Sky Sports’ voice of football Martin Tyler reached a significant milestone in his distinguished broadcasting career over the Christmas period as he celebrated reaching 40 years as a commentator.
Tyler made his debut as a commentator for Southern Television, the former ITV regional station, on December 28, 1974, covering the Second Division match between Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday at The Dell.
Four decades and thousands of matches later, Tyler, who has been Sky Sports’ top football commentator for just over half of his career, returned to the club where his life as a commentator began, covering Southampton’s Super Sunday Premier League clash against Chelsea.
Tyler started his broadcasting career in a production role with LWT in the early 1970s, but he always has an eye for starting a career as a football commentator.
His break into the business did come in 1974 with Southern Television and following a successful debut, Tyler was invited back on a regular basis and and became the ITV regional station’s lead commentator.
It was his move to Yorkshire Television in 1976 that Tyler first made an impression on ITV network bosses, who would go onto include him in their on-air team for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
Now firmly one of ITV Sport’s top football commentators, another change of region followed for Tyler in 1981 as he moved to Granada in his native north west, and in 1982 he led ITV’s World Cup commentary team in Spain, covering every England game as well his first final.
Throughout the 1980s, Tyler established himself as the ITV network’s number two commentator behind Brian Moore, but the chance in 1990 to join the fledgling British Satellite Broadcasting, which later became Sky Sports, in as the channel’s lead commentator was an offer too tempting to turn down.
The 69-year-old has been the voice of the satellite broadcaster’s football coverage ever since the creation of the Premier League in 1992 and says he has plenty of magical memories from his years in the game.
In a interview on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday, Tyler said: “The one I always talk about is the Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle with Stan Collymore closing in to win the game in the 92nd minute when Newcastle were going for the title.
“It was a fantastic game of football, with players who were wonderful. It was full of England internationals, and there was so much excitement.
“Everything you can get in a football match was encapsulated in that 90 minutes; Kevin Keegan draped over the advertising hoardings when he realised he’d lost the game, and possibly the title.”
Having been at the top of his profession for 40 years, Tyler’s voice is synonymous with some of the most memorable moments in world and British football.
His distinctive tones are hugely familiar to all generations of supporters, from those who recall his days working for Yorkshire Television and Granada, to the Playstation generation who listen to his commentary on EA Sport’s FIFA games.
Alongside his Sky Sports commentary role, Tyler also works on international and has commentated on several World Cups and European Championships for Australian network SBS, ensuring his voice is heard by millions of football fans around the globe.
Fans will recall his memorable commentary of Manchester City’s sensational title-winning match on dramatic final day of the 2011/2012 season against Queens Park Rangers.
Looking back at his description of Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp strike, Tyler joked: “I’ll always be grateful to Aguero as after 38 years in the business, he made me an overnight success.”
His current main co-commentator and former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville paid tribute to his Sky Sports colleague, saying: “It’s a great privilege to work alongside him.
“It’s been a magnificent achievement, not just the achievement of the longevity but the quality of the performance over the 40 years.
“And he certainly keeps me on my toes. You’ve got a commentator who knows more about football than me!”
Despite nearing his 70th birthday, Tyler shows no signs of slowing down and set to remain as one of Sky Sports’ leading football commentators for a good few years yet.
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