ITV received more than 5,000 complaints from football fans after a blunder saw 1.5 million high definition viewers miss England's first goal in the World Cup. Viewers of ITV's HD broadcast had coverage interrupted by a Hyundai ad, meaning they missed Steven Gerrard's goal. ITV blamed a 'human error' at Technicolour, the firm which provides transmission. Some media reports speculated that a betting scam could have been to blame.
How I see it
Michael Hayman, Founder, Seven Hills
The human error prize goes to goalkeeper Robert Green, but ITV's HD howler was a close second.
Depriving 1.5 million viewers of Steven Gerrard's glimmer of inspiration against the USA won't be forgotten soon.
Of course, ITV has apologised and asked for perspective, claiming that human error was to blame. It was interesting that the offending ad was 'Hyundai: Now with even more highlights'. Not on Saturday night.
ITV has been here before. The last time was the Everton vs Liverpool FA Cup tie last year, when Everton scored during the 'ad break'.
Michael Grade was dragged out to 'fall on his sword' on screen on that occasion. No such response from new boss Adam Crozier. Fans love to chant the theme tune from The Great Escape. ITV now needs an escape of its own.
MISS.
