John Helm (sportscaster)
Encyclopedia
John Helm is a British sports commentator with over 25 years of network television experience, mainly with ITV
. Now he is the voice of international broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup
and other events. Helm has also frequently covered other sports - in the main golf, cricket and particularly rugby league
both for ITV and other broadcasters.
and was chosen from a number of local radio broadcasters to cover the 1974 Commonwealth Games
in Christchurch
, New Zealand
. After this, he joined national BBC Radio
Sport, then broadcast mainly on Radio 2
's old medium wave (frequencies now used by Five Live
).
as the regional station's football commentator. At the end of his first season he was rewarded with a berth on the ITV team for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, covering all of Scotland's matches and the second round group featuring Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
When ITV's regional system of football coverage was largely abolished in 1983, Helm found himself fourth in the network pecking order covering matches for The Big Match
and Midweek Sports Special. Martin Tyler
and Peter Brackley
were chosen above him to cover the 1984 European Championships in France - Brian Moore
headed for South America to cover the concurrent England tour of the continent.
In 1985 Helm experienced what was undeniably his most traumatic broadcast. Despatched to his native Bradford to see City on the final day of the Division Three
season for their promotion party against Lincoln City
, he witnessed - and broadcast live to the nation - the awful fire that caused the deaths of 56 football supporters.
Helm was subsequently part of the ITV team at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico - he covered a number of key live games including two of Scotland's matches and a second round meeting between World Champions Italy and European Champions France.
ITV won exclusive rights to live Football League
coverage in 1988, but Helm was not to provide commentary on any of their games during the four-year contract. He was confined to highlights while the likes of Brian Moore, Alan Parry
and Martin Tyler dominated the scene. He did however feature prominently in the ITV team at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups - covering a semi-final at USA '94.
After 1992, when ITV lost the rights to top flight English football, Helm was at least a regular voice of live football. For the following four years he covered live matches for Yorkshire TV, London Weekend Television
and Granada as they carried coverage of the lower leagues. He also continued his network commitments covering live and recorded European football in the early years of the Champions League
.
in 1998 meant that he had no part to play in the network's coverage of that year's World Cup in France. From there on his ITV work was restricted to recorded highlights in the Yorkshire region, but Helm branched out as a freelancer. International audiences heard him regularly on broadcasts of both the Premier League and the Champions League
. He also featured briefly on British Eurosport.
In 2002 FIFA recruited him as one of their commentators for the World Cup in Korea/Japan. Mainly from the comfort of the International Broadcasting Centre he covered 39 of the 64 matches. It is a role he has reprised at the tournament in Germany in 2006 and several other FIFA events. In addition to this, Helm cultivated a niche role for himself as five's chief football commentator. Their ad-hoc coverage of UEFA Cup ties and the occasional international ensured that Helm had clocked up a quarter of a century of national TV broadcasting in Britain.
In 2010 Helm was heard around the world as one of the main commentators for the FIFA English language world feed at the FIFA World Cup
in South Africa.
John is a life long Bradford Park Avenue
fan.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. Now he is the voice of international broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
and other events. Helm has also frequently covered other sports - in the main golf, cricket and particularly rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
both for ITV and other broadcasters.
Early career
After working his way up through local and national newspapers, where he began his journalistic career in 1959, he broke into broadcasting on BBC Radio LeedsBBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.- Frequencies :It broadcasts from its studios at St...
and was chosen from a number of local radio broadcasters to cover the 1974 Commonwealth Games
1974 British Commonwealth Games
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games....
in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. After this, he joined national BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
Sport, then broadcast mainly on Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's old medium wave (frequencies now used by Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
).
With ITV Sport
His association with the BBC ended in 1981 with a move back to his native county and ITV company Yorkshire Television, replacing Martin TylerMartin Tyler
Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...
as the regional station's football commentator. At the end of his first season he was rewarded with a berth on the ITV team for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, covering all of Scotland's matches and the second round group featuring Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
When ITV's regional system of football coverage was largely abolished in 1983, Helm found himself fourth in the network pecking order covering matches for The Big Match
The Big Match
The Big Match is a British Association football television programme, which screened on ITV regularly between 1968 and 1992 ....
and Midweek Sports Special. Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...
and Peter Brackley
Peter Brackley
Peter Brackley is a football commentator, perhaps most famous for covering Football Italia on Channel 4 in the 1990s and formerly commentating for the computer game series Pro Evolution Soccer, and for Michael Owen's World League Soccer '99.-Radio:...
were chosen above him to cover the 1984 European Championships in France - Brian Moore
Brian Moore
Brian Moore may refer to:*Brian Moore *Brian Moore *Brian Moore , Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, England...
headed for South America to cover the concurrent England tour of the continent.
In 1985 Helm experienced what was undeniably his most traumatic broadcast. Despatched to his native Bradford to see City on the final day of the Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
season for their promotion party against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
, he witnessed - and broadcast live to the nation - the awful fire that caused the deaths of 56 football supporters.
Helm was subsequently part of the ITV team at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico - he covered a number of key live games including two of Scotland's matches and a second round meeting between World Champions Italy and European Champions France.
ITV won exclusive rights to live Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
coverage in 1988, but Helm was not to provide commentary on any of their games during the four-year contract. He was confined to highlights while the likes of Brian Moore, Alan Parry
Alan Parry
Alan Parry is a British sports commentator, born and raised in Garston, Liverpool, concentrating on football and athletics. He has commentated for all three main broadcasters of football in the UK - the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, as well as for both BBC and commercial radio.Starting his career at BBC...
and Martin Tyler dominated the scene. He did however feature prominently in the ITV team at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups - covering a semi-final at USA '94.
After 1992, when ITV lost the rights to top flight English football, Helm was at least a regular voice of live football. For the following four years he covered live matches for Yorkshire TV, London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
and Granada as they carried coverage of the lower leagues. He also continued his network commitments covering live and recorded European football in the early years of the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
.
Helm with other networks
ITV confined him to a minor role at Euro '96 in England and the arrival of Peter DruryPeter Drury
Peter Drury, born 1968, is ITV Sport's number two football commentator, a role he has held since joining the network in 1998.A politics graduate from Hull University, Peter began his career as a journalist with Hayters sports agency before joining BBC Radio Leeds in 1990 as a football and cricket...
in 1998 meant that he had no part to play in the network's coverage of that year's World Cup in France. From there on his ITV work was restricted to recorded highlights in the Yorkshire region, but Helm branched out as a freelancer. International audiences heard him regularly on broadcasts of both the Premier League and the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. He also featured briefly on British Eurosport.
In 2002 FIFA recruited him as one of their commentators for the World Cup in Korea/Japan. Mainly from the comfort of the International Broadcasting Centre he covered 39 of the 64 matches. It is a role he has reprised at the tournament in Germany in 2006 and several other FIFA events. In addition to this, Helm cultivated a niche role for himself as five's chief football commentator. Their ad-hoc coverage of UEFA Cup ties and the occasional international ensured that Helm had clocked up a quarter of a century of national TV broadcasting in Britain.
In 2010 Helm was heard around the world as one of the main commentators for the FIFA English language world feed at the FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
in South Africa.
John is a life long Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
fan.