ITV SPORT
In the summer of 2000 ITV surprised the BBC with a successful bid for Premier League highlights. This kicked in from 2001, and left the BBC without any regular week-by-week football. Champion therefore moved to join ITV in 2001, and was a regular part of ITV's commentary team for the Premier League, League Cup, Football League and the UEFA Champions League.
Champion's ITV colleague Guy Mowbray left for the BBC in 2004 following the loss of Premier League rights back to the BBC, however Champion remained with ITV. Although he continued as a commentator on highlights of the Football League and League Cup, Champion's 'live' match opportunities gradually diminished with Clive Tyldesley and Peter Drury taking the top matches. As a result Champion began to look for work elsewhere, commentating on the Premier League for the overseas feed, and covering some UEFA Cup matches for Channel Five.
Read more about this topic: Jon Champion
Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)