Mark Pougatch Says BBC Exit Was Not His Decision

Mark Pougatch said the decided to move in a different direction and that his exit from Radio 5 Live was not his decision. Six years after leaving the broadcaster, he pushed back on the way his departure was described while he prepares to front ITV's World Cup coverage this summer from the United States.

Mark Pougatch and Radio 5 Live

“The have decided they want to go in a different direction and that’s their prerogative. They decided it, not me. I don’t know why they put that statement out saying I have decided to move on.” Pougatch said the broadcaster announced in 2020 that a number of reporters and presenters, including him, were leaving.

He added: “But I am not going to fall out with Radio 5 Live. I have many happy memories and have had a phenomenal time.”

's 2020 statement

The said at the time: “Mark is a brilliant broadcaster who has been an integral part of 5 Live Sport for years. Recently he has been presenting fewer programmes because his other commitments have grown and he has now decided to move on. We wish him well.”

A spokesman later said: “We have nothing to add.” Pougatch posted on X that his departure was not his decision, and Jeff Stelling wrote that his “total professionalism” would be replaced by someone considered to be more in touch with the youth of today.

ITV's World Cup coverage

Pougatch will front ITV's World Cup coverage alongside Laura Woods and will work on location in the United States. He said ITV's studio is in Brooklyn with Lower Manhattan over his shoulder, adding that it would look spectacular and let the team absorb the rhythms of the place.

That leaves Pougatch presenting one of ITV's biggest sports jobs while the argument over how he left the remains part of the record around his move. For him, the separation is settled in one direction: he says he did not choose it.