Friday Night Football (NRL)

Friday Night Football
Genre	Sports broadcast
Starring	See List of Commentators
Opening theme	"No one stands alone" by Extreme Music
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	23
Production
Running time	180 minutes
Release
Original network	Nine Network (1988-present); 9Gem (2012-present); Fox Sports (2016); Fox League (2017 - Present)
Picture format	576i (SDTV); 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	17 June 1988 –; present
External links
	Website

Friday Night Football is an Australian sports broadcast of National Rugby League games on Friday evenings.

In 1982, several early season NSWRL games were played on a Friday night, however regular non-weekend football began as Monday Night Football in 1985, with Canterbury meeting Manly on 24 June. However moderate attendances and a night game prior to a working day eventually saw the game shifted to Friday from 1988 on. As with Monday Night Football, regular Friday fixtures only commenced in the latter half of the season, due to the midweek competition. By 1990, a Friday night game was usually scheduled in all rounds.

The Friday night game is considered to be the most watched game of the week and many NRL clubs have openly stated that they appreciate the publicity given by these matches. The Nine Network choose the game they consider to be the "match of the round" 5 or 6 weeks in advance. This system has both positive and negative consequences, as it increases the likelihood of a good game played between two in-form sides, but does not allow fans or clubs a large amount of time to know on which day they will play in any given round.

Broadcast history

The Nine Network has broadcast Friday Night NRL games since 1988. As of 2007 the Nine Network now broadcasts two NRL games in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory on Friday Night - one live at 7.30, and the second match replayed at 9.30. Whichever of the two matches is televised first can depend on which teams are playing, for example, a match involving a Queensland-based team would in most cases be televised first into Queensland, and delayed in New South Wales; conversely, a match involving a New South Wales based team is usually televised first into New South Wales, and delayed in Queensland.

In the past, a Nine News or Nightline update separated the two broadcast matches, however in 2008 this was discontinued. In 2010, it was reinstated, before it was again scrapped.

From Round 5 of the 2012 NRL season, GEM, a sister station of the Nine Network, started showing Friday night NRL matches live into Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, pitting it against the Seven Network's live AFL coverage in those states.[1] This allows Victorian NRL fans to see live games involving the Melbourne Storm if they are scheduled on a Friday night.

From Round 4 of the 2014 NRL season, for yet unexplained reasons GEM stopped showing the NRL on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons live into Adelaide, with the coverage for all games on Nine reverting to the after midnight 'graveyard shift'. As the change was unannounced and in Adelaide only (the rest of South Australia still receives the live coverage), this has angered many fans in the city, both South Australians and those who have re-located from NSW or Qld.

Theme songs

The theme song for NRL coverage has been altered throughout the years. In 2000, Friday Night Football used the song, Friday on My Mind (sung my Vanessa Amorosi and Lee Kernaghan) to open the coverage. Since 2002, it has been opened by the Wide World of Sport's banner. The popular "That's My Team" theme used by the NRL was the backdrop for the openers from 2003-06. In 2007, End Of Fashion's song The Game was used, whilst in 2009 and 2010 Children Collide's song Social Currency was used. In 2011, the NRL's main theme song, Bon Jovi's This is Our House, was used.

Hosts & commentators

Host Chief commentators

Co-commentators

Sideline commentators

Former hosts and commentators

Hosts & commentators (Fox League)

Fox League televises both the 6:00pm and the 8:05pm games.[2]

Host

Matt Shirvington

Chief commentators

Andrew Voss
Brenton Speed
Warren Smith

Co-commentators

Sideline commentators

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Government approves NRL on GEM outside NSW, Qld. | TV Tonight

[2] ttps://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/fox-league-dedicated-rugby-league-channel-502-full-season-tv-schedule/news-story/0e4381a8d6620db9d1877e7dcb7b9897

Nine Network local programming (current and upcoming)
Primetime	Accidental Heroes (since 2020) ARIA Music Awards (2001, 2009, 2011-2013, since 2017) Australian Ninja Warrior (since 2017) The Block (2003-04, since 2010) Bondi Vet (since 2019) Carols by Candlelight (since 1952) Doctor Doctor (since 2016) Emergency (since 2020) Footy Classified (since 2007) Lego Masters (since 2019) Love Island Australia (since 2019) Married at First Sight (since 2015) Paramedics (since 2018) RBT (since 2010) Taronga: Who's Who in the Zoo (since 2020) The TV Week Logie Awards (since 1959) Travel Guides (since 2017) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1999–2010, since 2021)
Daytime	Millionaire Hot Seat (since 2009)
News	Nine News (since 1956) Nine News Now (since 2013) 60 Minutes (since 1979) A Current Affair (1971-1988, since 1988) Today (since 1982) Today Extra (since 2012) Weekend Today (since 2009)
Sport	100% Footy (since 2018) Sports Sunday (since 2017) Women's Footy (since 2017)
Weekends	Cybershack The Garden Gurus (since 2002) Getaway (since 1992) Postcards (since 1999) The AFL Sunday Footy Show (since 1993) The NRL Sunday Footy Show (since 1993)