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Sky Sports icon Jeff Stelling admits the broadcasters risk "alienating the audience you’ve already got" by chasing the younger views as they continue to change their content.

Stelling was among the most recognisable faces on the channel, leading the Soccer Saturday coverage for decades before calling time on that gig in 2023. He's since moved onto new ventures as his previous employers keep changing their strategy, with the motive being to capture younger viewers.

Sky Sports have been criticised by some who feel their coverage in geared towards for social media clips rather than informing their audience. Ventures such as In the Box have become a major part of their offering, while Sky Sports Halo was quickly axed in November after a major backlash.

They also regularly use a stream of influencer pundits who offer up provocative views on shows like Saturday Social; the viral clip which saw Erling Haaland labelled as overrated prior to his debut season an example.

Sterling opened up on his views as he told the Daily Mail: "There’s a drive to get younger viewers, right throughout the media. I’ve never been convinced that was the right way to go.

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"We all know that kids today don’t watch as much TV as they used to. Young people will get their entertainment in different ways, so chasing them as an audience is misguided. What you risk is alienating the audience you’ve already got by changing to suit a younger audience that isn’t [watching].

"Stick with what you’ve got, stick with quality programming, quality presenters, quality pundits, and hopefully when the people who get their news on social media get to their mum and dads’ age, they might find themselves watching TV instead and enjoying that same quality product that their parents watched."

Stelling once led a Soccer Saturday panel which included the likes of Charlie Nicholas, Matt Le Tissier and Phil Thompson - several of whom were let go in 2020 as the broadcaster looked to bring a fresher look to their coverage. Stelling admits that "society moves on, times change, and I think TV has to reflect that."

The legendary broadcaster is certainly one to oppose the idea that his age means his views have less value or are outdated. "People will tell me, 'you’re an old fart, you’re out of touch with modern views,' and sometimes they do now!" he said.

"Sometimes I get called a dinosaur – a pet hate, by the way. If anybody texts me, do not call me a dinosaur! It doesn’t matter if I’m 70 and you’re 17. Our opinions have got equal merit."

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