A whole wide World of Sport

LWT produced ITV's flagship Saturday afternoon sports magazine show, World of Sport, from 1968 (taking over the job from ABC Television which had lost its franchise) until 1986 when the programme was axed as its viewer profile was felt to be too downmarket and it was failing to attract advertisers.

World of Sport, 1970s

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

The famous 'aeroplane' 1970s World of Sport titles, this edition from Christmas Eve 1975, when Dickie Davies was co-anchored by funnyman Eric Morecambe.

World of Sport results sting, 1970s

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

Again from 1975, the extremely catchy World of Sport results sting before the classified results at around 5pm on Saturday.

World of Sport, 1980-1982

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

Hosted by Dickie Davies, World of Sport ran for five hours each Saturday afternoon, and as well as a comprehensive results service, feature live and pre-recorded coverage of a wide range of mainstream and minority sports. Above (click on the image for the video) is the World of Sport opening titles from 1981 and below are the closing titles. Thanks to Mark for these clips.

World of Sport, 1983-1986

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

The final set of World of Sport titles from 1986 when the show was axed. Dickie Davies and gang were re-united briefly in 1998 to celebrate LWT's 30th year of broadcasting anniversary for Sporting Memories.

The Big Match, 1968-1990s

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

Another long-running London Weekend Television sporting production was The Big Match (briefly re-titled The Match in the mid-1990s), which featured edited highlights of major soccer matches. In the early 1980s, live games were shown for the first time. Presenters of The Big Match included Jimmy Hill, who was initially London Weekend's Head of Sport and, after that, Brian Moore was the main presenter for most of the programme's run. The Big Match was usually part-networked to other ITV regions, notably Southern Television.

Saint and Greavsie, 1986-1992

Copyright © London Weekend Television/ITVplc

Originally part of World of Sport as On The Ball, Iain St John and Jimmy Greaves - Saint and Greavsie - carried on with their show when WoS was axed in 1986. Their banter became a Saturday lunchtime must-see for footie fans everywhere until 1992 when the show was axed. Jimmy Greaves said later that he was never officially informed of this and that the programme simply was not commissioned again.