The Media Eye - Jacqui Oatley

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The development of football on TV has evolved tremendously over the past 40 years.  Competition for live TV rights continues to increase, and the personalities that host, report and commentate on live matches become familiar household figures.

This new series, The Media Eye will profile some of the most recognised and famous faces in football in regards to its growth.  It won’t just be TV figures profiled, with radio also getting a look in.

Female presenters and broadcasters are making their mark in the sports industry and that is great to see.  The likes of Gabby Logan, Lynsey Hooper and Celina Hinchcliffe spring to mind when you think of female football presenters or reporters.  Another one is Jacqui Oatley, who became the first female commentator on the long-standing BBC highlights programme Match of the Day.

Unfairly criticised when this was first announced, Jacqui is now a recognised face on the BBC and presents the new programme, the Women’s Football Show on Monday or Tuesday nights.  She is also a regular on Final Score, BBC Radio Five Live and still occasionally on Match of the Day.

An FA qualified football coach, Jacqui’s first job in the media industry was as a sports reporter for BBC Radio Leeds, working in the role while studying a Postgraduate Diploma at Sheffield Hallam University in Broadcast Journalism. 

After working in London as a sports reporter for the local BBC station in the capital, BBC Radio Five Live was her next big break, joining the national service a decade ago.  She became the first woman to commentate on a football match on British network radio in 2005, covering the international matches involving England’s women at the 2005 Women’s European Championships.

However there was a step up two years later when she became the first female football commentator in the history of Match of the Day.  We all heard Oatley’s voice for the first time in the Saturday evening programme during a 1-1 draw between Fulham and Blackburn Rovers on 21 April 2007.  Although there were the usual stereotypical opinions, Jacqui (pictured) did a fine job and has commentated on several other matches since then.

Other roles have included live commentary on matches for TV and radio, especially in the women’s spectrum and she was the TV reporter with Team GB during their successful run to the last eight of last summer’s Olympic Games in London.

In 2013, she anchored the Women’s European Championship earlier this summer, sadly with less success for the England team and Late Kick Off on BBC One in the London/South East area.  Away from the BBC and Jacqui is also a presenter for the Premier League through their worldwide feed.

Jacqui Oatley is another example that you don’t have to be a male personality to host, report or commentate on football matches.  I wouldn’t be too surprised to see her rise through the ranks even further at the BBC in the coming years.