TV

With Matt White back in the chair, Ten’s much loved Sports Tonight is making a return to the air

'It's going to be awesome!'
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After a seven-year break, and with a new look and attitude, Sports Tonight is coming back to Network Ten.

Hosted once again by Matt White, the series will return in July to bring sports fans all the latest results, news, rumours… and a lot of fun, White promises.

“It’s going to be awesome!” White tells TV WEEK. “And while it’s still going to be Sports Tonight, one of the things about this is people will instantly recognise that it is a bit different.

“We’ve still kept the same Sports Tonight qualities of telling people what’s going on, but the style has definitely changed. It’s going to be entertaining and fun and high quality.”

“I think if you’re waiting until quarter past nine on a Sunday night to see if your footy team has won these days, then you’re probably not a true fan because there’s so many ways to get that information and the highlights and scores,” says.

“So that was the way I looked at it… what do people want to see now and what can we deliver them?

One obvious area, he says, is analysis and commentary, with White joined at the Sports Tonight desk by AFL legend Josh Gibson and Rugby League’s Laurie Daley and news from seasoned sports reporters including Scott Mackinnon and Caty Price.

Josh Gibson, Matt White and Laurie Daley.

And yes, we will see a return of the much-loved Play Of The Day.

“The amount of people who still to this day say to me ‘Hey Play Of The Day!’,” White says.

“The connection has never been lost and I reckon that’s a cool thing. The Sports Tonight brand and the quality of the brand hasn’t waned even though the show hasn’t been on air.”

Sports Tonight premieres live Sunday, 15 July at 9.15pm on TEN And WIN Network.

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