Sports Tonight (Australian TV program)

Sports Tonight is an Australian sports news and information program, hosted by Roz Kelly. The original series, which was developed by executive producer Steve Tucker, aired between 1993 and 2011, before it was revived in 2018.

Sports Tonight
Presented byRoz Kelly
Scott Mackinnon
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons19
Production
Running time
  • 45 minutes (2018–)
  • 30 minutes (including commercials) (1993–2011)
  • 15–20 minutes during Ten Late News (2008–2011)
Production company(s)CBS Studios International (2018–present)
Release
Original networkNetwork 10
Picture format576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseOriginal version:
30 August 1993 – 30 September 2011
Revival:
15 July 2018 –
present
External links
Website

The program is currently broadcast on Network 10. When the show returned in 2018, it aired on Sunday nights; however, following the conclusion of the football seasons the show was moved to Monday nights. As of 2019, the show now airs on Wednesday nights.[1]

History

Original run

The show ran from 1993 to 2011. From 1993 until 2005, the show ran for half an hour on each weeknight after Ten Late News. The two shows merged in 2006, but there was some criticism by viewers that Sports Tonight was not long enough, and that it should have remained the same. However, the Friday edition of Sports Tonight remained separate in order to recap that night's football results.

In 2011 the weekend 5:30 pm editions of Sports Tonight normally seen on Network 10 were removed from those timeslots, due to the weekend news bulletins moving to 6 pm. To compensate for this, a Sports Tonight-branded sports report was incorporated into these bulletins. This edition of Sports Tonight had been airing in the 5:30 pm weekend slot since 2000.

Towards the end of its original run, the program was branded as Toyota Sports Tonight. In late 2006, the show was sponsored by Toyota and its upcoming Toyota Aurion, although only minor modifications were done to the on-air graphics to match those of the Aurion colours. In early 2007, the graphics were updated with a heavily sponsored on-air look.

Since March 2009, a weeknightly 9:30 pm edition (started out at 7 pm) of Sports Tonight aired on One with a weekend wrap edition on Sundays. Since 8 May 2011 with the relaunch of One, it aired at around 10:30 pm weeknights (which varies if other programming is on) and at 11:00 pm on Fridays.

In December 2010 Sports Tonight updated their on-air graphics. On 5 July 2011, it was announced that the show would be axed; the show continued to air until just before the conclusion of the football seasons. The final episode aired on 30 September 2011.

Revival

On 4 July 2018, Network Ten announced that the show will return after a seven-year absence, with Matt White to host alongside panelists Josh Gibson and Laurie Daley. It originally aired weekly on Sunday nights at 9:15 pm from 15 July 2018; however, following the end of the AFL and NRL seasons, the show shifted to a Monday night timeslot. As CBS Studios International had acquired Ten Network Holdings in 2017, the logo and on-air graphics were again updated to a package based around the standardised graphics package and title sequences from CBS Sports that debuted in February 2016 as part of Super Bowl 50.[2]

In March 2019, Network Ten announced that the show will return for 2019 and will be hosted by Roz Kelly alongside panelists Scott Mackinnon and Ant Sharwood. The show will air on Wednesday nights.[1]

Hosts and panelists
  • Roz Kelly (2019–present)

Panelists
  • Scott Mackinnon (2019–present)
  • Ant Sharwood (2019–present)

Reporters
  • Nick Butler
  • Lauren Markham

Former hosts
  • Tim Webster (first host, 1993–2004) – now on Christian radio in Sydney
  • Bill Woods (alternative host, 1993–2005) – now on Fox Sports Australia
  • Leigh Diffey (weekend host during 2005 and 2006. Last appeared on Sunday 3 December 2006)
  • Ryan Phelan (last appeared on Thursday, 21 December 2006)
  • Mark Aiston (presented on 8 September 2007 due to Brad McEwan, Rob Canning and Neil Cordy being all unavailable, also presented during the 2007–2008 summer period) – now no longer at Network 10
  • Brad McEwan (Sunday – Thursday presenter between 2007 and 2011)
  • Matt White (1993–2004; 2018)
  • Rob Canning – now a sports reporter on Nine News Sydney
  • Neil Cordy (fill-in) – now an AFL writer for Sydney's The Daily Telegraph

Former panelists

Former reporters
  • Kelli Underwood – AFL and Senior all sports reporter, including Tennis; based in Melbourne – now at the ABC and Fox Sports Australia
  • Amy Hetzel – Producer and reporter; based in Sydney
  • Greg Rust – Motorsports reporter; based in Sydney (also motorsports host and commentator)
  • Nathan Templeton – Sports reporter – now the Melbourne correspondent on the Seven Network's Sunrise

Awards

Sports Tonight had been nominated for the Most Popular Sports Program for the Logies a total of 12 times.

The show was nominated in every year from 1997 until 2010, with the exception of 1999 (not awarded in this year) and 2001 (sports programs included those of the Sydney Olympic Games the previous year).

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References
  1. Knox, David (20 March 2019). "Returning: Sports Tonight". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  2. Knox, David (4 July 2018). "Returning: Sports Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
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