ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Timeline of football on UK television

Football on UK television has been around for a long time. When I say football, I mean the sport where people kick a ball into a goal. It all started a really long time ago, in the year 1937.

Back then, there was only one channel on TV and it was called the BBC. The BBC started to show live football matches on TV, but it was only a few matches here and there. It was kind of like a special treat, like getting ice cream on a hot summer day.

But as time went on, more and more people wanted to watch football on TV. It became really popular! So the people who made the rules decided to let other channels show football too.

In the 1960s, a channel called ITV started showing football matches. This made people really happy because they could watch even more football. It was like having extra dessert!

As the years went by, more and more channels joined in. They all wanted to show football matches because they knew people loved it. Channels like Sky Sports and BT Sport started showing lots of football matches. It was like having a big buffet with lots of different kinds of food to choose from.

But in order to watch the matches on these channels, you had to pay some money. This made some people sad because they couldn't afford to watch as much football as they wanted. It was like being told they couldn't have any dessert because they didn't have enough money.

But don't worry, there is still some football you can watch without paying! The BBC and ITV still show some matches for free. It's a bit like getting a small piece of cake, but it's better than nothing.

So now, you can watch football on lots of different channels, but sometimes you have to pay and sometimes you don't. It's like going to a big party with lots of different types of cake - some you can have for free and some you have to pay for.

And that's how football on UK television works. It started a long time ago with just one channel, but now there are lots of channels showing lots of matches. It's a great way to watch your favorite sport and cheer for your favorite teams!