Sky Sports

The Sports Channel
Country	United Kingdom
Broadcast area	United Kingdom; Ireland
Programming
Language(s)	English
Ownership
Owner	British Satellite Broadcasting(1990); British Sky Broadcasting(1990-1991)
History
Launched	27 March 1990;34 years ago
Closed	20 April 1991;33 years ago
Replaced by	Sky Sports

Sky Sports
	Logo used since 2020
Country	United Kingdom
Broadcast area	United Kingdom; Ireland
Headquarters	Sky Campus,Isleworth,London,England
Programming
Picture format	2160pUHDTV; (downscaled to16:91080ifor theHDTVfeed and576ifor theSDTVfeed)
Ownership
Owner	Sky Group(Comcast)
Sister channels	List of Sky UK channels
History
Launched	27 March 1990;34 years ago
Replaced	Eurosport(1989–1991)
Former names	The Sports Channel (1990–1991)
Links
Website	sky.com/tv/sports; skysports.com
Availability
Streaming media
Sky Go	Watch live; (UK and Ireland only)
Now TV	Watch live(UK and Ireland only)
Virgin TV Go	Watch live(UK only)

Sky Sportsis a group of Britishsubscription sports channelsoperated by thesatellite pay televisioncompanySky Group(a division ofComcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1991, and has sometimes played a large role inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged theFirst Divisionto break away fromthe Football Leagueto form thePremier Leaguein 1992.

Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League, Football, Cricket, Golf, F1, Action and Tennis are available as a premium package on top of the basic Sky package. These services are also available as premium channels on nearly every satellite,cableandIPTVbroadcasting system in the United Kingdom and Ireland.Sky Sports News,Sky Sports Racingand Sky Sports Mix are all provided as part of basic packages. The Sky Sports network is managed by Jonathan Licht.

History

1989–1991: Predecessors

Sky Television launched on 5 February 1989 and one of its four channels wasEurosport,which it co-founded with theEuropean Broadcasting Union.However, in 1991, Eurosport was the subject of a complaint by the competitorScreensport,who argued the effect of restricting and distorting competition in the sports market and Sky pulled out of the venture.^[1]Also in the same year, it was sold to theTF1 Groupand merged with Screensport two years later.

British Satellite BroadcastingoperatedThe Sports Channel,which launched on 27 March 1990. It broadcast part-time hours, especially during the week, and it therefore timeshared withThe Computer Channel,which broadcast in the early mornings when it was off-air. That same year (2 November), BSB merged withSky Televisionto formBritish Sky Broadcasting.

1991–1998: Beginnings

The Sports Channel was renamedSky Sportson 20 April 1991 and began broadcasting to Sky viewers via the newly launchedAstra 1Bsatellite on that date. It continued to transmit on BSB'sMarcopolo satellite.The channel was sold as one of the major draws of the Sky system and initially aired sports such asrugbyand golf before acquiring rights toGermanandItalian leaguefootball (both previously carried over from the Sports Channel). The channel was initiallyencrypted.It was broadcast free-to-view but an analogueVideoCryptdecoder was required to watch the channel. Since VideoCrypt decoders were only officially available within the United Kingdom, this measure was intended to prevent viewing of the service outside the United Kingdom and Ireland.

However, it was following the formation of thePremier Leaguefor the 1992/93 football season, believed to have been assisted by the promise of higher television payments, that Sky Sports became well known. By bidding £304 million, BSkyB beatITVto acquire the exclusive live Premier Leaguefootballbroadcasting rights for the United Kingdom and Ireland for a five-year period. In doing so, they had taken live top-flight English league football from terrestrial andfree-to-airtelevision for the first time. At this point, from 1 September 1992, Sky Sports became a monthly subscription channel and was sold either on a standalone basis, or at a reduced price if taken with Sky's movie channels.

On 19 August 1994, a secondary channel called Sky Sports 2 was launched, although it initially only aired at weekends. On 1 November 1995, Sky launched a classic sports service called Sky Sports Gold, however it was ceased broadcasting after only a year on the air. On 16 August 1996, Sky launched Sky Sports 3, and the original channel was renamed to Sky Sports 1. This meant that Sky could accommodate a substantial new set of rights that it had recent acquired, which included theEnglish Football League,theLeague Cupand Scottish football. On 1 September 1997, Sky Sports 2 became a full-time service.

1998–2017: Digital era

Sky Sports share of viewing 2000–08

With the launch of the Sky Digital satellite platform on 1 October 1998, Sky Sports launchedSky Sports News,a channel carrying rolling sports news coverage, followed by Sky Sports Xtra (later branded as Sky Sports 4 since 2010, then Sky Sports Golf since 2017) in August 1999.

During a Premier League match betweenArsenalandManchester Unitedon 22 August 1999, Sky Sports launched aninteractive televisionservice known asSky Sports Activevia the digital platform, allowing viewers to watch matches with access to additional on-screen statistics, and a choice of alternate camera angles and replays. Sky also expected to extend the interactive services to other sports for the following year.^[2]^[3]

On 25 January 2011, Sky Sports' Premier League football coverage was at the centre of controversy when footage emerged of long serving presentersAndy GrayandRichard Keysmaking comments perceived as sexist where Gray was sacked over the comments,^[4]and fellow reporterAndy Burtonwas suspended by Sky due to his involvement in the sexist comments made about a female assistant refereeSian Massey,which also involved Gray and Keys.^[5]However, unlike Gray and Keys, Burton later returned to his regular duties at Sky.^[6]

On 29 July 2011, it was announced that Sky Sports had acquired rights toFormula Oneracing from 2012 through 2018, with theBBCto share free-to-air rights to roughly half of the events and have highlights rights for the remainder.^[7]^[8]Sky subsequently announced that it would introduce a new channel dedicated specifically to its coverage,Sky Sports F1,which would air practices, qualifying and advert-free coverage of each race; the service was made available at no extra charge to all Sky high-definition subscribers, regardless of whether they were a Sky Sports subscriber.^[9]Sky extended its contract from 2016 to last through 2024; beginning in 2019, Sky became the exclusive broadcaster of all F1 races excluding the British GP which will also be broadcast on the free-to-airChannel 4(who also hold rights for all the highlights races).^[10]

On 12 August 2014, Sky launched a new channel called Sky Sports 5, which would be dedicated primarily to European football, includingUEFA European Championshipqualifiers,La LigaandEredivisie.^[11]

On 24 August 2016, Sky launched Sky Sports Mix, a new channel designed to offer a shop-window of content from the full range of Sky Sports networks to those who are not subscribers. On Sky, the channel is included as a basic service with all plans, and was also available on certainVirgin Mediapackages.^[12]^[13]

2017–present: Channel re-alignment and expansion

Pubs which have Sky Sports often display it, such as this one inChequerfield,Pontefract,West Yorkshire.

On 18 July 2017, Sky re-aligned its sports channels, dropping the numbered services in favour of dedicated channels devoted to their core sports properties including cricket, Formula One, golf, and two football channels (with one specifically dedicated to the Premier League), and three channels dedicated to general sports coverage.^[14]^[15]In addition, Sky announced that it would revise the pricing structure of the channels to make them more attractive to viewers; Sky customers can purchase up to three of the channels on ana la cartebasis, or the entire bundle. Sky Sports Mix continued to air selected programming from across the channels as part of Sky's basic service. On Sky'sNow TVservice, the entire Sky Sports service continues to be available through the timed pass system. The availability and packaging of the new service varies on other providers.^[14]^[16]^[15]

The AmericanNBC Sportsdivision became a sibling of Sky Sports followingComcast's acquisition of Sky plc and on 29 January 2019, Sky and sister American pay television networkNBCSNpartnered on coverage of thetransfer deadline(NBCholds thePremier League rights in America), and the network later announced that it would add an hour-long simulcast of the Sky Sports News channel to its weekday morning line-up beginning 4 March.^[17]^[18]For the PGA Tour's2019 Players Championship,Sky Sports Golf trialled similar synergies with its new sisterGolf Channel.^[19]For the2019–20 season,NBC began more extensive on-air integration of Sky Sports resources into its American coverage of the Premier League, including adding Sky's studio programmes to its"Premier League Pass"subscription service, adoption of on-air presentation reminiscent of Sky, and originating coverage from Sky's studio during the opening weekend.^[20]^[21]

In May 2023, Sky renewed its rights to the EFL through 2028–29 for £935 million, announcing that it planned to televise over a thousand matches per-season via linear television and streaming.^[22]

In May 2024, Sky announced "Sky Sports+", a new streaming platform that will house its expanded EFL and tennis rights, among other properties; the platform will be capable of streaming up to 100 concurrent programmes. Sky also announced that one of its channels would also be rebranded under the Sky Sports+ name.^[23]The new service launched on 8 August and the channel which was rebranded was Sky Sports Arena.

Channels

The Sky Sports network has twelve main channels^[24](with a thirteenth channel forBT TV):

Name	Content		Notes
Name	Dedication	Other	Notes
Sky Sports Main Event	Flagship events	SimulcastsSky Sports Newsoutside live events	Football•F1•boxing•rugby•cricket• etc.
Sky Sports Premier League	Premier League	Women's Super League	Live, ancillary coverage and documentaries
Sky Sports Football	Non-Premier League football	EFL Championship• theScottish Premiership	Live, ancillary coverage and documentaries
Sky Sports Cricket	Cricket(domestic and international)
Sky Sports Golf	Golf
Sky Sports F1	Formula Oneracing	General motor racing	Formula 2•Formula 3•IndyCar Series
Sky Sports Action	Alternative sport types	Rugby,netball• boxing • theNFL• theNBA
Sky Sports +	Alternative matches	EFL•Super League(rugby) •tennis	Replaced Sky Sports Arena on 8 August 2024
Sky Sports Tennis	Tennis	ATP Tour•WTA Tour•US Open
Sky Sports Racing	Horse racing	Greyhound racing	Available with Sky's basic TV package (Sky Signature).
Sky Sports Mix	General	Supplementary programming from across the network
Sky Sports News	News across all of sport
Sky Sports Extra	Premier League games (alternative matches to Sky Sports Main Event)		ForBT TVcustomers^[25]

Temporary services

Sky occasionally gives one of their channels a temporary rebrand to coincide with a sports event. Examples of this include:

Sky Sports Ashes:To coincide with the2013 Ashes series,Sky Sports 2 was renamed as Sky Sports Ashes on 30 June until 31 August 2013.^[26]As well as covering the Ashes, the dedicated cricket channel also featuredthe Women's Ashes,domestic cricket, various magazine and review shows.^[27]The practice was repeated for the2015 Ashes seriesand also for the2019 Ashes series.
Sky Sports Ryder Cup:From 18 September to 2 October 2014, Sky rebranded Sky Sports 4 as Sky Sports Ryder Cup. The channel was dedicated to the coverage of the2014 Ryder Cupfrom Gleneagles. It repeated from 26 September to 5 October 2016 for theRyder Cup for that year.In 2018, Sky Sports Golf was rebranded to Sky Sports Ryder Cup to bring coverage of the2018 tournament.The channel will return on 20 September 2021 after a 4-year hiatus.
Sky Sports Darts:In recent years, Sky Sports has launched Sky Sports Darts for the duration of thePDC World Darts Championship.The channel mixes live coverage with replays of the most recent sessions and classic moments from the tournament's history. Sky Sports Darts was first seen for the2015 World Darts Championshipas a rebrand of Sky Sports 3.^[28]It returned for the2016 eventwhen Sky Sports F1 was temporarily renamed Sky Sports Darts instead,^[29]while in2017it was Sky Sports 3 that was rebranded again. After this, Sky Sports Arena was rebranded as Sky Sports Darts for all subsequent events.
Sky Sports World Cup:From 14 February to 29 March 2015, Sky rebranded Sky Sports 2 as Sky Sports World Cup. The channel was dedicated to the coverage of the2015 Cricket World Cup,fromAustralia and New Zealand.
Sky Sports The Open:During their first live broadcast of golf'sOpen Championshipfrom 11 to 18 July 2016, Sky Sports 1 rebranded as Sky Sports The Open. From 17 to 24 July 2017, Sky Sports 4 was rebranded Sky Sports The Open, and would be replaced by Sky Sports 4's replacement, Sky Sports Golf.^[30]Sky Sports The Open returned in 2018, 2019 and 2021 during the week in which the Open was held.
Sky Sports The Players:From 8 to 14 May 2017, Sky rebranded Sky Sports 4 as Sky Sports The Players. The channel was dedicated to the coverage of the2017 Players Championship.This was repeated on Sky Sports Golf for the 2018, 2019 and 2021 competitions, and also the 2020 competition prior to it being cancelled due to theCoronavirus pandemic.
Sky Sports US Open:From 11 to 19 June 2018, Sky rebranded Sky Sports Golf as Sky Sports US Open, dedicated to the coverage of the2018 US Opengolf tournament.
Sky Sports USA:From 3 January to 5 February 2019, Sky Sports Action was rebranded as Sky Sports USA, with a focus on theNational Football League(highlighted by theplayoffsleading up toSuper Bowl LIII) andNational Basketball Associationcoverage (highlighted by theNBA Global Gamesseries atThe O2 Arenain London), as well as shoulder and archive programmes.^[31]^[32]
Sky Sports Cricket World Cup:From 31 May 2019 to 14 July 2019, Sky Sports Cricket was rebranded as Sky Sports Cricket World Cup. The channel was dedicated to the coverage of the2019 Cricket World CupinEngland and Wales.
Sky Sports Netball:From July 2019 to August 2019, Sky Sports Mix was rebranded as Sky Sports Netball. The channel was dedicated to coverage of the2019 Netball World Cup.
Sky Sports NFL:In August 2020, to mark its 25th season of its broadcast rights to theNFL,it was announced that Sky Sports Action would be rebranded annually as Sky Sports NFL, lasting from early September through theSuper Bowlin February. It was stated that at least five games per-week would air on the channel, including allMonday Night FootballandThursday Night Footballgames.^[33]^[34]This has been repeated in subsequent years.
Sky Sports The Lions:From 17 July 2021 to 10 August 2021, Sky Sports Action was rebranded as Sky Sports The Lions. This channel was dedicated to coverage of the2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
Sky Sports The Hundred:From 21 July 2021 to 23 August 2021, Sky Sports Cricket was rebranded as Sky Sports The Hundred. This channel was dedicated to coverage of the inaugural2021 season of The Hundred.This returned since the2022 season.
Sky Sports Tennis:From 28 August to 11 September 2023, Sky Sports Arena was rebranded as Sky Sports Tennis so that the channel could provide non-stop live and recorded coverage of the2023 US Open.The channel was launched as a 24-hour channel on 11 February 2024.^[35]

Sky Sports Racing

Sky Sports Racingis the only channel not wholly owned by Sky, although purchased majority control of it in 2017. The channel was founded in 2000 asAt the Racesby the Go Racing consortium, a partnership ofChannel 4,Sky and Arena Leisure plc (owner ofAscot Racecourse,and acting on behalf of a further 27 out of the 59 British racecourses) in July 2004. Following its high-profile collapse (and Channel 4 removing itself from the consortium) the network – now purely a joint venture between Sky plc and Arena Leisure – focuses onhorse racingfrom the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America and Germany, showing many live races and related shows. The station is "affiliated" with variousbettingcompanies, since gamblers are generally the sport's main audience, and its pictures, provided by satellite link providerSIS,are also commercially distributed to betting shops across the country.

On 1 January 2019, At the Races relaunched asSky Sports Racing;the relaunch includes wider availability and heavier integration with the remaining Sky Sports channels, the relocation of production facilities toSky Campusin Isleworth from their former base at SIS's facilities inMilton Keynes,and availability in high-definition. The network also acquired rights to fixtures from the Ascot Racecourse.^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]

Defunct channels

PremPlus

PremPluswas apay-per-viewchannel dedicated to airing live Premier League football. It was launched on 18 August 2001, showing 40 pay-per-view Premier League matches. The main presenter on PremPlus was Marcus Buckland with former Arsenal managerGeorge Grahamproviding punditry. The channel was calledPremiership Plusfrom 2001 to 2004, before being shortened to the later PremPlus for the beginning of the 2004–05 season. PremPlus closed down after the last match of the 2006–07 season afterSetanta Sportsobtained a third of the Premier League rights for 2007–10. This left Sky with only 92 live matches, meaning a pay-per-view service was unsustainable. An internet television service named Now TV was launched in 2012, offering a non-contract subscription to Sky Sports thus making the service a part spiritual successor to PremPlus.

Sky Sports News Radio

Sky Sports News Radiowas a British online radio station broadcasting sports news, results and information 24 hours a day. It was a sister service to the television channel Sky Sports News HQ.

The station was launched in June 2010 and broadcasts online and via digital platforms from the Teamtalk studios inLeeds.It originally broadcast from 8.00am to 6.00pm, expanding to a full 24-hour schedule in August 2010 to coincide with the start of the 2010–11 football season. The station was initially only available to Sky Sports subscribers, but became free to all listeners when its sister television channel was removed from Freeview. The station can also be listened to via the Sky Sports apps and third party platforms such as TuneIn Radio and The Pure Lounge.

News reports were sourced from the Sky Sports News newsroom, Sky News Radio and information was shared with SkySports.com, based in the same office. The station's managing editor was Mark Chesworth. The station closed in September 2014.

Technological advances

Sky Sports channels in HD

Sky Sports Main EventHDlaunched on 22 May 2006 as Sky Sports HD, and airs live all sports screened in HD likecricket,Premier League andEnglish Football Leagueas well asEnglish Premiership,Super LeagueRugby and among others. The 2008 Ryder Cup was also screened in HD.

In July 2006,Sky Sports HD2launched on Sky channel 409, at the same time, the original HD channel was renamedSky Sports HD1and moved to channel 408, with Sky Sports News switching to channel 405. There was also a HD version of PremPlus, calledPremPlus HD,which broadcast on Sky channel 483 until the football season ended. It was briefly brandedSky Sports HDXand used to broadcast other Sky Sports content in HD, before it ceased broadcasting.

HD broadcasts of rugby league's Super League began from the start of the 2007 season in February 2007.Super Bowl XLImarked the first NFL broadcast in HD in the UK; additional NFL games in HD have since been phased in.Monday Night Football,Thursday Night Football,Thanksgiving Day gamesand the NFL Playoffs were shown in HD from 2008.

Sky Sports HD3 launched on 17 March 2008, to coincide withWWE's first UK HD broadcast. The channel broadcast a large quantity of WWE and golf.

Sky Sports HD4 launched on 29 April 2010.^[40]

Due to an Ofcom review of premium services, Sky Sports HD1 and HD2 launched on the Virgin Media platform on 2 August 2010. This marked the first time that Sky's HD programming was shown via a rival service.Smallworld Cableadded Sky Sports HD1 and HD2 in the first quarter of 2012. UPC Ireland added Sky Sports 1 HD and 2 HD along with Sky Sports News HD on 16 August 2012.^[41]

Sky Sports News HD launched on 23 August 2010. It was rebranded as Sky Sports News HQ HD on 12 August 2014 along with the standard channel.

On 1 March 2012, the HD channels were given a minor rebrand, with the 'HD' moving to the end of the channel names, for example Sky Sports 1 HD instead of Sky Sports HD1. Sky Sports F1 HD launched on 9 March 2012.^[42]

Sky Sports 2 HD was also rebranded to 'Sky Sports Ashes HD' in the same move used for the standard channel on 30 June until 31 August 2013.^[26]Sky Sports 4 HD was also rebranded to 'Sky Sports Ryder Cup HD' in the same move used for the standard channel on 18 September 2014 until 2 October 2014.

Sky Sports 3 HD, Sky Sports 4 HD and Sky Sports F1 HD launched on Virgin Media on 15 July 2014. Sky Sports 5 HD launched on 12 August 2014 as well as being added on Virgin Media. Sky Sports 3, 4 and 5 HD launched on Virgin Media Ireland on 15 October 2014.

On 1 January 2015, Sky Sports News HQ HD, along with Sky News HD were added on Virgin.^[43]^[44]

Sky 3D

Sky Sports has made a number of high-profile broadcasts available on its3D television service.The first sports broadcast onSky 3Dwas theManchester Unitedvs.ChelseaPremier League game on 3 April 2010. But as of 25 September 2014, the future of Sky 3D looked in serious doubt as Sky announced they will not be airing a Premier League game for the 2014–15 season.^[45]The channel closed on 9 June 2015.

3D broadcasting tests

On 31 January 2010, the match betweenArsenaland Manchester United was shown in 3D in around 30 pubs around the United Kingdom. The special glasses were seen being tried bySir Alex FergusonandArsène Wenger,and the commentators and the studio presenters mentioned of this being a world premiere live sports 3D presentation several times.^[46]

4K UHD

On 13 August 2016, selected Sky Sports events became available to watch inUHDfor the first time. 124 Premier League matches were broadcast in the 2016–17 season along with every race, qualifying session and practice in the2017 Formula One seasonandEngland cricket's Test match series against South Africa in summer 2017.Customers need to be Sky Q 2TB multiscreen customers who subscribe to Sky Sports pack in order to receive UHD broadcasts.^[47]

4K broadcasting tests

It was widely reported that Sky used the West Ham United v Stoke City Premier League game on 31 August 2013 as an internal production test for broadcasting 4K/Ultra HD picture.

In the "Sky Views Blog", Barney Francis as the managing director stated that, although it was only viewed internally, the test has been key in helping Sky evaluate whether it will start broadcasting in 4K:^[48]

We saw enough in this test event to know that live sport in UHD has real potential. The broadcast also demonstrated the capability of our satellite platform, which is ideally placed to continue supporting high-bandwidth video. That said, we've still much more to learn, particularly about how to make full use of UHD from a live production perspective.

Sky later tested 4K by broadcasting a whole week ofRyder Cupin 4K format.^[49]^[50]

It was later reported that Sky would launch their own 4K set top box to broadcast sporting events in mid-end of 2015.^[51]

Permanent UHD channel

On 27 July 2022, Sky Sports launched a UHD channel for Sky Sports Main Event.^[52]

In March 2023 The Sky Sports F1 UHD channel was launched in time for the start of the 2023 season. The channel is also available on Virgin Media as one channel, which usually only broadcasts when certain events, such as the Premier League, are being shown.^[53]

Programming

Sky owns exclusively United Kingdom and Ireland or rights to a number of sports, most notably the ones listed below. They also transmit a large range of other sports. Some of the BSB's Sports Channel programming were theFA Cup,US Opentennis, and American football from theNFL.

Many of the BSB Sports Channel's rights packages, such as those for the FA Cup, Wimbledon and Test cricket, were acquired in tandem with the BBC.

Football

Premier League

Sky Sports will show 128^[54]^[55]live Premier League matches each season until 2024–25.^[56]These games are played on Friday nights, Saturday evenings and nights, Sundays and Monday nights, for which Sky broadcasts the dedicated programmesFriday Night Football(FNF),Saturday Night Football(SNF),Super SundayandMonday Night Football(MNF). Games that Sky Sports broadcast outside these time slots have the programme title,Premier League Live.David Jonesis the presenter ofSuper SundayandMonday Night FootballandKelly Catesis the presenter ofFriday Night FootballandSaturday Night Football.Both presenters take it in turns to presentPremier League Live.The later (16:30)Super Sundaygame, is usually billed as the "main event" of that Premier League matchweek.

The main studio pundits includeGary Neville,Jamie Carragher,Jamie Redknapp,Roy Keane,Micah Richards,Karen Carney,Daniel Sturridge,Shay GivenandMichael Dawson.Sky Sports' lead commentators includePeter Drury,Rob HawthorneandBill LesliewithIan Crocker,Daniel Mann, Gary Weaver and Seb Hutchinson appearing occasionally, while co-commentary is regularly provided by Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher,Alan Smith,Andy Hinchcliffe,Karen Carney and occasionally,Don GoodmanandLee Hendrie.Sky Sports usually utilise a standard two-person commentary team across the Premier League coverage, however, on bigger games, a three-person commentary team of Peter Drury, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher is used. Patrick Davison, Greg Whelan and Emma Saunders are the main reporters on the Premier League coverage. Saunders also presents from pitch-side from the ground at which the earlier game is held on Super Sunday coverage.

It was announced in December 2023 that the number of matches that Sky will televise from the start of the 2025–26 season will almost double, increasing to a minimum of 215 games per season. The increase is partly due to Sky taking over the midweek rounds previously shown by Amazon and by showing all ten fixtures from the final day of the season. This arrangement will be in place until the end of the 2028/29 season.^[57]

Game of the Day/Premier League Replay

Game of the Day:On-air at 8.30pm every Saturday evening with the full 90 minutes of a match selected from the day's 3.00pm kick-offs.
Premier League Replay:On-air at 10.30pm every Saturday with a choice of extended highlights of every Premier League game played that day except matches shown live onTNT Sports.Viewers on theSky DigitalandVirgin TVplatforms can choose extended highlights of up to eight games. Viewers who do not use the interactive service will see 30 minutes of highlights from one match.

The lead commentators that appear onGame of the DayandPremier League Replay,consist of a variety of freelancers including:Peter Drury,Jim Proudfoot,Joe Speight,Ian Darke,Gary Taphouse,Nigel Adderley, Mark Scott and Jonathan Beck. Whilst the co-commentators include,Tony Gale,Keith Andrews,Andy Walker,Garry Birtles,Davie Provan,Don Goodman,David Phillips,Danny Gabbidon,Terry Gibson,Iain DowieandEfan Ekoku.These are the same feeds asIMGuse for thePremier League ProductionsWorld Feed to broadcast to international audiences. Games that air on TNT Sports, that Sky Sports show highlights clips of, across their digital and interactive platforms, feature Premier League Productions World Feed commentary.

English Football League

Sky Sports broadcasts exclusive live coverage of theEnglish Football LeagueandEFL Cup.Sky show a total of 148 matches^[58]each season, up to 2023–24 from theChampionship,League One,League Two,EFL CupandEFL Trophy.David Prutton,Michelle Owen andEilidh Barbourare the presenters of the EFL coverage. Gary Weaver, Daniel Mann, David Stowell, Pien Meulensteen, Ian Crocker, Seb Hutchinson, Rob Palmer and Gary Taphouse are the main commentators. The main studio pundits and co-commentators include Andy Hinchcliffe, Keith Andrews, Don Goodman and Lee Hendrie. Freelance pundits,Clinton Morrison,Jobi McAnuffand Danny Gabbidon also occasionally appear in the studio and in co-commentary respectively. Jonathan Oakes, David Craig and Guy Havord are the reporters.

As of the2018/2019 season,Sky gained rights to show all midweek Championship fixtures across interactive and digital platforms. This means that whilst one game is being shown on the main channel, Sky Sports Football, alternative channel, Sky Sports Action, thered buttonand the Sky Sports app shows coverage of numerous other games on at the same time, with commentary. Commentators of these games include, Guy Havord, Andy Bishop, Rob Palmer, Ian Crocker, Gary Taphouse, David Stowell and Phil Blacker with formerLa Ligacommentators, Kevin Keatings, Jon Driscoll and Dominic Johnson also commentating. Tony Gale, Lee Hendrie and Danny Gabbidon work as summarisers.

From the start of the 2024–25 season, Sky will broadcast over 1,000 matches per season, including 328 Championship, 248 League One, 248 League Two, all 15 play-off, all 93 EFL Cup, all 127 EFL Trophy matches respectively. This will include a live stream every match of the opening weekend of the 2024/25 season live, including games scheduled for 3pm.^[59]

EFL Cup

Sky Sports broadcast two matches live per round in the EFL Cup, the two-legged semi-finals and the final; a total of 15 live games per season. Mark Chapman is the main host of EFL Cup games. Punditry is provided by select guests associated with the clubs involved, but in the latter stages of the competition, pundits from the Premier League output are used on coverage too. Rob Hawthorne, Bill Leslie, Gary Weaver, David Stowell, Ian Crocker, Pien Meulensteen, Daniel Mann, Seb Hutchinson and Rob Palmer are the lead commentators throughout the competition with the co-commentators including, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Alan Smith, Andy Hinchcliffe, Don Goodman and Lee Hendrie. The main reporter on EFL Cup games is Guy Havord however Jonathan Oakes and David Craig are occasionally called upon to cover.

EFL Trophy

Alongside coverage of the 15 EFL Cup games per season, Sky's EFL contract also allows coverage of the two semi finals and final of theEFL Trophyevery season. The same personnel that appear on Sky's EFL coverage, also appear on EFL Trophy coverage.

Scottish Professional Football League

Sky owns full exclusive live rights to theScottish Professional Football League,showing 48 games per season. SPFL Coverage is presented byEilidh Barbour,alongside regular studio pundits,Kris BoydandJames McFadden.Ally McCoistandJohn Hartsonalso appear as non-regular studio pundits.^[60]The lead commentator on coverage isIan Crocker,and he is regularly joined by co-commentatorChris Sutton.^[61]If there is a SPFL double header, Gary Weaver would also appear as a lead commentator. Luke Shanley is the main match reporter or occasionally,Soccer Saturdayreporter, Mark Benstead also reports.

NIFL Premiership

In February 2017, Sky Sports gained rights to show fiveNIFL Premiershipgames per season until the end of the 2021/2022 season, as well as live coverage of theNorthern Ireland Football League CupFinal. Presentation comes from freelance presenter,Graham Littlewho hosts games, on-site, at the ground. Commentary comes from Northern Ireland national game reporter, Paul Gilmour.

Bundesliga

On 5 August 2021, Sky Sports acquired the rights to Germany'sBundesligaand Supercup for the following four seasons.^[62]^[63]

Women's Super League

On 21 June 2021, Sky Sports won the live broadcast rights to theFA Women's Super Leaguefor the next three seasons through to 2024. As part of the deal, Sky Sports will broadcast 35 games per season.^[64]The presenter of the WSL on Sky Sports isCaroline Barker,and the main studio pundits areKaren CarneyandCasey Stoney.Lead commentators comes from Seb Hutchinson andJacqui Oatleyalongside co-commentatorsSue SmithandSiobhan Chamberlain.Lynsey Hooper is the pitchside reporter^[65]

Supplementary programming

Soccer AM

Launched on 20 August 1994,Soccer AM,is a Saturday morning talk show presented byJohn "Fenners" Fendleyand ex-footballerJimmy Bullard,with a focus on humorous analysis of British football, largely but not exclusively based around the Premier League. The programme ended its run on 27 May 2023, the day before the end of the2022–23 Premier Leagueseason.^[66]^[67]

Soccer Saturday

Launched in 1992,Soccer Saturdayis a live updates show, broadcast on Saturdays during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of association football games in the United Kingdom on Saturday afternoons. The current host isSimon Thomas,who had replacedJeff Stellingat the start of the 2023–24 season. Stelling had hosted the programme since 1998. The lead studio pundit is,Paul Merson.Other studio pundits includeTony Cottee,Iain Dowie,Alan McInally,Matt Murray,Glen Johnson,Clinton MorrisonandSue Smith.Regular reporters include Bianca Westwood, David Craig, Dickie Davies,Rob Palmer,Johnny Phillips,Neil Mellor,Peter Smith, Peter Stevenson, Stuart Jarrold,Paul Walsh,Simon Watts, Faye Carruthers, Tony Colliver, Jonathan Beales, Steve Jackson, Mike Jones, Russ Taylor, Mark Benstead, Charles Paterson, Frank Gilfeather, Andy Walker, Stuart Lovell, Davie Donaldson and John Temple. A midweek programme with the same format, fronted by Julian Warren, is also broadcast when there are a number of major games taking place, such as onUEFA Champions Leaguenights, and is calledSoccer Special.Warren also hostsSoccer Saturdaywhen Thomas is unavailable.

Sunday Supplement

Launched in 1999,Sunday Supplementwas a Sunday morning magazine style pundit show, presented by Neil Ashton from 2012 to January 2020, whenJacqui Oatleytook over until the show ceased to air in August 2020.^[68]OriginallyJimmy Hill's Sunday Supplement,but after a revamp in 2007, Hill was dropped.

Goals on Sunday

Goals on Sundaywas a Sunday morning highlights show, presented by Chris Kamara and Ben Shepherd. The show was axed in 2020.

Football presenters

Name	Coverage
Eilidh Barbour	SPFL, EFL
Caroline Barker	Women's Super League
Kelly Cates	Premier League Live, Friday Night Football and Saturday Night Football
Mark Chapman	EFL Cup
David Jones	Premier League Live, Saturday Night Football, Super Sunday, Monday Night Football
Michelle Owen	EFL
David Prutton	EFL

Lead commentators

Commentator	Coverage	Notes
Peter Drury	Premier League EFL Cup England National Games	Sky Sports' lead Premier League commentator Most major matches Trophy Lift commentator
Rob Hawthorne	Premier League EFL Cup Republic of Ireland National Games	Sky Sports' Number 2 Premier League commentator Some major matches
Bill Leslie	Premier League EFL Cup Wales National Games	Sky Sports' Number 3 Premier League commentator
Daniel Mann	Premier League (occasional) EFL Championship Play-Off Final EFL Cup England Under-21 Internationals	Sky Sports' lead EFL commentator
Ian Crocker	Premier League (occasional) EFL SPFL Scotland National Games	Sky Sports' lead SPFL commentator
Gary Weaver	Premier League (occasional) EFL EFL Cup SPFL (Occasional) Women's Super League (Occasional) EFL Trophy Northern Ireland National Games
Seb Hutchinson	Premier League EFL (Occasional) EFL Cup Women's Super League
Alan Parry	EFL EFL Cup
Pien Meulensteen	Premier League (Occasional) EFL EFL Cup
David Stowell	EFL EFL Cup Women's Super League (Occasional) EFL Trophy
Rob Palmer	EFL EFL Trophy
Gary Taphouse	EFL Women's Super League (Occasional)
Paul Gilmour	NIFL Premiership
Jacqui Oatley	Women's Super League
Jon Driscoll	International Matches Premier League

Studio pundits/co-commentators

Name	Role(s)	Coverage
Kris Boyd	Studio pundit	SPFL
Karen Carney	Studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL, Women's Super League and EFL Cup
Jamie Carragher	Studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL Cup and England National Games
Siobhan Chamberlain	Co-commentator	Women's Super League
Michael Dawson	Studio pundit	Premier League, EFL and EFL Cup
Don Goodman	Studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy
Lee Hendrie	Studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy
Andy Hinchcliffe	Studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL, EFL Cup and Women's Super League
Roy Keane	Studio pundit	Premier League and EFL Cup
James McFadden	Studio pundit and co-commentator	SPFL
Gary Neville	Lead studio pundit and co-commentator	Premier League, EFL Cup and England National Games
Jamie Redknapp	Studio pundit	Premier League, EFL Cup and England National Games
Micah Richards	Studio pundit	Premier League and EFL Cup
Alan Smith	Co-commentator	Premier League, EFL Cup and England National Games
Sue Smith	Co-commentator	Women's Super League
Casey Stoney	Studio pundit	Women's Super League

Reporters

Reporter	Nat.	Coverage
Patrick Davison		Premier League and England National Games
Emma Saunders		Premier League and EFL
Jonathan Oakes		EFL, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy
David Craig		EFL and EFL Cup
Luke Shanley		SPFL and Scotland National Games
Paul Gilmour		Northern Ireland National Games
Geraint Hughes		Wales National Games
Lynsey Hooper		Women's Super League

Cricket

Sky was the first broadcaster to show live coverage of a complete overseas tour involvingEnglandwhen they toured theWest Indiesin 1990. This was originally shown onSky Oneacquired the rights to show home international series involving England,South Africa,New ZealandandWest Indiesat various times as well as showing almost every England overseas tour and ICC tournaments such as theCricket World Cup,Champions TrophyandT20 World Cup.Sky also shows extensive coverage ofcounty cricket,with over 60 live games each season involving every county in all competitions. TheKia Super Leaguewas added to Sky's coverage of Women's cricket in 2017 when it shows eight matches from the2017 Women's Cricket Super League.^[69]In 2018, Sky Sports won the rights offBT Sportto broadcast all 34 games of theCaribbean Premier Leaguefrom the 2018 season which continued into the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In 2015, Sky Sports won exclusive UK rights to broadcast theIndian Premier Leaguefor three years taking the rights from then broadcasterITV4and in 2018, these rights were renewed on a multi-year deal.Star Sports,the global distributor of IPL coverage then unexpectedly cut their contract for the2019 season,however, these rights were reinstated from the2020 seasononwards.^[70]In 2020, while 2021 IPL season all 60 matches also shown on Sky,^[71]Sky won rights to show all games from the inaugural season of theLanka Premier League.As of 2021, Sky Sports have agreements withCricket South Africaand thePakistan Cricket Board,to show live Tests, ODIs and T20Is from these countries. As part of the deal with the Pakistan Cricket Board, Sky won rights to show thePakistan Super Leaguefor three years until 2024. Having not won the rights to theTest seriesofEngland's tour of India in 2021,Sky Sports gained the rights to the white ball series of this tour and subsequently, for the remainder of 2021, will broadcast all Indian home games.

Sky Sports first started broadcasting Home England Tests in 1999. In a joint deal with terrestrial broadcasterChannel 4,it began showing one home Test each summer plus one-day internationals (Channel 4 were the senior broadcast partner). This arrangement continued until 2006, when Sky Sports' flagship live coverage of England's home test series began. The previous year, it was announced by theECBthat it had awarded Sky exclusive coverage of all of England's home tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 Internationals including the2009 Asheswith highlights onChannel 5produced by Sunset + Vine who produced Channel 4's coverage. The ECB have since renewed Sky Sports' deal until 2024 with BBC taking over the rights held by Channel 5 and picking up additional rights.^[72]The Fifth Test vs India at the Oval, (commencing 15 August 2014) was the 200th England Test shown live on Sky Sports.

Test cricket coverage is presented byIan Wardalongside a commentary team ofMichael Atherton,Nasser Hussain,Nick Knight,Ebony Rainford-Brentand occasionally,Sir Andrew Strauss.Ward himself also appears in the commentary box regularly.Michael Athertonusually conducts the post-match presentation after each game. Along with Sky's team, a guest commentator from the touring side also contributes to the coverage. In recent series, these have included,Dinesh Karthik(India),Simon Doull(New Zealand),Ian Bishop(West Indies),Ricky Ponting(Australia) andWasim Akram(Pakistan). Highlights are broadcast in a prime time slot each evening.

Ian Ward fronts all of England's home ODI and T20 International games alongside commentators, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight,Mark Butcher,Ebony Rainford-Brent and occasionally,Kevin Pietersen,Kumar SangakkaraandStuart Broadalong with other international guest analysts from the touring side. Ward also contributes to commentary.

Overseas series involving England are presented from the London studio by Nick Knight alongside the likes of Mark Butcher, Ebony Rainford-Brent,Dominic Cork,Niall O'Brien,Stuart Broad and many other guests. Ian Ward, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain contribute to coverage from where England would be touring, as they would usually join the host broadcaster for these series.

Sky Sports also have international cricket rights to matches played in India, Pakistan and South Africa. The match coverage is taken from the host broadcasters from these countries.

Coverage of county cricket is presented by Nick Knight or Mark Butcher. Commentary comes fromCharles Dagnall,Ebony Rainford-Brent,Lydia Greenway,Adam Collins,Niall O'Brien, Dominic Cork andAlex Tudor,along with many other guest commentators. Knight and Butcher also contributes to commentary.

Coverage of women's cricket on Sky Sports is presented by Nick Knight, Mark Butcher orMel Jonesalongside commentators, Charles Dagnall, Adam Collins, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Lydia Greenway and Charlotte Edwards. Knight, Butcher and Jones also contribute to commentary.

In 2021, the inaugural season ofThe Hundredcommenced with Sky Sports broadcasting every single game live. Sky Sports unveiled a new presentation team for coverage of The Hundred. Joining Sky's existing presentation and commentary team, wereAndrew Flintoff,Kass NaidooandZainab Abbas,as presenters, and Simon Doull,Daren Sammy,Darren GoughandTammy Beaumont,as analysts and commentators.

Sky Sports' additional cricket programming includes:

The Cricket Debate
Cricket Classics
Masterclasses
In the Zone

Presenters

Name	Coverage
Ian Ward	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours and The Hundred
Nick Knight	Overseas England Tours, County Cricket, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Mark Butcher	County Cricket and Women's Cricket
Andrew Flintoff	The Hundred
Kass Naidoo	The Hundred
Zainab Abbas	The Hundred
Mel Jones	Women's Cricket

Studio analysts and commentators

Name	Role	Coverage
Ian Ward	Lead commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours and The Hundred
Nick Knight	Lead commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours, County Cricket and The Hundred
Michael Atherton	Lead studio analyst and commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours and The Hundred
Nasser Hussain	Studio analyst and commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours and The Hundred
Mark Butcher	Studio analyst and commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours, County Cricket, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Ebony Rainford-Brent	Studio analyst and commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours, County Cricket, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Sir Andrew Strauss	Studio analyst and commentator	Home Tests
Charles Dagnall	Studio analyst and commentator	County Cricket, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Lydia Greenway	Studio analyst and co-commentator	County Cricket, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Mel Jones	Studio analyst and lead commentator	Home Tests, Women's Cricket and The Hundred
Kevin Pietersen	Studio analyst and lead commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is and The Hundred
Stuart Broad	Studio analyst and co-commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is, Overseas England Tours and The Hundred
Kumar Sangakkara	Studio analyst and co-commentator	Home Tests, ODIs, T20Is and The Hundred
Niall O'Brien	Studio analyst and co-commentator	Overseas England Tours, County Cricket and The Hundred
Adam Collins	Lead commentator	County Cricket and Women's Cricket
Alex Tudor	Studio analyst and co-commentator	County Cricket and The Hundred
Dominic Cork	Studio analyst and lead commentator	Overseas England Tours and County Cricket
Charlotte Edwards	Studio analyst and co-commentator	Women's Cricket

Rugby union

In 2014, Sky Sports extended their already long-term deal with theRFUto continue showingEnglandInternationals (outside of theSix Nations) exclusively live up until the end of the 2019–20 season. This includes their autumn test matches atTwickenhamand theirannual Spring fixture.Furthermore, Sky broadcast liveEngland Saxons,under 18, under 20 andEngland Women.As a part of the deal with the RFU, Sky also had the rights to broadcast at least 11 games per season from theRFU Championship.

Sky holds the rights to broadcastNew Zealand,Australia,South Africatests andThe Rugby Championship.This meant that, aside fromItaly,France,WalesandScotland,Sky held the right to show allTier 1 nationshome Tests (outside the Six Nations Championship). Highlights of England Internationals are shown onBBC Sportand Ireland Internationals are shared withRTÉ Sport.

Sky also held the rights to tour matches by England,Ireland,Scotland and France, toSouth Africa,AustraliaandNew Zealand(as a part of their contract withSANZAARuntil 2018 and from 2022).

Sky Sports broadcast two live matches each weekend from theTop 14.Sky's contract with SANZAAR also allowed them to show live matches from theSuper Rugbycompetition, as well as theCurrie CupandMitre 10 Cup.

Rugby union coverage on Sky Sports is fronted byAlex Payne,James Gemmell and Rupert Cox. With guests includingWill Greenwood,Sean Fitzpatrick,Michael Lynagh,Paul Wallace,Scott Quinnell,Pat Sanderson,Marcelo Bosch,Johan Ackermann,Maggie Alphonsi,Rory Lawson,Shane Horgan,Stuart Barnes,Ieuan Evans,Dewi Morris,Frankie Sheahan,Scott HastingsandAlan Quinlan.Lead commentators includeMiles Harrison,Rupert Cox, Johnnie Hammond andMartin Gillingham.

Rugby league

The power of television over sport can perhaps be best portrayed by the change ofrugby leaguefrom a winter sport to one played during the summer months under the banner of Super League. These changes caused great controversy when they were introduced in 1996, yet they have been seen as positive and as having an impact even greater than the broadcaster has had with football.

The sport is now seen as being in a healthy state with two live matches from theSuper Leagueevery week fronted byBrian Carney,who is joined pitch-side or in the studio by pundits - usually two of:Jon Wilkin,Sam Tomkins,Jamie Jones-BuchananandJodie Cunningham.Dave Woods,Mark Wilson, Fraser Dainton,Stuart Pykeor Rod Studd lead the commentary team alongside a summariser, usually one of:Kyle Amor,Jon Wells,Terry O'Connor,Barrie McDermott,Jon WilkinandCourtney Winfield-Hill.Jenna Brooks is the usual pitch-side reporter, but is occasionally replaced byJon WellsorDanika Priim.

Live Super League broadcasts routinely rank amongst the top ten most watched programmes in a week on Sky Sports^{[citation needed]}.As of the2024 season,Sky Sports broadcast every Super League match live. This was announced in October 2023 as part of a new three-year contract, extending the partnership with the Super Leaguebeyond 30 years. All six matches in each round are shown live, with two of these being exclusive to Sky Sports. These two matches have additional TV cameras and a studio team; the remaining four matches use six TV cameras and are presented solely by the commentary team. Non-exclusive matches are shown via the Sky Sports + Red Button service, as well as the new dedicated streaming platformSuperLeague+.Non-exclusive matches are sometimes shown on free-to-air television viaBBC Sport.^[73]

In addition to coverage of the men's game, Sky Sports show three matches live from theWomen's Super Leagueper season, in addition to two play-off matches and the Grand Final. Sky Sports also broadcasts the Wheelchair Super League Grand Final.

Between 2012 and 2021, Sky Sports airedChallenge Cupmatches alongsideBBC Sport:usually, Sky Sports' coverage included one match in the fourth and fifth rounds and two of the quarter-finals - with highlights of the Semi-Finals and Finals which are shown live exclusively on the BBC.

Coverage of the Australia and New Zealand'sNational Rugby Leaguereturned to Sky Sports in 2018 on a five-year contract. The deals includes selected matches from theTelstra Premiershipplus theNRL Grand Finalas well as theState of Origin series,Pacific Tests,Auckland Ninesand theAll Stars Match.This deal was later extended until the end of 2027.^[74]

Motorsport

Sky Sports broadcasts major motorsport events, this includes:

Formula One– since 2012, all race weekends exclusively live exceptBritish GPfrom 2019 to 2024.^[75]^[76]
Race of Champions,Goodwood Festival of Speed,FIA Formula 2,FIA Formula 3andIndyCarall shown onSky Sports F1.
Extreme E– for the inaugural 2021 series shown on Sky Sports Action (or Arena) and Sky Sports Mix.^[77]

Formula One

In July 2011, Sky Sports acquired joint rights to broadcastFormula Onein the United Kingdom from2012until 2018.^[78]The deal included the rights to show all practice and qualifying sessions, in addition to the races. The joint broadcast rights were held by BBC but transferred to Channel 4 from the2016season. The shared nature of the contract initially meant thatSky Sports F1showed all races live, with 10 races being shown by both Sky and Channel 4 (who were also televising highlights of all races on a delayed basis),^[79]^[80]however since the start of the 2019 season, Sky have had exclusive rights to broadcast every race live except the British GP, which is both live on Sky and Channel 4, however Channel 4 still show highlights of both qualifying and the race from every other GP. Whilst the initial announcement did prove controversial (with early promises that the races would not be uninterrupted by commercials^[81]doing little to quell the negative initial reaction from many fans and observers^[82]), in its first two years of broadcasting, the coverage has twice won F1 International Broadcaster of the Year from theFIA(in 2012 & 2013).

Sky Sports F1 currently broadcast the entire2023 seasonin 4K Ultra-HD, on the Sky Q Silver Ultra-HD package.

Presentation team at Grands Prix:

Simon Lazenbyhosts coverage withMartin Brundle,Paul di Resta,Damon Hill,Johnny Herbert,Karun Chandhok,Jenson Button,Naomi SchiffandAnthony Davidsonas race weekend analysts across the season.Nico Rosbergalso serves as an analyst for some races, either being at the track or more recently live from his Monaco home due to being banned from the entering the F1 paddock as he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.^[83]If Lazenby is unavailable for a weekend, hosting duties fall in the hands ofNatalie Pinkham.
Paul Di Resta, Anthony Davidson and Karun Chandhok all serve as touchscreen analysts to the coverage.
David Croftprovides commentary on practice sessions, qualifying and the race. During practice sessions, two of, Di Resta, Davidson, Herbert or Chandhok join Croft for co-commentary, while Brundle provides trackside analysis. For qualifying sessions and the race, Brundle is the primary co-commentator, but if unavailable for a race weekend, Di Resta, Davidson or Button stand in as replacements, withTed Kravitzor Karun Chandhok contributing from the pit lane depending on the race.
Ted Kravitz, Natalie Pinkham and Rachel Brookes report/present across the pit-lane and paddock and cover for Lazenby as host of some practice sessions.
Craig Slater reports on races forSky Sports News.

Sky Sports' additional F1 programming includes:

The F1 Show
Ted's Notebook
Welcome to the Weekend
The Inside Line(not a Sky production)

Golf

Golf is one of the most broadcast sports across the Sky Sports channels, with at least one tournament shown live in 50 weeks of the year. Sky Sports' golf presenters include,Nick Dougherty,Sarah Stirk,Rob Leeand James Haddock. The expert analysts includePaul McGinley,Rich Beem,Mark Roe,David HowellandTony Johnstone.The lead commentators includeEwen Murray,Richard Boxalland Richard Kaufman, as well as presenter, Rob Lee. The co-commentators include expert analysts, McGinley, Beem, Roe, Howell, Johnstone, and presenter, Nick Dougherty, as well as many other guests, withWayne RileyandAndrew Coltartproviding on-course commentary. Tim Barter and Sarah Stirk are the main interviewers on the golf coverage, with James Haddock reporting on majors for Sky Sports News. Sky Sports also useGolf Channel's commentary for broadcasts of the PGA Tour.

Major championships

Sky Sports has exclusive UK rights for all four majors including theUS Open,The Open Championship,thePGA Championshipand theMasters Tournament.^[84]

Sky also broadcast major championships from thewomen's tourandsenior tour,including theKraft Nabisco Championship,US Women's Open,Senior PGA Championship,Senior British Open Championship,US Senior Open,andThe Women's Open.

Sky will use Golf Channel (another Comcast property) feeds for USGA championships.

World Golf Championships

Since its inception in 1999, Sky Sports has broadcast theWorld Golf Championshipsexclusively live, with the exception of the 2001WGC-American Express Championship,which was broadcast on the BBC. They usually present the broadcast on site, as they do for major championships and the Ryder Cup, reflecting their importance in the game as the next most important series of events after the majors.

PGA Tour

Sky also have exclusive live UK rights to broadcast thePGA TourincludingThe Players Championshipand PGA Tour Playoffs for theFedEx Cupuntil 2022, as well as up to seven events per year from theLPGA Tour.^[85]

European Tour

Sky have rights to at least 32 events on theEuropean Touruntil 2022, including theDubai World Championshipand exclusive live coverage of theBMW PGA Championshipwith highlights only on the BBC.

Ryder Cup

Sky Sports shows live coverage of the sport's premier event, theRyder Cup.Since 1995, they have held the exclusive live UK rights to the biennial team event between USA and Europe, broadcasting the event in its entirety for the first time at Oak Hill in 1995. The event was broadcast in High Definition for the first time in 2006 at the K Club inCounty KildareIreland. Since 1999, it has also offered interactive coverage with options including the American coverage, Highlights and course guides. Sky holds the rights until 2012, with BBC broadcasting evening highlights. In 2010, Sky broadcast the Ryder Cup in 3D, making it the first live event on Sky 3D, Europe's first residential 3D channel.^[86]

They also broadcast all of the other major professional team events in the sport such as thePresidents Cup,Seve Trophy,^[87]Royal Trophy,Omega Mission Hills World CupandSolheim Cup.^[87]

In 2010, Sky Sports broadcast in excess of 150 tournaments from the men's and women's tours.^[88]

Darts

During its first two years, Sky Sports covered some BDO tournaments, in a contract it inherited from BSB. The tournaments covered were theWorld Masters,Gold Cup,British OpenandBritish International Championships,all four of which were previously broadcast on ITV. Since the creation of the World Darts Council in 1992, since renamed theProfessional Darts Corporation(which was formed when many of the leading players, includingPhil Taylor,Eric Bristow,John LoweandDennis Priestley,broke awayfrom theBritish Darts Organisation,which had been the game's sole ruling body), Sky Sports has broadcast their main darts tournaments live. Between 1993 and 2007, Sky were the only regular UK broadcaster of PDC Darts (apart from the 1999 PDC v BDO showdown betweenPhil TaylorandRaymond van Barneveldwhich was broadcast on ITV). However this changed in 2007 when ITV covered theGrand Slam of Darts.This moved to Sky in 2011, but ITV continued to show the Players Championship Finals, with their coverage expanding to include the Masters and the return of the European Championship from 2013, the UK Open (formerly on Sky) from 2014, and the World Series of Darts events from 2015.

Sky's coverage includes thePDC World Darts Championshipwhich it shows on a temporary channel Sky Sports Darts. The tournament has been broadcast live and in its entirety by Sky Sports in the United Kingdom since its inception. From 2009 onwards, this event has been shot and broadcast in high-definition. The tournament has become more and more popular in recent years with the 2007 World Final achieving a viewing figure in excess of one million for the first time. Sky also shows theWorld Matchplay,World Grand Prix,Grand Slam of Darts,Premier League,World Cup of Darts,and the final of the World Youth Championship. Sky used to show theUK Openbut since 2014 this has been shown on ITV.

Sky Sports has not covered any BDO darts since thesplit in darts.

Sky Sports darts coverage was initially presented byJeff StellingwithEric Bristowand commentary fromJohn GwynneandDave Lanning,whileSid Waddelljoined Sky from the BBC in 1994.Dave Clarkreplaced Stelling in 2002 although he had already covered some tournaments in 2001.Stuart Pykejoined the commentary team in 2003 (he also works for ITV coverage of PDC Darts),Rod Harringtonand Nigel Pearson joined in 2005, Rod Studd joined in 2008 and former BBC Darts commentatorsDavid CroftandJohn Partjoined in 2013.

Sky Sports Darts team
Name	Role
Emma Paton	Lead presenter
Anna Woolhouse	Presenter
Stuart Pyke	Lead commentator and interviewer
Rod Studd	Lead commentator and interviewer
Wayne Mardle	Pundit and lead commentator
Dan Dawson	Pundit and lead commentator
John Part	Pundit and lead commentator
Mark Webster	Pundit and co-commentator
Laura Turner	Pundit and co-commentator
Glen Durrant	Pundit and co-commentator
Michael Bridge	Interviewer and relief presenter
Polly James	Interviewer
Abigail Davies	Interviewer

Former Sky Sports Darts team:

Eric Bristow(1993–2016)
Dave Clark(2002–2020)
David Croft(2013-2021, only on the World Championship and Premier League)
John Gwynne(1993–2013, subsequently with Eurosport's BDO Darts coverage)
Rod Harrington
Dave Lanning(1993–2010 & 2013, previously worked for ITV Sport 1972–1988)
Nigel Pearson (2006–2022)
Jeff Stelling(1993–2002)
Sid Waddell(1994–2012, previously worked for BBC Sport 1978–1994)
Laura Woods(2020-2023, World Championships only)
Corrine Hammond(2023 World Championship)

Boxing

After Sky Sports' six-year contract withMatchroomended in 2021, Sky announced it had signed a new contract withTop Rankand BOXXER to broadcast live coverage of their fights until 2025.^[89]

Anna Woolhouseis the lead presenter, alongside former boxers,Johnny Nelson,Spencer Oliver,Paulie Malignaggi,Carl FrochandTony Bellew,with also the likes ofPaul SmithandMatthew Macklin.Commentator Adam Smith is alongside Carl Froch or Matthew Macklin for the primary commentary pairing on main event cards. On larger pay-per view events, Tony Bellew, Paulie Malignaggi orDavid Hayejoin the commentary team. Andy Clarke and Matthew Macklin commentate on undercard action. The reporter and post-fight interviewer is Andy Scott.

Mixed martial arts

In February 2019, Sky Sports announced a deal withBellatorto broadcastmixed martial artsevents.^[90]

In December 2023, Sky Sports became exclusive home forONE Championshipevents, which features both mixed martial arts andkickboxingtournaments.^[91]

American football

Sky Sports has covered theNFLsince 1995 and following a deal in August 2020 in which Sky and the NFL has agreed a new five-year partnership which sees Sky continue to broadcast games until the end of the 2024 season. Sky Sports broadcasts everyThursday night,Sunday nightandMonday nightgame live, alongside two Sunday evening games.^[92]

It was also confirmed that Sky Sports NFL, an in-season rebrand of Sky Sports Action would launch on 3 September 2020 and run for the entire duration of the season.^[93]Sky Sports NFL has returned in subsequent seasons.

In 2022, Sky Sports began to carry broadcasts ofNotre Dame Fighting Irish footballhomecollege footballgames, sub-licensed from theNotre Dame Football on NBCfrom Sky sister companyNBCUniversal.

In November 2023, Sky announced an agreement withESPN Internationalto acquire rights toESPN College Footballbroadcasts for the remainder of the 2023 season and in the 2024 season on Sky Sports NFL, including weekly games, studio programs such asCollege GameDay,and ESPN-televisedbowl games.^[94]

Basketball

In 2018, Sky Sports signed a four-year deal to broadcast theNBAin the United Kingdom.^[95]Jaydee Dyer presents coverage on Sky Sports alongside analyst, Mo Mooncey.

In November 2020, coverage of theBritish Basketball Leaguereturned to Sky Sports in a new two-year deal which sees Sky broadcasting 30 games per season, including BBL Trophy Final, BBL Cup Final and BBL Playoffs.^[96]This has been extended to cover the 2023/24 season.

In November 2023, Sky announced an agreement withESPN Internationalto acquire rights toESPN College Basketballbroadcasts, including weekly games, and UK rights to theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.^[94]

Tennis

For nearly 25 years, Sky Sports was the main broadcaster of theUS Open,covering the even between 1991 and 2015 but decided not to renew its contract to broadcast this event in 2016. The company was able to bid to regain broadcast rights to the US Open for 2023 when Amazon did not extend its contract in 2022.^[97]This bid was successful and Sky will now show the tournament until 2027.^[98]

Sky was the broadcaster ofATP Tourevents from 2002 until 2018, whenAmazon Prime Videobecame the exclusive UK broadcaster.^[99]^[97]Sky has now regained these rights and will provide coverage of more than 80 events each year until 2028. The events covered will include the Nitto ATP Finals and WTA Finals, all ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events, 500s and 250 events (excluding domestic events) and the Next Gen ATP Finals.Gigi Salmonwill present the coverage withTim HenmanandLaura Robsonbeing the main pundits.^[100]