1's new all-day Saturday football service. For the 2014–15 season the programme moved from Sky Sports 1 to Sky Sports 5 but reverted to Sky Sports 1 for the 2016–17 season.

Soccer Saturday is broadcast from 12:00 on Sky Sports News and usually airs for six hours. The programme begins with the host and six regular in-studio pundits previewing the weekend's matches, reviewing recent results and debating current issues in football. During Jeff Stelling's tenure as presenter the show was also famous for the rapport between himself and the pundits. There was much banter between the pundits and Stelling, who, in a good humoured manner, often pointed out the other's mistakes and incorrect predictions. Stelling exuberantly celebrated goals scored by his favourite team (Hartlepool United). Viewers are kept updated on the progress of early kick-offs by reporters at the games and by graphics below and to the right of the director's cut. These graphics also includes latest team news and league standings.

From 15:00 to 17:15, Soccer Saturday provides running coverage of the 3 pm league matches, of which none is televised in the UK and one is televised in Rest Of World. The graphics display a vidiprinter and cycle through current scores in the English and Scottish leagues, with Simon Thomas providing commentary on the events as they unfold. Significant events at the most high-profile games – almost always in the Premier League – are described by the studio panel who each watch a game on a monitor. Other games deemed important are reported on by correspondents at the grounds connected to the studio by a video link, ISDN or telephone. Where a video link is used, it shows the reporter facing the pitch so that the stand is in the background, in line with the FA blackout which prohibits broadcasting live football during those hours. This portion of the show is also aired on Sky Showcase.

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