SEN is to broadcast eight simultaneous radio channels during Sports Entertainment Network’s live and exclusive radio coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, from Friday’s Opening Ceremony.
Coverage kicked off Wednesday night with the Matildas taking on New Zealand’s football ferns across the SEN network.
Chief sports commentator Gerard Whateley headlines SEN’s Olympic commentary team which includes live expert commentary from former swimming greats Rob Woodhouse, who is poolside in Tokyo, and James Magnussen.
SEN is claiming an Australian first, providing parochial coverage of the Olympics in every state, delivering international sports coverage through a local lens.
Through SEN’s official broadcast partnership with Channel 7, it will have exclusive access to commentary and calls from a Seven team headed by Bruce McAvaney and experts such as Anna Meares (cycling), Georgie Parker (hockey) and Andrew Bogut (basketball).
Retired sprinter John Steffensen will headline the athletics coverage.
SEN’s Gerard Whateley
Each day between 10am to 3 pm, SEN Olympic hosts and experts can be heard across the SEN network from their local studio.
1116 SEN Melbourne – Gerard Whateley
1170 SEN Sydney – Matt White and Katie Brown
1620 SEN Gold Coast-Mark Braybrook
1629 SEN South Australia – Kym Dillion
SEN WA Western Australia – Tim Gossage
Olympics coverage will run again nationally from 6pm each night for all of Tokyo’s big finals.
In further digital innovations, three “always on” channels from the Seven Network will run on the SEN app.
SEN continues its commitment to being the platform for every sports fan, with “SEN FLIP” continuing to provide listeners with all the latest AFL and NRL news.
Effectively a parallel station, SEN FLIP allows people to get all the latest AFL and NRL news in conjunction with the Olympic game’s coverage from within the SEN app.
Sports Entertainment network chief executive Craig Hutchison said the coverage, presented by Rebel Sport, MATE Mobile and Internet, and Xero, represented the widest choice ever provided of an Olympic game in the history of radio.
“It’s been a long and frustrating five-year wait for our women and men who will represent the green and gold with pride at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Hutchison said.
“Through the innovation of our digital team, and our commitment to state-by-state content, and respecting the power of choice, you’ll be able to hear virtually every event, be it on the radio or on the SEN app.
“As firm believers of choice, we are proud also to introduce new FLIP stations on the app so that AFL and NRL fans won’t have to change their behaviours by day during the games and can flick back and forward on the SEN app.
“We are very proud to be able to showcase all of Australia’s athletes to our listeners.”
See also: SENZ flicks the switch on New Zealand sports radio network