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NFL on Sky Sports, previously known as NFL Special, is Sky Sports' flagship live American football programme, broadcasting live National Football League on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays over the course of a season. It is normally broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports USA.
| NFL on Sky Sports | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Neil Reynolds |
| Starring | Shaun Gayle Jeff Reinebold Corey Wootton |
| Opening theme | NFL on Fox |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Variable |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sky Sports |
| Release | 1995 – present |
As of the 2018/19 season, the show is presented by Neil Reynolds, with Jeff Reinebold and Shaun Gayle as regular co-analysts[1].
Broadcast times
NFL on Sky Sports airs Thursday Night Football from NFL Network. Three games air on a Sunday, kicking off at 6pm, 9.25pm, and 1.15am on Monday morning. Highlights from NFL RedZone, which is broadcast on Sky Sports Mix, are shown and commented on by Reynolds and his analysts. Until 2015 the programme aired all of the NFL International Series games live from Wembley Stadium, and also offered exclusive live coverage of the playoffs and Super Bowl at the end of every season. From 2015 onwards, they only air two of the NFL International Series games from London, coverage being shared with BBC Sport. They have exclusive coverage of the playoffs, whilst live coverage of the Super Bowl is available on both Sky Sports and BBC Sport in the UK.
From the 2015 season, Sky Sports secured live coverage of NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage and ESPN's Monday Night Football, giving Sky live rights to every NFL game during the season for the first time ever[2]. Similarly to Thursday Night Football, Sky Sports uses feeds from the American network to cover the late night Sunday game and the Monday game.
Sky has the rights to show the NFL in the UK until 2019[3].
On-screen Team
It had been presented since its debut by Kevin Cadle, being joined until 2011 by Nick Halling. Neil Reynolds has since replaced Halling, and provides analysis alongside a guest analyst. Shaun Gayle is the primary guest analyst during the regular season from September to December, and Jeff Reinebold typically takes over from Gayle as primary analyst during the latter stages of the regular season and the playoffs. Cecil Martin previously served as analyst before being replaced by Gayle for the 2014 season. Previous analysts such as Daryl Johnston and Bradlee Van Pelt have also provided analysis for Sky Sports. However at the start of the 2016/17 season Kevin Cadle announced that he would no longer present the show however he would make occasional appearances, with Dara Kennedy taking over as host. To start the 2017/18 season Reynolds replaced Kennedy as host, and had Shaun Gayle and Corey Wootton as co-analysts. On 16 December 2017 it was announced that the long-time NFL show presenter Kevin Cadle had died at the age of 62[4]. Reynolds is often joined by guest analysts, such as Rob Ryan, Solomon Wilcots and DeMarcus Ware. In addition, throughout the coverage, Reynolds and the panel will discuss the games through video call with the Around the NFL Podcast Team, including Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Sessler and Chris Wesseling; and journalist Peter King.
Presenters
- 1995–2016: Kevin Cadle
- 1996–2011[5]: Nick Halling
- 2011–present: Neil Reynolds
- 2015–2016: Dara Kennedy
Commentators
NFL on Sky Sports uses the commentary teams from the American networks, including the likes of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Production
From 2013 onwards, NFL on Sky Sports has regularly used a version of the NFL on Fox theme music[6], composed by Scott Schreer, and the title sequence also features Fox's Cleatus the Robot. The programme is typically produced from Sky Studios in Osterley[7]. For the Super Bowl, Reynolds and his co-analysts broadcast live from the stadium.
References
- ^ "NFL on Sky Sports in 2018/19". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "NFL on Sky Sports: Monday Night Football is part of new five-year agreement". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Sky Sports extends deal with NFL five years". NFL.com. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Kevin Cadle, former Sky Sports NFL presenter, dies aged 62". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Nick Halling leaves Sky Sports NFL coverage". The Rambles of Neil Monnery. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Sky Sports NFL 2014 Presentation - Sky Sports". TV Newsroom. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ Flanagan, Aaron (19 January 2018). "How Sky Sports have helped revolutionise NFL coverage in the UK". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
External links