Matt Smith (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Matt Smith is a British broadcaster, and currently one of ITV Sport
's main presenters.
, where he studied from 1985-89. During that time he spent a year in Italy
as part of his studies. He once appeared as model in a photo-story in a 1980s teenage girls magazine to help a friend for a laugh. He was then offered an internship. with the Associated Press
in Rome
before moving on to the Financial Times
as a television producer.
, and presented business reports on John Inverdale
's programme on Radio 5 Live
. He got his first. sport presenting role on Chris Evans' Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
Matt has presented BBC Radio Four's final children's programme, Go 4 It
.
Until May 2008 he presented Weekend Breakfast on Radio 5 Live
with Rachel Burden
, along with occasional cover on the Drive 4pm-7pm weekday show.
, Smith worked initially on Midlands Today
, Breakfast
, and BBC News 24
before moving onto Football Fever, World Snooker and international events including the Sydney Olympics
and Euro 2000, before joining ITV in the summer of 2001.
Matt was one of the presenters on the ITV Sport Channel
. Matt hosts coverage of UEFA Cup live matches and UEFA Champions League
highlights. In the past, he has presented The Championship highlights programme every Sunday on ITV1
and UEFA Champions League Live
matches on ITV4
until ITV lost the respective contracts. He has also occasionally presented ITV Granada's weekly football show Soccer Night.
During the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan Matt hosted a panel-based show featuring debate and World Cup highlights every evening during the tournament. At Euro 2004, Matt was the senior reporter based with the England team.
Matt has also hosted On The Ball
and Speed Sunday and has reported at ITV's boxing coverage. He is also the main presenter of ITV's Darts
coverage since the sport returned to the channel in 2007 after a long absence, presenting the Grand Slam of Darts
and the European Darts Championship.
In the space of a year, he has gone from being ITV's fourth choice sports presenter, to second, following the departure of both Gabby Logan
and Jim Rosenthal
from the network.
Now he regularly appears on primetime ITV4.
, Smith was amusingly lampooned on the radio comedy impressions programme Dead Ringers
, and given the catchphrase "Ace", which was supposed to be something Smith said, trying to sound "with it", on the programme.
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer and brand name owned by ITV plc. It was formed from the amalgamation of Granada Sport, Carlton's sports department and ISN, the sports division of London News Network. The company produces Champions League and FA Cup Football, along with coverage of England's national...
's main presenters.
Early life
Matt is a Modern Languages and Political Studies graduate from Sheffield City PolytechnicSheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
, where he studied from 1985-89. During that time he spent a year in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as part of his studies. He once appeared as model in a photo-story in a 1980s teenage girls magazine to help a friend for a laugh. He was then offered an internship. with the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
before moving on to the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
as a television producer.
Radio
After leaving the FT, Smith joined the Business Unit at BBC NewsBBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, and presented business reports on John Inverdale
John Inverdale
John Inverdale , is an English radio and television broadcaster who works for the BBC, mainly covering sporting events.-Biography:...
's programme on Radio 5 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...
. He got his first. sport presenting role on Chris Evans' Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
Matt has presented BBC Radio Four's final children's programme, Go 4 It
Go 4 It
Go4it was a children's magazine programme broadcast on Sunday evenings at 7.15pm on BBC Radio 4, and one of the few speech-based shows on British national radio aimed at younger listeners....
.
Until May 2008 he presented Weekend Breakfast on Radio 5 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 Rachel Burden
Rachel Burden
Rachel Mary Burden , is a British-born Irish national, who is a radio news reporter and presenter, currently presenting the BBC Radio 5 Live weekday breakfast show....
, along with occasional cover on the Drive 4pm-7pm weekday show.
Television
At the BBCBBC
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...
, Smith worked initially on Midlands Today
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
, Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, and BBC News 24
BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
before moving onto Football Fever, World Snooker and international events including the Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and Euro 2000, before joining ITV in the summer of 2001.
Matt was one of the presenters on the ITV Sport Channel
ITV Sport Channel
ITV Sport Channel was a digital sport television channel, that was owned by Carlton Communications and Granada plc. It was launched on 11 August 2001 and it closed down on 12 May 2002, following ITV Digital's collapse, on which the channel was available on...
. Matt hosts coverage of UEFA Cup live matches and UEFA Champions League
Champions League Live
Champions League Live is a football programme currently shown on both ITV and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, broadcasting live UEFA Champions League football....
highlights. In the past, he has presented The Championship highlights programme every Sunday on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
and UEFA Champions League Live
Champions League Live
Champions League Live is a football programme currently shown on both ITV and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, broadcasting live UEFA Champions League football....
matches on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
until ITV lost the respective contracts. He has also occasionally presented ITV Granada's weekly football show Soccer Night.
During the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan Matt hosted a panel-based show featuring debate and World Cup highlights every evening during the tournament. At Euro 2004, Matt was the senior reporter based with the England team.
Matt has also hosted On The Ball
On The Ball (ITV television show)
On The Ball is a British ITV Saturday lunchtime television show about football, which ran as part of World of Sport in the 1980s, and as a stand-alone show from 1998 to 2004....
and Speed Sunday and has reported at ITV's boxing coverage. He is also the main presenter of ITV's Darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
coverage since the sport returned to the channel in 2007 after a long absence, presenting the Grand Slam of Darts
Grand Slam of Darts
The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is known as the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes. The PDC also invites the best performing players from its rival the British Darts Organisation...
and the European Darts Championship.
In the space of a year, he has gone from being ITV's fourth choice sports presenter, to second, following the departure of both Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan is a television presenter and radio presenter, as well as a former Wales international gymnast. She currently hosts programmes for BBC Sport, mainly focusing on football.- Early life :...
and Jim Rosenthal
Jim Rosenthal
Jim Rosenthal is a sports presenter on British television.-Early life:Rosenthal grew up in Oxford and attended Josca's Preparatory School before going to Magdalen College School...
from the network.
Now he regularly appears on primetime ITV4.
In popular culture
While appearing on Go 4 ItGo 4 It
Go4it was a children's magazine programme broadcast on Sunday evenings at 7.15pm on BBC Radio 4, and one of the few speech-based shows on British national radio aimed at younger listeners....
, Smith was amusingly lampooned on the radio comedy impressions programme Dead Ringers
Dead Ringers (comedy)
Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry...
, and given the catchphrase "Ace", which was supposed to be something Smith said, trying to sound "with it", on the programme.
External links
- Matt Smith ITV.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...
- Matt Smith BBC 5 Live