Summary:

Peter Drury is set to replace Martin Tyler as Sky Sports’ lead commentator for the Premier League. Drury, who is currently the voice of the Premier League on US broadcaster NBC Sports, is expected to focus on one game a week for Sky Sports, which would be on Sunday, Monday or midweek. He will continue to present for the US audience, as NBC is owned by Comcast, which also owns Sky. Drury is popular with viewers and is viewed as a natural successor to Tyler, who departed after 33 years with Sky. Sky Sports’ director of football, Gary Hughes, has said Drury will bring “great energy and enthusiasm” to the broadcaster’s coverage of the Premier League. Sky Sports have also announced Drury’s arrival, with the commentator joining Rob Hawthorne, Bill Leslie, Seb Hutchinson, Dan Mann, Gary Weaver and Ian Crocker. Tyler, who is not retiring, was lead commentator on Sky Sports’ flagship weekend show, Super Sunday, and covered global events such as the Champions League, World Cup and European Championships for broadcasters in the US and Australia. Sky Sports recently axed half of their football reporting team in a cost-cutting exercise, with veteran interviewer Geoff Shreeves being asked to take a significant pay cut. Due to Sky Sports’ cost cutting, experienced and well-respected journalists such as Guy Havord, Dickie Davis, Bianca Westwood, Greg Whelan, Lynsey Hooper and Jaydee Dyer will also not be continuing in their current roles. Emma Saunders appears to be the only female reporter to survive the cull, along with David Craig, Patrick Davidson, Jonathan Oakes, Johnny Phillips and Luke Shanley.