Since 1984, Bruce McAvaney has been calling the Olympic Games from around the world. He was disappointed when the Seven Network was not able to secure the rights to the 2024 Olympics, which were awarded to a group of media companies led by Nine Entertainment.
Although he mainly calls horse racing, Mr. McAvaney is still passionate about the Olympics.
For six months, he felt lost. Then, one day earlier this month, he got a phone call. It was from the ABC, which had secured the rights to broadcast the event in various areas, including the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart, and Canberra.
He was asked to help the public broadcaster. He said he had a couple of conversations with Kerry Stokes and Jeff Howard, and he was also thinking about asking the management of Nine to allow him to call the event.
Besides, the network had already announced its extensive commentary team, which includes Gerard Whateley, who will be calling the track and field event.
He will be joined by other prominent athletes such as John Alexander and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor as he calls various major events for the ABC.
His work will be aired daily from 6.30 p.m. to close of competition. He is very excited to be able to provide the Australian public with the voice of the Olympics.
Chris Oliver-Taylor, the chief content officer of the ABC, said the corporation was excited about the opportunity to provide the Australian public with the voice of the Olympics.
However, he noted that the network would not be able to carry the feed of Mr. McAvaney outside certain areas. Mr. McAvaney had previously worked for Seven and Ten before returning to the latter in 1989.
He said he had always wanted to be a sports broadcaster, and he became very passionate about the Olympics when he was first introduced to them in 1972.
He said he would have been thrilled to call the event for his wife Anne.
He is very excited to be able to provide the Australian public with the voice of the Olympics.
He said he was able to feel his whole world changed in the last week. Despite his 71 years, he is still motivated to work hard and prepare for the upcoming games in Brisbane.