''Wide World of Sports'' is an Australian sports television program. It was broadcast on the Nine Network. The show originally aired from 23 May 1981, until the end of 1999. After a nine-year hiatus, it returned on 16 March 2008 and had its last episode in 2016 following Ken Sutcliffe's retirement. It was replaced by a new sport talk show Sports Sunday airing its first episode on 5 March 2017.

History

1981-1999 - Weekly shows

Wide World of Sports (WWoS) is a long-used title for Nine's sport programming. All sports broadcasts on Nine air under the WWoS brand. It was also the name of a popular sports magazine program that aired most Saturdays and Sundays. This program filled many of the summer daytime hours. The program premiered at 1:00 pm on Saturday, 23 May 1981, and was initially hosted by Mike Gibson and Ian Chappell, before being hosted in the 1990s by

Max Walker Maxwell Henry Norman Walker (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both cricket and Australian rules football at high levels. After six years of balancing first-class cricket in summer, professional f ...

and Ken Sutcliffe. Ian Maurice was the regular anchor at the WWOS Update Desk. The show ended in 1999, due in large part to the rise of Fox Sports (which Nine's owner owned half of) and other subscription sport channels, but the show returned in 2008 on Sunday mornings. It was unrelated to the series ''Wide World of Sports'' aired by ABC in the United States, which started in 1961. In the early 1980s, well-known hosts and presenters on Wide World of Sports included Mike Gibson and Ian Chappell, both the inaugural hosts of the Saturday afternoon program in 1981.

Billy Birmingham Billy Birmingham (born 1953) is an Australian humourist and sometime sports journalist, most noted for his parodies of Australian cricket commentary in recordings under The Twelfth Man name. Early career He wrote the pun-laden comedy hit "Aus ...

in 1984 released a

comedy album Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

that satirized cricket "and in particular Channel Nine’s iconic commentary team with Richie Benaud the central figure," which became popular in Australia, A later album was called ''The Wired World of Sports.'' Among the hosts satirized were his friend Mike Gibson. The television show won "Most Popular Sports Program" at the Logie Awards in 1986. In 1990s, the Wide World of Sports marketed sports paraphernalia such as signed and framed bats, and items from the Australian Rugby League. Paul Sheahan hosted Nine's ''Wide World of Sports'' program until 1999. Max Walker hosted until it ended in 1999.

2008-2020 - Show's return to TV

After a ten-year hiatus, it was announced that the ''Wide World of Sports'' weekly television program would return to Nine on 16 March 2008, using the same theme song as the old version, as well as accessing old footage for replays. This show was hosted by the previous host Ken Sutcliffe, with footy show star James Brayshaw as well as former Australian cricketer

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-kee ...

. Revolving co-hosts included former swimmers Giaan Rooney, Nicole Livingstone and former cricketer Michael Slater. The show originally aired for 90 minutes but was recently extended to two hours. It aired on Sunday mornings at 9am till 11am. In 2009, Grant Hackett and Michael Slater joined the team as co-hosts alongside Sutcliffe and Rooney. After she was fired in 2014 as a cost-cutting measure, in 2016

Emma Freedman Emma Freedman is an Australian television and radio presenter who grew up on the Mornington Peninsula. Freedman formerly co-hosted '' The Grill Team'' on Triple M Sydney. Prior to this, she was a weather presenter on ''Weekend Today'' and hos ...

again signed up with Channel Nine's ''Wide World of Sports'' as an announcer. The weekly show was no longer airing as of 2017. '' Sports Sunday'' replaced the show in the Sunday 10am time slot. In 2019, it broadcast the Australian Open with its own team of commentators. Macquarie Media in 2020 began airing an hour-long ''Wide World of Sports'' radio broadcast hosted by Mark Levy.

Hosts

Past

* Ian Chappell *

Lisa Curry Lisa Gaye Curry AO MBE (born 15 May 1962), also known by her married name Lisa Curry-Kenny, is an Australian former competition swimmer. Curry won seven gold, two silver and one bronze Commonwealth Games medals, and is the only Australian s ...

* Sally Fitzgibbons *

* Ian Maurice * Mike Gibson *

Tony Greig Anthony William Greig (6 October 194629 December 2012) was a South African-born Test cricket captain turned commentator. Greig qualified to play for the England cricket team by virtue of his Scottish parentage. He was a tall () all-rounder wh ...

* Giaan Rooney * Yvonne Sampson * Michael Slater * Clint Stanaway * John Steffenson * Ken Sutcliffe * Richie Calendar

Awards

The show won the Logie Award for the Most Popular Sports Program in 1987, and was nominated for every year from 2009 to 2017.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Wide World of Sports''
home page. Nine's Wide World of Sport 1981 Australian television series debuts 1999 Australian television series endings 2008 Australian television series debuts 2016 Australian television series endings English-language television shows Australian sports television series