What if you could change or mix up the commentary teams for your favourite sports? Or ideas for people to replace others once they retire/leave the network etc.
AFL on Seven Friday Night Football
Stephen Quartermain (or Basil Zempilas for matches in Sydney)
Brian Taylor
Matthew Richardson
Cameron Ling
Jimmy Bartel/Jude Bolton/Wayne Carey
Saturday Night Football
James Brayshaw
Tim Lane or Luke Darcy (Lane will only call a handful of matches and will be a relief commentator)
Jobe Watson
Joel Selwood (once he retires)
Sunday Football
One of:
Melbourne matches: Hamish McLachlan or Stephen Quartermain
Sydney matches: Basil Zempilas
Brisbane/Adelaide matches: Quartermain
Perth matches: Mark Readings
Brian Taylor
Tim Watson
Cameron Ling
Australian Open on Fox Sports
Hosts: Anthony Hudson (morning session), Eddie McGuire (afternoon session), Sarah Jones or Kath Loughnan (evening session)
Analysts/reporters: Kath Loughnan, Jessica Yates, Josh Eagle, Mark Philippoussis, Alicia Molik, Samantha Stosur (when she retires), David King, Mark Robinson, Brad Johnson.
Commentators: Eddie McGuire, Dwayne Russell, Anthony Hudson, Adam Papalia, Ben Waterworth, Tristan Foenader, Brenton Speed.
Breakdown
Day session first women’s match: Papalia, Yates, Molik
Day session second women’s match: Waterworth, Loughnan, Stosur.
Day session men’s match on RLA: Russell, Eagle, Johnson
Evening session men’s match on RLA: McGuire, Russell, Philippoussis, Eagle.
Evening session women’s match on RLA: Hudson, Loughnan, Stosur.
Waterworth, Speed, Papalia and Foenader may call matches on other courts when their commitments allow.
Yeah. By the time we get to 2024, the Australian open broadcasting contract will expire on Nine. In 2025, it would be a likelihood that it would likely be a 7/fox Broadcasting deal for the next 7 years. 7 will have to pay for an extra $100 million dollars if they want the tennis back on the spiritual home. This will mean that Seven will get most of the Men’s/Women’s singles, Doubles and a few wheelchair matches. As well as this, Fox will telecast the Singles, Doubles and wheelchair matches. As well as this they will televise the junior tennis matches. This could mean Nine will have the cricket back on its channel.
If this happens there will be a shuffle with people moving from Nine to Seven. Bec Maddern back to 7? Time will tell. Bruce McAvaney would be retried during that time. It is about time with a fresh new approach to tennis and that Channel Seven will launch newer platforms
As far as 3AW, you could put Tim Lane on Friday Night instead of Bruce Eva, but other than that, it’s the same crew. For matches in Perth, 6PR match call as before.
MMM doesn’t really need to be changed, expect for JB replacing Mark Howard on FNF.
ABC? nothing needs to be changed, with Alister Nicholson and Corbin Middlemas leading the way, with the interstate guys helping out.
By the time we get to 2022, the AFL and NRL broadcasting rights will end. Who knows which telecaster will pick up the AFL and NRL (on a lucrative broadcasting deal).
Dennis Cometti has signed off in October 2016, but still voices state football promos.
Bruce McAvaney will be 69 when Channel 7’s afl contract finishes in 2022.
Ray Warren will be 79 when Nine’s NRL broadcasting contract ends in October 2022. A coiuple of years ago, Ray Warren has announced he will stil continue calling NRL games (+ Origin and NRL Grand Final). It is likely that Ray Warren will call his final match, the 2022 NRL Grand Final on Nine.
Also, by the end of the 2022 AFL season, Stephen Quartermain will be 60. Whether Seven should poach him will remain an interesting point of discussion. Brad McEwan will be 51.
Stephen Quartermain has been at TEN for more than 2 decades and I do not want to see him leave the network. if he leaves the network I would be quite disappointed. A replacement for Bruce McAvaney will be determined in 2022.
I would have thought that Peter Donegan was currently in his 70s. Maybe, Donegan has downscaled his role in Aussie Open, the multi-sporting events (Olympics). He may retire in 2022.
On the other hand, veteran soccer commentator, Martin Tyler will turn 77 in 2022. I thought that he has downscaled calling soccer matches in last year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia on SBS. A replacement for Martin Tyler will be determined.
Seven/Ten AFL commentary teams (this takes into consideration the likely retirement of Bruce McAvaney) if they are again shared from 2023:
Friday Night Football (Seven)
Hamish McLachlan
Brian Taylor
Wayne Carey
Leigh Matthews
Jacqui Felgate or Jessica Ridley (Footy Central)
Mark Stevens (news updates from the ground)
Saturday Arvo Football (Ten)
Michael Christian (brought back to the network)
Anthony Hudson (also brought back to the network)
Matthew Richardson (joins Ten from Seven)
Nick Riewoldt (joins Ten from Fox)
Saturday Night Football (Ten)
Tim Lane, Stephen Quartermain or James Brayshaw (moves to Ten)
Luke Darcy (back to Ten from Seven)
Cameron Ling (joins Ten)
Matthew Lloyd (back to Ten from Nine)
Nathan Templeton (from ATV studios he will recap the round so far; he returns to Ten from Seven)
Tom Browne (news updates from the ground; he joins Ten from Seven)
The Fifth Quarter (returns to Ten)
Andy Maher
Mick Molloy
Sunday Football (Seven) same as Friday night team except Leigh Matthews is swapped out for Tim Watson
AFL Game Day (Hamish McLachlan) and Talking Footy (new host, Tim Watson) would remain on Seven.
Yeah if Ten brings back Saturday afl, I think that they can air a match at 2:10pm (Melbourne time) this will have a strong lead into 5pm news. They could revive before the game with a different format. After that they will have a game starting at 7:20pm (Melbourne time). I will think this is a lineup to Saturday.
And speaking of which will the 5 minute warning be back?
Let’s hope! This was my favourite part in close matches - when it came up I would start counting up to five minutes (e.g. if it went off at 22:11 I would count up to 27:11) and then await the siren.
When Seven get the Australian Open tennis rights back in 2025, they should hire Brian Taylor (he’ll be 62 by then) and get him to call men’s matches on Rod Laver Arena alongside Jim Courier and Lleyton Hewitt.
And have Roaming Brian throughout the day! He could roam around Melbourne Park or inside the inner sanctum of Rod Laver Arena.
While we’re at it, Seven should also hire Mark Stevens to attend the post-match press conferences too! A tennis edition of The Front Bar would also air at the end of each day’s play, time permitting.
