Martin Tyler
Encyclopedia
Martin Tyler is an English
football commentator
who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade. He is also currently first team coach at Isthmian League Premier Division club Kingstonian
.
He has participated in charity games, where he is proud to claim that he once scored a goal from an Andy Gray cross.
Book of Football. He was also ghostwriter on football pundit Jimmy Hill's
column in The Times
and reported matches under his own name for that paper.
nd Sheffield Wednesday
. It was a successful bow and six weeks later he was asked back, soon becoming a regular commentator.
In 1976, Tyler moved to Yorkshire Television
to replace Keith Macklin
and began to make an impression on ITV Sport bosses, who included him in the team for the 1978 World Cup
. He also covered his first European Cup Final in 1979. Another change of region came in 1981 and a switch to Granada
, replacing Gerald Sinstadt
. In 1982 he led ITV's World Cup team, covering every England game and the final alongside Ian St. John
. The tournament was also memorable on a personal level because he met his future wife while on duty in Spain.
Throughout the 1980s, Tyler established himself as the ITV network's number two commentator behind Brian Moore
. He led the team at the 1984 European Championships and also described all the main matches at the 1986 World Cup
- except the final, for which Moore flew out from London (the first time he had ever commentated on a World Cup match for ITV, having previously worked from London as anchorman).
's Sports Channel in 1990 at the urging of his agent John Hockey. There he covered live FA Cup
games, England
internationals and the Scottish League. Tyler's voice was still heard on ITV for another two years as they carried the commentaries he provided for the Football League's overseas broadcasts. British Satellite Broadcasting
's merger with Sky meant the Sports Channel became Sky Sports
in 1991. Since then he has led the Sky commentary team, spearheading the network's coverage of the FA Premier League since its inception in 1992.
In April 2003, in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
, Tyler was voted as the Premier League Commentator of The Decade by fans and a specially assembled panel of football experts. After learning of the honour Tyler stated, "I'd like to thank everybody who voted for me and express my gratitude to all my colleagues at Sky Sports. This award is as much for them as myself and reflects our approach to football. My job has also been made easier by the thousands of individuals within the game who've answered my daily requests for information with the attention and care that make this job so enjoyable."
In recent years Sky have employed a rotation policy and Tyler no longer gets the number of 'big' games he used to get (2005 Champions League final for example - he only covered this for Australian TV). He regularly covers Saturday Premier League matches for Sky Sports' "Football First" programme, these commentaries are also carried via TWI's international feed. He works directly for TWI on the Premier League as well, mainly covering Monday night matches.
Doubts about the security of his position as Sky's number one commentator alerted rival broadcasting corporations, the BBC
and Setanta Sports
, which have reportedly tried to sign him up. As recently as January 2007 he was approached by Setanta to be their lead commentator for live Premiership football in 2007/2008 but rejected the move and has signed a new contract with Sky Sports. In recent years he has been a regular guest on the U.S. soccer radio show and podcast World Football Daily.
network SBS
for World Cup
, Euro
and European club competition matches as well as a number of Australian international matches. The 2006 World Cup final saw Tyler call his fifth World Cup Final for SBS.
He is a correspondent for the pre-match coverage, where he is crossed to live to talk with the SBS studio team. Through his broadcasts for SBS he can be often heard throughout Oceania and parts of east Asia.
Tyler commentated on the 2009 and 2010 FA Cup Finals, as part of the official commentary along with co-commentator Stewart Robson
.
used Tyler from the Sky feed to cover the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final
. This is the first time the Champions League final was broadcast on a major American television network. In addition, he led ESPN
's coverage on the 2010 FIFA World Cup
and will return for the 2014 tournament
.
for ITV's World Of Sport
. In the mid-1980s, Tyler also anchored Channel 4's coverage of baseball
's World Series
.
on PS3 and Xbox 360
alongside Andy Gray from 2006 to 2011 and Alan Smith from 2012.
club Kingstonian
, having joined the club in January 2007 from Walton & Hersham as part of the support staff alongside manager Alan Dowson.
unbeaten season in the Premier League in 2003/04 as the greatest moment of the decade, and has expressed the view that sports fans will not see another team unbeaten for a whole season in their lifetimes.
Tyler's son, Adam, is a film director, currently working for Scratchmark Films. His work includes Kingsmeadow, a half-hour documentary based on Kingstonian FC, which premiered in June 2011.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
football commentator
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade. He is also currently first team coach at Isthmian League Premier Division club Kingstonian
Kingstonian F.C.
Kingstonian Football Club are an English, semi-professional football club that are playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2011–12 season. The club has played at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames since 1989, after leaving their traditional Richmond Road ground...
.
He has participated in charity games, where he is proud to claim that he once scored a goal from an Andy Gray cross.
Football commentary career
After graduating from the University of East Anglia in the 1960s, Tyler helped in the publishing of Marshall Cavendish'sMarshall Cavendish
Marshall Cavendish is a subsidiary company of Times Publishing Group, the printing and publishing subsidiary of Singapore-based conglomerate Fraser and Neave and at present is a publisher of books, directories and magazines. Marshall Cavendish was established in the United Kingdom in 1968 by Norman...
Book of Football. He was also ghostwriter on football pundit Jimmy Hill's
Jimmy Hill
James William Thomas "Jimmy" Hill OBE is an English association football personality. His career has taken in virtually every role in football, including player, union leader, coach, manager, director, chairman, television executive, presenter, analyst and match official.-Early life:Hill was born...
column in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and reported matches under his own name for that paper.
nd Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
. It was a successful bow and six weeks later he was asked back, soon becoming a regular commentator.
In 1976, Tyler moved to Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
to replace Keith Macklin
Keith Macklin
Keith Macklin was a British journalist and author.His works include:*The Rugby League Game *The History of Rugby League ISBN 0091207800*The Story of Rugby League ISBN 0091584116-References:...
and began to make an impression on ITV Sport bosses, who included him in the team for the 1978 World Cup
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...
. He also covered his first European Cup Final in 1979. Another change of region came in 1981 and a switch to Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, replacing Gerald Sinstadt
Gerald Sinstadt
Gerald Sinstadt is a British commentator and broadcaster, usually on football.-Broadcasting career:Born in Folkestone, Kent, Sinstadt attended the Harvey Grammar School, and began broadcasting on the British Forces Broadcasting Service in October 1949 and BBC Radio in the 1950s and 1960s - where...
. In 1982 he led ITV's World Cup team, covering every England game and the final alongside Ian St. John
Ian St. John
Ian St. John is a former Scottish footballer, who played for Scotland 21 times. He later became a manager and pundit...
. The tournament was also memorable on a personal level because he met his future wife while on duty in Spain.
Throughout the 1980s, Tyler established himself as the ITV network's number two commentator behind Brian Moore
Brian Moore (commentator)
Brian Moore was a British sports commentator.-Early life:Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent, which was also the school of fellow commentators Peter West and Barry Davies....
. He led the team at the 1984 European Championships and also described all the main matches at the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
- except the final, for which Moore flew out from London (the first time he had ever commentated on a World Cup match for ITV, having previously worked from London as anchorman).
BSkyB
It was the frustration of playing second fiddle that saw Tyler search for pastures new and, despite his own reluctance, he signed a deal with British Satellite BroadcastingBritish Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
's Sports Channel in 1990 at the urging of his agent John Hockey. There he covered live FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
games, England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
internationals and the Scottish League. Tyler's voice was still heard on ITV for another two years as they carried the commentaries he provided for the Football League's overseas broadcasts. British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
's merger with Sky meant the Sports Channel became Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
in 1991. Since then he has led the Sky commentary team, spearheading the network's coverage of the FA Premier League since its inception in 1992.
In April 2003, in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition of professional football in England...
, Tyler was voted as the Premier League Commentator of The Decade by fans and a specially assembled panel of football experts. After learning of the honour Tyler stated, "I'd like to thank everybody who voted for me and express my gratitude to all my colleagues at Sky Sports. This award is as much for them as myself and reflects our approach to football. My job has also been made easier by the thousands of individuals within the game who've answered my daily requests for information with the attention and care that make this job so enjoyable."
In recent years Sky have employed a rotation policy and Tyler no longer gets the number of 'big' games he used to get (2005 Champions League final for example - he only covered this for Australian TV). He regularly covers Saturday Premier League matches for Sky Sports' "Football First" programme, these commentaries are also carried via TWI's international feed. He works directly for TWI on the Premier League as well, mainly covering Monday night matches.
Doubts about the security of his position as Sky's number one commentator alerted rival broadcasting corporations, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
, which have reportedly tried to sign him up. As recently as January 2007 he was approached by Setanta to be their lead commentator for live Premiership football in 2007/2008 but rejected the move and has signed a new contract with Sky Sports. In recent years he has been a regular guest on the U.S. soccer radio show and podcast World Football Daily.
Premier League Productions
Tyler also commentates on Premier League matches for Premier League Productions, a venture of IMG Sports Media who produce, package and broadcast the live production of games for the Premier League for its international broadcast partners. The same productions are also shown domestically for highlights packages on Sky Sports and for full match non live coverage.SBS
Tyler has been the main voice for broadcasts on the Australian televisionAustralian television
Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934....
network SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
for 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...
, Euro
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
and European club competition matches as well as a number of Australian international matches. The 2006 World Cup final saw Tyler call his fifth World Cup Final for SBS.
He is a correspondent for the pre-match coverage, where he is crossed to live to talk with the SBS studio team. Through his broadcasts for SBS he can be often heard throughout Oceania and parts of east Asia.
Tyler commentated on the 2009 and 2010 FA Cup Finals, as part of the official commentary along with co-commentator Stewart Robson
Stewart Robson
Stewart Ian Robson is an English former football player. He now summarises for Arsenal TV and sometimes on TalkSPORT's evening Kick Off Show during the week...
.
United States
FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
used Tyler from the Sky feed to cover the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final
2010 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2010 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid, on Saturday, 22 May 2010, to determine the winners of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. It was the first Champions League final to be played on a Saturday, rather than the...
. This is the first time the Champions League final was broadcast on a major American television network. In addition, he led ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's coverage on the 2010 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...
and will return for the 2014 tournament
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
.
Print journalism
Tyler writes an article on the Sky Sports websites where readers can ask questions about Football usually based on statistics and form of teams. At the end of each article is a 'Tyler's Teaser' in which Martin asks the readers a question of his own. More recently, Martin has recorded his asking of these questions live from the Stadium of which he commentated in for Sky the weekend before. 'Tyler's Teaser' originally was for the readers to try and catch Martin out, in asking footballing questions of their own.Other sports
Although most associated with football, Tyler has commentated on other sports. He contributed to Granada TV's coverage of Roses Cricket throughout his time there and even described live netballNetball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
for ITV's World Of Sport
World of Sport (UK TV series)
World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 to 28 September 1985 in response to competition from BBC's Grandstand...
. In the mid-1980s, Tyler also anchored Channel 4's coverage of baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
's World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
.
Film and video games
Tyler is the voice-over commentator for the FIFA video game seriesFIFA (series)
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
on PS3 and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
alongside Andy Gray from 2006 to 2011 and Alan Smith from 2012.
Football coaching
Tyler is currently first team coach at Isthmian LeagueIsthmian League
The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...
club Kingstonian
Kingstonian F.C.
Kingstonian Football Club are an English, semi-professional football club that are playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2011–12 season. The club has played at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames since 1989, after leaving their traditional Richmond Road ground...
, having joined the club in January 2007 from Walton & Hersham as part of the support staff alongside manager Alan Dowson.
Miscellaneous
Tyler chose Arsenal'sArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
unbeaten season in the Premier League in 2003/04 as the greatest moment of the decade, and has expressed the view that sports fans will not see another team unbeaten for a whole season in their lifetimes.
Tyler's son, Adam, is a film director, currently working for Scratchmark Films. His work includes Kingsmeadow, a half-hour documentary based on Kingstonian FC, which premiered in June 2011.