Latest news with #GaryHughes
Daily Mirror
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Sky Sports unveil six major changes to how they'll show new Premier League season
Sky Sports have unveiled a rebrand of their Premier League coverage ahead of the first season of the new £6.7billion broadcast deal, with Multiview the biggest change Sky Sports have made major changes to the way they broadcast Premier League football ahead of the 2025/26 season. Sky will show 215 matches this season – up from 128 in 2024/25 – and are attempting to freshen up their offering for fans in the first year of their new four-year £6.7billion rights deal. The broadcaster has made no secret about their desire to court a younger audience and have undergone sweeping personnel changes in recent years. And ahead of the start of the Premier League season this weekend, Sky have announced a raft of fresh changes. The headline change is the introduction of Multiview, where viewers will be able to follow up to four matches simultaneously. The move echoes the famous Red Zone programme from NFL and is most likely to be seen on Sundays in the new season, with one match as the main screen and three others shown smaller and one commentary team flitting between them. 'The question for us has been how can we enhance what we've got? And how can we utilise the new rights?' said Sky's director of football Gary Hughes. 'Having four simultaneous games, we might even have five on some midweeks, means it's just the best way we can offer the best use of the assets that we've got. There could be some chaos to it, but that's the beauty of having all those games at once.' All the final games on the last day of the season will be live, while Sky have also changed their theme music, replacing Celeste's Stop This Flame with a revamped version of G.O.A.T by Kasabian ft. Cristale. Their desire to chase younger viewers was shown by the hiring of Roman Kemp to front a show called Premier League Friday and it's also clear in the use of fans from each of the 20 Premier league clubs in their coverage. Meanwhile, there is a new role for Jamie Carragher, who will front a new show called Extra Time on Sundays, after the classic Super Sunday programme. There is a new, if familiar, presenter in the form of Mark Chapman, who – like Kelly Cates – will combine presenting Match of the Day on the BBC with working for Sky. Chief sports officer for Sky, Jonathan Licht, said: 'This is a landmark season for Sky Sports and the Premier League. For the first time, we'll bring fans over 215 live matches, including every 2pm kick-off on Super Sunday. 'We're introducing new innovations like Multiview, new programmes like Super Sunday: Extra Time, and a new look schedule for Sky Sports News. From the moment the season kicks off, we'll be helping fans stay across all the biggest stories and making sure they never miss a moment of the action.'
Telegraph
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Sky Sports' ‘Supersized' Sunday means viewers can watch five games at once
'It will end the flick,' says Gary Hughes, Sky Sports director of football, of an innovation this Premier League season that signals the end of that most irritating of habits: channel hopping. How? By dedicating a single platform to simultaneously broadcasting as many as five matches on a single screen, with a dedicated commentator, director and producer helping guide the viewer to the main action. It will initially be rolled out at 2pm as part of Sky's 'Supersized' Sunday, when its new broadcast deal will mean increasing the offering on that day from 36 to 63 matches a season. Most intriguing of all is that it could, in time, potentially involve different sports. Sky will screen at least 215 of the 380 Premier League matches this term, compared to 128 in the previous rights cycle. The broadcaster also has around 50 extra midweek games. Should the 3pm Saturday blackout end – and Sky Sports managing director Jonathan Licht describes this as a conversation 'that is coming' before the next broadcast deal from 2029 – it could one day also be used on a Saturday afternoon. Think Soccer Saturday while also having the footage of multiple games being screened in your home. For now, though, the focus will be on Sunday 2pm and Sky's newly acquired midweek slots, with single matches remaining in the usual Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday 4.30pm and Monday-night slots. Sunday early afternoon is different because it is the time that clubs with midweek European fixtures will generally play. Like Soccer Saturday, Hughes admits there could be 'a bit of chaos' as Sky's director and commentator try to keep up with matches that will also be individually screened for those viewers who prefer a single focus. 'We won't linger on a game for a long period if nothing's happening, we'll bounce around,' said Hughes. 'What we've always tried to do is innovate, but also offer customers choice. So, if you want to watch game one, but you're slightly interested in another game, you've got an option. Some midweeks, we might have five simultaneous games. It'll end the [channel] flick.' Asked if it could be expanded, Hughes said: 'Certainly. In the summer months you might have a Test match going on, you might have a grand prix going on, good tennis, a brilliant football match going on. We're constantly looking at ways how we can innovate and evolve.' As well as multiview, Sky Sports is launching a new Friday night preview show this season that will be hosted by Roman Kemp, as well as the return of Goals on Sunday and Sunday Supplement on Sunday morning. Licht also sounded a warning over piracy, and the prevalence of illegal firesticks, highlighting the links to organised crime and how their normalisation stands as a risk to English football. 'It's everyone's responsibility – we certainly look at big tech to take that on and we look at government to help,' he said. 'It is a serious issue. It's value destructive.' He also highlighted how a dramatic fall in the value of the broadcast rights in French football had been largely attributed to piracy. Mimicking NFL-style innovation is a major challenge For as long as sports broadcasting has existed in the UK we have looked to America for inspiration, so it should not surprise you that Sky Sports' multiview has its roots across the pond. If it can provide something close to the NFL's Redzone it will be a huge success. The only issue is football's stubborn unpredictability. American football is perfectly suited to the rapidly-changing coverage of Redzone, which whips around up to eight simultaneous games on Sundays, always prioritising the match deemed most likely to deliver excitement. This is easier to decide in a sport in which a team that reaches 20 yards from the goal line – the titular red zone – will either score, make a mess of an opportunity or turn the ball over. Attempts to ape this previously with football have been fun but inessential. James Richardson helmed BT Sports' Champions League goals show with typical charm and TNT resurrected the format with Matt Smith for the final Champions League group stage games last season. The trouble with football in this format is that goals can come with little warning, so the viewer can feel like they are watching a more irritating Soccer Saturday. Every great moment is potentially viewable as it happens, inevitably many are missed. TNT's version cut away from an Aston Villa game just before they scored to show Paris St-Germain players standing around waiting for some fog to clear. You long for the badinage of Paul Merson and Charlie Nicholas when you have watched one too many attacking passages break down in Borussia Dortmund versus Olympiacos. Sky will attempt to amend this by having several matches on screen at the same time, an overdue response to the average width of a UK television now exceeding that of a 1959 Morris Mini-Minor. Redzone does this too, occasionally leading to thrilled chat from host Scott Hanson of a 'quadbox': four live games on screen at once taking a quarter of the screen each. From the mock-ups Sky has published it appears there will be one game taking up a large portion with lesser events sharing smaller slots. Clearly there will be moments when the most compelling action is only viewable at squint-required resolution. The other issue is who to put in charge. As we have seen from ghost ship Soccer Saturday since Jeff Stelling's departure, the casting of an anchor is crucial for such an unusual sports show, one in which you hear far more from the presenter than a conventional live broadcast. Simon Thomas, Stelling's replacement, is an accomplished host but it is impossible to replace someone so revered from a programme they became synonymous with. NFL Network, or its new owners ESPN, will face a similar challenge when Redzone 's Hanson reaches his final down. He has been like Stelling on Red Bull since the show began in 2009, able to keep a choppy and chaotic broadcast compelling. It is a seven-hour stint for him every Sunday during the NFL regular season, during which he allegedly does not take a comfort break. Good luck to Sky finding an equally strong-bladdered parent for its new baby.
Telegraph
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Roy Keane ‘affected' by clashes with fans but signs new Sky Sports deal
Roy Keane signed a new deal at Sky Sports despite being 'affected' by clashes with supporters at matches. Sky reviewed security arrangements for their punditry team after a man was found guilty of headbutting Keane at the Emirates in 2023. The Sky pundit was also confronted at Ipswich Town last season. On Tuesday, Sky said the former Manchester United captain had been impacted by incidents of abuse and even assault while working at matches in recent seasons. 'Roy's a great guy – a brilliant team mate,' said Gary Hughes, Sky's director of football. 'He's had a few incidents in the last couple of seasons ... and it does affect him. 'Ultimately, when it comes to him, he wants to be involved in the biggest games. He loves working with us. He wants to be at Old Trafford for Manchester United against Arsenal. There'll be more Roy next season.' 'It's our responsibility to make sure that we don't expose any of our team to those sorts of incidents,' said Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports managing director. 'There were conversations that we had immediately – I think he was back with us following the weekend. He loves being part of the big games and we hope that will continue.' Meanwhile, Mark Chapman will make it two thirds of the BBC's Match of the Day team doubling up by also presenting live Premier League coverage on Sky Sports. Like Kelly Cates, Chapman will combine his role as part of the new Match of the Day team that has replaced Gary Lineker with working as one of the main Sky presenters for a season in which they will screen at least 215 of the 380 Premier League matches. That compares to 128 in the previous rights' cycle. Dave Jones will be the other lead presenter for Sky Sports' Premier League coverage while Gabby Logan will also join Cates and Chapman on the BBC's long-running Saturday night highlights show. Licht said the decision to bring in Chapman for its expanded Premier League coverage was simply rooted in a desire to get the best presenters. Chapman has a near 30-year association with the BBC, most prominently as the presenter of Match of the Day 2, and is now expected to host the first main Match of the Day show of the post-Gary Lineker era on Sunday. Of Cates and Chapman, Licht said: 'Exceptional presenters – I think it's better for everyone. We will work with them and work through them with the BBC. We're optimistic it will work very smoothly. We get the best presenters and so do they. It's all good.' Hughes added that 'we're all adults' in expressing his expectation that the rotas can be aligned but acknowledged that it was 'new territory' for the broadcasters. 'Clearly we have more games this season, we need more presenters,' he said. 'He will work weekends … and we'll work with him and Kelly. We're delighted that Kelly is working on Match of the Day. We've got control of the calendar in terms of the picking of the matches. We're all adults and we'll see how it goes. We're looking forward to having everybody on board.' Chapman will also continue to present Sky Sports' Carabao Cup coverage. Sky, meanwhile, hope their disagreement with Nottingham Forest is solved and they will be able to resume usual coverage after Gary Neville was banned from the City Ground for the final match last season following his criticism of owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Irish Examiner
12-08-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Sky Sports launches ‘multiview' in revamp of Premier League coverage
Sky Sports is to give its viewers the opportunity to watch four Premier League games at once this season, introducing a 'multiview' feature to accompany a record number of live matches in the top flight. The initiative, which echoes the NFL's 'red zone' coverage where the pictures shift to where the action is, forms part of an expanded offering by Sky as the broadcaster seeks to hold off the challenges of piracy and adapt to a changing media environment. Multiview will be used when Sky has the rights to show as many as five games at a time. This will mostly be on Sundays as a result of rescheduling for Thursday European fixtures. With one main match and three smaller screens lined up alongside, one commentary team will move across all the games. Each of the matches will also be broadcast individually on different channels. The format may also be used for coverage of the WSL this season. Sky's director of football, Gary Hughes, said the service would offer viewers more choice. 'The question for us has been how can we enhance what we've got? And how can we utilise the new rights?' he said. 'Having four simultaneous games, we might even have five on some midweeks, means it's just the best way we can offer the best use of the assets that we've got. There could be some chaos to it, but that's the beauty of having all those games at once.' The broadcaster also announced it had recruited Mark Chapman as a presenter for its league coverage, with Chapman joining Kelly Cates in working for both Sky and the BBC's Match of the Day this season. There will also be a new analysis show on Sunday nights, presented by Jamie Carragher, and a wide-ranging reboot of Sky Sports News which will bring the return of the formerly cancelled shows Goals on Sunday and the Sunday Supplement. Roman Kemp will host a show on the channel on Friday evenings. Sky will show a minimum of 215 live Premier League matches this season as it enters the first of a new four-year £6.7bn rights deal. It comes into effect amid a decline in the value of sports rights across Europe, and ubiquitous online piracy. The company reported a doubling of financial losses in its most recent accounts, but Jonathan Licht, Sky's chief sports officer, said Sky Sports was a 'growth business', with record audiences recorded in April when Rory McIlroy won the Masters. He said new developments in its programming would give non-subscribers a chance to 'reappraise' the brand. Licht called on tech companies, who are increasingly interested in sports rights, to 'get the right side' of the issue of piracy. 'I think it's everyone's responsibility,' he said. 'I think we certainly look at big tech to take that on and we look at the government to help. There is a feeling that if certain players were minded to do more, they could do more. If these players are going to want to be global sports players, they're going to have to try and get the right side of piracy. It is a serious issue, it's value destructive so we take it seriously.' Guardian
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘They were truly heroes that day': Norfolk Fire-Rescue saves kids, father after floating from beach
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Gangsta Dog pet store owner Gary Hughes was enjoying his home on the Chesapeake Bay Sunday when he said he heard the sounds of first responders cutting through the summer-like air. 'Lots and lots of sirens,' he told 10 On Your Side. He looked out from his deck with his binoculars to see what the commotion was about. That's when he said he spotted several kids clinging to a small pool float being sucked far out into the bay. 'They were far,' Hughes said. 'So I would I would have guessed a mile to two — one of the little rain floats about this big. It's got a little animal head on it. And so the kids have been playing on it, and the wind caught them and started taking them offshore, and the dad swam out to get them. But the wind was even too much for him to be able to swim back again.' The dad caught up with them, but was also pulled out. Hughes told us only a couple of the young kids had life vests on. He said the oldest of the bunch couldn't have been older than 6. 'I would assume he was extremely terrified because they were getting out as far as they were,' Hughes said. But Norfolk Fire-Rescue's Station 13 and other first responders were there not long after. 'The rescue team had the red boat going out there,' Hughes said, 'and they just drove and drove for what seemed like forever before they got a little at the point that was out there.' A Zodiac boat was sent out to rescue the family, and it brought them back to safety. When they got back to shore, it was an emotional reunion. 'The dad climbed off and collapsed onto the sand and appeared like he was crying and just started hugging the kids,' Hughes said, recalling what happened. He said if it wasn't for first responders, it could have ended very differently. 'They did a great job,' Hughes said. 'They were truly heroes that day. I have nothing but good things to say about our first responders.' Norfolk Fire-Rescue said this was one of two rescues that happened over the weekend. As the weather heats up, remind yourself and little ones of beach 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
