John Dykes
John Dykes is a sports television personality, sports radio host, and sports journalist based in Singapore. Most prominently known for hosting "The John Dykes Show" on Fox Sports Asia, he was previously lead anchor for the Premier League's content service, available to international broadcast partners. He first made his name in Asia after working for almost a decade as host of ESPN STAR Sports' coverage of the Premier League and European football.
Biography[]
Dykes was born in Essex, England in 1964, went to Brentwood School before moving to Singapore with his family.
Early career[]
He began his media career as a college radio DJ whilst studying English Literature at Warwick University. A move to Hong Kong led to a successful stint at the South China Morning Post, where he was a Sports Writer, Feature Writer and Entertainment Editor for the Sunday Edition. During his time in Hong Kong, he also covered both sports and entertainment beats as a showbiz presenter at TVB. He hosted TVB's live coverage of the Academy Awards for five straight years before switching back to sports as a football commentator and presenter with STAR Sports.
Initial stint with ESPN Star[]
At the start of his career at ESPN STAR in Singapore, Dykes hosted tournaments across diverse sports such as tennis, golf, cricket and rugby. Highlights of his time with ESPN STAR Sports include his anchoring the broadcast of cricket's 1999 World Cup in England, trips to Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows to work alongside Vijay Amritraj on Grand Slam tennis, and his work in Augusta for Tiger Woods' triumph at the 2001 Masters. Over the years, he has been the host of Inside Cricket and The Formula One pre-show, Raceday, as well as launching Sportsline - the predecessor to SportsCenter - in India.
Football with ESPN Star[]
From 2001 to 2010, Dykes hosted football on ESPN Star Sports including Live Matchday coverage of the Premier League, post-match (Final Score), Football Focus and First Edition. His popular Up Close series saw him conduct long-form interviews with football celebrities such as David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Michel Platini and Sir Bobby Robson. Dykes was joined by Sky Sports' Richard Keys for the weekly First Edition, which rounded-up the major footballing stories across European newsprint. His departure from ESPN Star Sports was announced in March 2010 and he hosted his final shows (the 2010 FIFA World Cup) in May 2010.
Premier League Productions[]
In March 2010 it was announced that John Dykes would take up a job as lead presenter for the Premier League's content service that launched in August 2010. The service, a 24-7, year-round channel specifically for its licensees, is a showcase for the 20 Premier League clubs, providing international broadcasters with a range of new English language, studio based output. He anchors Matchday Live coverage each weekend and hosts the Football Today discussion show on Wednesdays and Fridays. Dykes has also hosted the Premier League's video guide for clubs, which takes viewers behind the scenes at their stadiums, gives viewers an insight of the matchday experience, and points towards other things to see and do in and around the clubs. The videos can be seen on each clubs page on premierleague.com In 2013, the Premier League renewed its contract with Dykes, who also worked on world feed coverage of the Barclays Asia Trophy tournaments in Hong Kong in 2011 and 2013, as well as hosting the BPL Live fan park event in Mumbai in 2014.
In 2016, Dykes became the commentator for the 3pm "Goal Rush" kickoffs, broadcasting goals from the various matches kicking off simultaneously. Manish Bhasin replaced him on Matchday Live on Saturdays. Dykes then hosted the Sunday edition of Matchday Live.[1]
His popularity with viewers worldwide has seen various international broadcasters, primarily Premier League licensees involve him in editorial and promotional campaigns aimed at maximising the value in their association with the BPL. He has worked with SuperSport in Africa, Star Sports in India, Orange in Indonesia, Singapore's mioTV, Hong Kong's nowTV and CTH in Thailand.
He left Premier League Productions upon the conclusion of the 2016-17 Premier League Season.
Return to Singapore[]
It was announced on 29 May 2017, that Dykes was to return to Singapore and host a new show on English Football on Fox Sports Asia.[2] This reunites him with the presenting team he left at the then-ESPN Star Sports, which was eventually bought over and rebranded as FOX Sports Asia.
His new show debuted on 31 July 2017 named The John Dykes Show, a thrice-weekly chat show primarily covering English football. Dykes is also in demand as an event host and he writes for www.foxsportsasia.com
When Fox Sports International was purchased by Disney, Dykes began to work for ESPN including his show contributing to ESPN FC.
Personal life[]
Dykes is a permanent resident of Singapore and lives there with his wife and two daughters.
References[]
External links[]
- TVB
- People from Essex
- Singaporean people
- Living people
- English rugby union commentators