Mark Cavendish wins 2011 Sports Personality of the Year awardA glitzy venue, famous names, a live studio audience, a public vote and then the culminating moment: "And the winner is..."
No, it's not X-Factor - although you'd be forgiven for thinking so after the description - it's the BBC Sports Personality of the Year broadcast. The two grow eerily more similar every year. Actually, SPOTY is just X-Factor with balls. Close your eyes, and you might just be able to picture the likes of Louis Lineker and Tulisa Barker steering you through the event's proceedings, which drip with self-congratulation and celebrity.
Even the confused voting system of the two shows mirrors one another. What's supposed to count: the sport or the personality? For every time you hear that criticism, think of the words: "But it's supposed to be a singing contest!"
The format tends to frustrate the dedicated sports fan, but evidently plenty of people do like it. In 2010 the show attracted a peak audience of 12.6 million people — the highest numbers since the 2003 edition.
Dedicated, borderline obsessive sports fans are amply catered for via specialist sports subscription channels. Casual observers, meanwhile, will not lament the fact that the tennis round-up seems to focus inordinately on the BBC's jewel in the crown, Wimbledon.
It's a reality that the BBC have only a fraction of the rights they once had. They simply cannot show footage from half the events they used to.
But even if they could, what purpose would it really serve?
Until 1999 the event was known as the Sports Review of the Year. But what possible effective review of a year's sport could anyone hope for in a couple of hours? Covering a year's Premier League action in a couple of minutes? Then what? Test cricket to the four Majors of golf to the darts at the Lakeside and then back to Formula One?
The silliness of the event is thinly-disguised in the glitz and glamour, and the 'bigger every year' mentality. The 'humorous' moments inspire cringes rather than the next generation of sports stars. Last night's Coldplay choir was remarkable — but utterly inexplicable in the context of a sports review and awards show.
Beyond the fun-poking, Sports Personality of the Year is also a lightning rod for criticism. No women on the shortlist? "How could they?" squealed elements of the press, doing their best to sidestep the fact that the shortlist was drawn up following a vote by sports writers. Giving David Beckham a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' last year at 35 years of age? Didn't do the ratings any harm.
And that is, to some extent, the point. Despite all these limitations, somehow, SPOTY matters. This year's winner Mark Cavendish was a broadly popular choice (no great surprise given it was settled by a public vote, of course), and yet his moment of triumph is still the next day being furiously questioned in some quarters.
As they plan for next year's bigger and better bash, the BBC will be happy to note that the award still matters enough for that. A talking point. A bit like the X-Factor, really.
Mark Patterson - follow on Twitter @Mark_Eurosport
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