Fox Sports will bring fans closer to the action than ever before with a brand new seven-day NRL lineup, five live weekly games, plus the NRL’s leading experts and ground-breaking broadcast innovations for the 2013 Telstra Premiership Season.
Fox Sports CEO, Patrick Delany, said this is the year for NRL fans to celebrate with subscription television.
“Our live ad-free NRL has always been popular. This season, Super Saturday and Monday Night Football will be special broadcast events – more cameras, new faces, and all the innovations we are famous for,” said Delany.
“The NRL is about more than just weekends at Fox Sports. We will launch all-new weekly NRL entertainment shows to feed the excitement of fans for the weekend to come. The biggest names – Johns, Sterling, Tallis, Ikin, Kent, Squires, Gasnier and Hindmarsh will entertain and deliver insight like no other team in Rugby League.”
NRL fans will feel closer to their game in 2013, with FOX SPORTS set to combine High Definition coverage with stunning new ‘virtual’ presentations and gamechanging camera angles from FoxKopter, the FoxMobile segway, Ref Cam and Cornerpost Cam.
“We’re going to take fans to where they’ve never been with all of our exclusive inplay innovations. This is truly the year where NRL fans come first,” said Delany.
Highlighting the new weekly NRL schedule will be four brand new shows. Monday Night with Matty Johns kicks off the week, capturing all the key moments from the round and offering the latest on every club immediately following the final match of the round.
The new ‘Back Page LIVE’ arrives on Tuesday nights, offering a unique look at what’s making news in sport at home and abroad.
The forensic ‘NRL 360’ takes over Wednesday nights, where Ben Ikin and Paul Kent delve into the issues affecting the game from every angle.
Thursday night delivers a must-watch preview show simply named ‘Sterlo’, after its host, legendary player and commentator Peter Sterling.
Sterling is one of several new faces on Fox Sports in 2013, including fellow Eels great Nathan Hindmarsh and former State of Origin and Test representatives Trent Barrett and Bryan Fletcher.
Hindmarsh will be a regular on the new-look Monday Night with Matty Johns, which replaces ‘NRL Xtra’ at 9pm following Monday Night Football and will be fronted by Matthew Johns alongside Queensland legend Gorden Tallis.
Fox Sports also welcomes a new host for its NRL coverage with rising sports broadcaster and life-long rugby league fan Matt Shirvington joining the team.
Shirvington will be the face of Fox Sports’ live coverage of Super Saturday and Monday Night Football and will also join Tony Squires to head up the new ‘Back Page LIVE’ on Tuesday nights.
The Fox Sports NRL team for the 2013 season is: Greg Alexander, Braith Anasta, Ben Barba, Trent Barrett, Gary Belcher, Mark Braybrook, Daly Cherry-Evans, Michael Crocker, Laurie Daley, Michael Ennis, Bryan Fletcher, Mark Gasnier, Mark Geyer, Bill Harrigan, Nathan Hindmarsh, Ben Ikin, Matthew Johns, Paul Kent, Brett Kimmorley, Adam MacDougall, Lara Pitt, Andy Raymond, Matt Russell, Wendell Sailor, Matt Shirvington, Cameron Smith, Warren Smith, Peter Sterling and Gorden Tallis.
Meanwhile, free to air broadcasts will continue on Channel Nine. Friday Night Football and Sunday afternoon football will be regular fixtures, and Nine will broadcast any scheduled Thursday night matches.
On radio, 2GB and the ABC will continue to call games but the real revolution is at Triple M.
The station will broadcast NRL matches on Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday 3pm, Sunday night and Monday night.
The unrivalled talent roster includes Peter Sterling, Andrew Johns, Matty Johns, Mark Geyer, Ryan Girdler, Gorden Tallis, Wendell Sailor, Nathan Hindmarsh, Bill Harrigan, Paul Gallen, Robbie Farah, Willie Mason, Brett Finch, Dan Ginnane, Anthony Maroon, Tony Squires, Steve Mascord, Ben Dobbin, Andrew Webster, Rugby League Week’s “The Mole” & Brent Read.
Triple M will follow the season launch by executing a “closer to the fans, closer to the clubs” marketing strategy with a big on ground presence at NRL matches this year having securing signage deals with six Sydney NRL Clubs including Penrith, Parramatta, Manly, Cronulla, Roosters and St George.
Guy Dobson, Southern Cross Austereo Chief Content Officer said, “Triple M has an unrivalled football heritage across the country. Triple M is an exceptional sports broadcaster and is sure to deliver must listen to NRL content, with its powerful production teams and unrivalled on-air talent.”
