We have a real treat in store for FIH Hockey Pro League fans this Thursday (13 May), especially if you are living in a country where geoblocking restrictions are in place.
We are delighted to announce that live audio commentary of the second day of action between the men and women of Great Britain and Germany, which is being played behind closed doors at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London, will be available via the Watch.Hockey app.
Hockey broadcasting legend Nick Irvine will be holding the mic in the hot seat for this special ‘radio’ show, with expert co-commentary coming from revered coach and former Australian international Todd Williams. Irvine, the man often dubbed ‘the voice of hockey’, has over 30 years’ experience providing broadcast commentary at events all over the world, covering countless World Cups, Champions Trophies, European Championships as well as Europe’s premier club competition, the Euro Hockey League. Williams, who also writes a regular coaching column for The Hockey Paper, has been a regular co-commentor alongside Irvine at numerous elite events in recent years.
Talking about the differences between commenting on TV and Radio, Nick Irvine said: “The main difference is that you don’t have the pictures to fall back on; you’ve got to create the tapestry for people to use their imaginations. It is going to be a huge challenge, but I’m not one to back down from those! I am a great believer in the vehicle of radio, I think it is an underplayed medium, so I’m hoping that we can make something of it. England or GB against Germany in any sporting competition is always exciting; it always has a little bit of added spice to it.”
Todd Williams was also excited about the project. “It taps into the old medium of radio whilst also connecting to the new community of podcasts. I know from my own friends and people I work with just how much people enjoy listening to things now. Of course, if you can watch it on TV, great, but this is a really good addition.”
So, if you cannot tune into the live TV coverage, join Nick and Todd for what will no doubt be a world class commentary and expert analysis between two of Europe’s finest hockey nations. We hope you enjoy the coverage!
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