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Foxtel counting down to Olympics

With just 100 days remaining, Foxtel details its 8 dedicated channels, commentators and presenters for London 2012.

With exactly 100 days to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games, Foxtel has revealed details of its mammoth broadcast, billed as “the most extensive coverage of an Olympic Games ever seen in Australia.”

The Pay TV provider will broadcast across eight brand-new, dedicated channels that will be free to residential sports subscribers available in both High Definition and Standard Definition.

Over the 17 days of competition Foxtel will broadcast all sessions and matches of sport in full, with all major sports shown live. This includes every Gold Medal event live and in full.

Fronting the broadcast will be Eddie McGuire and Matt Shirvington plus Tracey Holmes, Brendon Julian, Lisa Forrest and James Bracey. Rove McManus will add colour pieces capturing the London atmosphere.

With around 1,100 hours of live events, and over 3,200 hours of total coverage, the channels are*:

London 1 Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo
London 2 Cycling – Track, Cycling – BMX, Cycling – Mountain Bike, Cycling – Road
London 3 Gymnastics – Artistic, Gymnastics – Rhythmic, Gymnastics – Trampoline
London 4 Athletics – Track
London 5 Athletics – Field
London 6 Equestrian – Jumping, Equestrian – Eventing, Equestrian – Dressage, Fencing, Table Tennis
London 7 Rowing, Canoeing – Sprint, Canoeing – Slalom
London 8 Beach Volleyball, Sailing, Football, Hockey, Weightlifting

Remaining sports will be shown across a range of channels depending on the competition schedule.

A full guide including all broadcast times will be announced by July 1.

There will be two studios inside London’s Olympic Park, one of which will run 24 hours a day. A second studio will feature Tiffany Cherry, Adam Peacock, Sarah Jones and Jason Dunstall.

Foxtel will also have a team of roving reporters on the ground in London, including Rove McManus who will present daily stories including London streets, the athletes’ village and Aussie athletes. Gus Worland will also add colour stories, alongside local British television personality Tania Bryer and roving sports journalists Ben Damon and Will McCloy.

Commentators include Susie O’Neill, Rebecca Wilson, Ray Hadley, James Tomkins (Rowing), Kerri Pottharst (Beach Volleyball), Scott McGrory (Cycling), Liz Chetkovich (Gymnastics), Debbie Watson (Water Polo), Andrew Gaze (Basketball), Jane Flemming (Athletics), Peter Donegan (Athletics), Daley Thompson (Athletics), Damian Brown (Weightlifting), Mike Murphy (Diving), Lucinda Green (Equestrian), Rechelle Hawkes (Hockey) and David Wansborough (Hockey).

Residential subscribers will also be able to watch via a Foxtel tablet app.

Coverage will go live on July 25 AST to include live coverage of the 14 football matches that precede the Opening Ceremony. Competition will commence on air at 6.00pm on Saturday, July 28 (AEST).

Pricing for non-sports subscribers has not yet been revealed.

* Some sports listed may appear across different channels as determined by the competition schedule.

6 Responses

  1. @damo. Me too. The Channel 9 coverage will be a farce and will defs be watching it on Foxtel. Don’t mind Eddie being the face of the coverage but at least it’s going to be terrific.

  2. @ Vos, what are you talking about? It’s free to sports subscribers, given this is a sporting event, of course people without the sports package will have to pay a little extra. Fox have done very well witht he pricing in this regard.

    Little concerned about the selection of sports on their channels, I would like to see plenty of the other sports that aren’t mentioned given plenty of coverage as well.

  3. I cant understand how stupidity foxtel sometimes are. You have foxtel at home right ? you pay for it each month. You pay it because you want more channels. But instead foxtel publicity stunts you saying that if you pay (this amount) you get to see the live 24/7 olympic channels of most sport event. Again this is to get your money. It has happen previewsly with the winter olympics… the commonwealth games the previews olympics.. and all you end up seen are these rediculours annoying long commercials about pay $—- and you will get the aportunity to view all the live olympic channels from your home.

    I say No thanks. i can watch all this for free on the FTA. Not pay extra. I pay foxtel so what pay extra more on top of other things… Thats just stealing and publicity stunt. However i personaly not a sports fan what so ever. I just watch the opening and closing ceremony of the olympic games and then its back to the geographic channel for me. Its not like why should i want to watch the same so what famours person doing sports for australia when i rather watch my favourte canadian team and not just australian athelete.

    Anyhow i remember the Sydney olympic games.. that was the best olympic of my life.. and i collected these 100 days pins.. specialy the mac donalds sponcer olympic pins 2000.

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