Topping The League (Sky Sports 1)

Member Name: friendsnut

Product:	Sky Sports 1
Date:	05/07/03 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Football Coverage, Good highlight programmes

Disadvantages: None

Some people may dismiss Sky TV as juts being all repeats and showing no substance. That may be true when you look at some of the channels but in all honesty if you want variety then Sky offers it at a reasonable price. I'm sure the majorityof Sky subscribers primarily have it for the sports coverage and understandably so.

When the Premier League started up Sky took over the coverage and with the advent of digital it ha gone from strength to strength. Sometimes there's a program on called 'The Premiership Years' which charts an entire season of Sky's premier league coverage. This goes back ten years and shows you how far they've vome. Back then it wasn't primative stuff but compared to now it's very dated.

Sky Sports 1 is the premier Sports channel and shows most of the football during the season. But it also hosts tha other major sports such as cricket, rugby and golf. All of them are very well covered with expert opinion and pre-match build up. But of course it's the football that most people tune into. Coverage of a premier league game normally starts a good couple of hours before kick-off. You're normally given a lot of build up with studio guests, interviews and features that look back on previous clashes and players. This is normally hosted by the assured and very hairy Richard Keys, 7/10 he's normally joined by the charming Niall Quinn as well. But kick off's when the fun really starts to begin. Sky Digital gives you a lot of options once you press the red button. From one screen you can choose different camera angles, there's player-cam and you can catch on match stats and even view the goals after they've happened. It's amazing to think that this is all possible when you think about to about five years ago.

Matches are commentated on the premier commentary team of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. Together they are the best out there, sure Motson's a legend but he's ge
tting stale. Gray is the perfect commentator who enthuses at every chance and every goal, making it seem a lot more exciting than it sometimes is. Tyler will also come out with some good stats while the pair occasionally share some witty banter. But if this isn't your thing then Sky have also brought in the fans commentary. Here you can choose to listen to opposing fans commentary on the game. At times it can be halarious as one man goes wild while the other looks as if the world has just ended. This normally see-saws throughout the match.

Sport is also catered for on the funny side by giving us funny morning shows such as Soccer AM which mixes sport and comedy with good results. Personally some of it I don't care for whilst other parts of it are quite amusing. Due to the collapse of ITV Digital, Sky Sports also show Nationwide League football on a regular basis. It's not got the same razzle dazzle as premier league coverage but it's still on par with what ITV were offering and generally every team in the first division is catered for and they'll even on occasion drop down to the lower leagues for a choice fixture.

So although it's an extra premium in your subscription I say Sky Sports 1 and it's sister channels are well worth the extra money once the season kicks off.

Summary: