John Dykes
John Dykes is a sports broadcaster and the 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. He is now a familiar face worldwide and anchored the Africa-wide coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup for SuperSport TV.
Biography
Dykes was born in Essex, England in 1964, went to Brentwood School before moving to Hong Kong 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 still hosts 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.
Personal life
He was based in Asia for over 20 years and held Singapore permanent residency but now lives in Cobham, United Kingdom with his wife and two daughters.