View source for Monday Night Football (British TV programme)

{{short description|Football television series, broadcast on Sky Sports}}
{{Distinguish|Monday Night Football}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = 
| caption              = 
| creator              = 
| developer            = 
| presenter            = [[David Jones (presenter)|David Jones]]
| narrator             = 
| open_theme           = [[Fluke (band)|Fluke]] – "Absurd - Whitewash Edit"
| end_theme            = 
| country              = United Kingdom
| num_episodes         = 
| executive_producer   = 
| location             = [[Sky Campus|Studio 4, Sky Studios]] <br> [[Osterley]], London <small>(2017–present)</small>
| camera               = [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = Variable
| network              = [[Sky Sports]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1992|08|17|df=y}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|2007|05|df=y}}
| first_aired2         = {{Start date|2010|08|df=y}}
| last_aired2          = present
| related              = ''[[Super Sunday (British TV programme)|Super Sunday]]''
}}

'''''Monday Night Football''''' ('''''MNF''''') is a British football programme on [[Sky Sports]] which broadcasts live [[football in England|English football]] from the [[Premier League]].

==Original run==
Sky television's acquisition of rights to broadcast live [[Premier League]] football from the start of the 1992–93 season saw them attempt innovations such as [[digital on-screen graphic]]s (DOG) and Monday night live games. The first ''Monday Night Football'' game broadcast was between [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] and [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] on 17 August 1992, which ended in a 1–1 draw.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcfc.co.uk/The-Club/Club-History |title=Manchester City club history |access-date=3 August 2010 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516024406/http://www.mcfc.co.uk/the-club/club-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> To give the broadcasts a different look to Sky's ''[[Super Sunday (British TV programme)|Super Sunday]]'' strand, the broadcaster introduced the "Sky Strikers", a dance troupe similar to American [[Cheerleading|cheerleaders]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/girls-who-give-sky-high-kicks-owen-slot-meets-a-team-of-dancers-who-have-charmed-their-way-through-many-a-defence-1456683.html|title=Girls who give Sky high kicks|last=Slot|first=Owen|date=21 April 1993|work=The Independent}}</ref> This pre-match and half-time entertainment was dropped after the first season.

The show had a number of different formats after its launch. The first change led to the merging of [[Andy Gray (footballer, born 1955)|Andy Gray]]'s ''[[Boot Room]]'' format into the show; analysing the previous weekend's football matches utilising the latest computer technology combined with Gray's individual analysis. As the [[UEFA Champions League]] gained in importance for Premier League clubs, the number of games played on Monday night declined. [[Sky Sports]] then reverted to a format similar to that of ''Ford Super Sunday'' with a presenter ([[Jeff Stelling]]) and studio guests.

In 2004–05, the analysis section was then incorporated into an additional programme shown after ''Ford Super Sunday'', called ''Ford Super Sunday: The Last Word''.

The show went on hiatus after the 2006–07 season when [[Setanta Sports|Setanta]] and subsequently [[ESPN UK|ESPN]] obtained the rights for Monday night Premier League games.

==Current run==
''Monday Night Football'' returned from the 2010–11 season after Sky regained the rights to Monday night Premier League games. The games broadcast kick off at 20:00 on Monday nights. The show also started broadcasting in [[High-definition television|high-definition]]. Due to the structure of the broadcasting packages for the three seasons 2010–11 to 2012-13), Sky broadcast a minimum of twelve live Premier League games on Monday nights.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/163178bn-record-premier-league-tv-deal-defies-economic-slump-1569576.html £1.78bn: Record Premier League TV deal defies economic slump] The Independent</ref>

Before the departures of Richard Keys and Andy Gray, the programme had a different appearance to ''Super Sunday'', presented by Keys and Gray from a purpose-built studio with Gray's analysis also returning from its Sunday evening slot. After the pair's unscheduled departure from Sky in January 2011, the first half-hour of analysis was dropped, and for the remainder of the season the show was presented from the stadium in largely the same format as Sunday or midweek Premier League matches, with a rotation of presenters and pundits, although the ''Monday Night Football'' graphics and branding were retained.

[[Ed Chamberlin]] was given the presenting role for the 2011–12 season, with [[Gary Neville]] as the new analyst. The show also returned to its previous format in the purpose-built analysis studio, with Chamberlin and Neville carrying out the same roles as Keys and Gray the previous season.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In 2013, following his retirement from professional football, [[Jamie Carragher]] joined the ''Monday Night Football'' show, to form a regular three-man line-up alongside Chamberlin and Neville. The first ''Monday Night Football'' of the 2013–14 season, and Carragher's first appearance, aired on 19 August 2013 with the [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] against [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] game. Manchester City won the game 4–0.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Following Neville's appointment as interim head coach of [[Valencia CF|Valencia]] in December 2015,<ref>{{cite web |title=Gary Neville appointed Valencia head coach until end of season |date=2015-12-02 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316234917/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/02/gary-neville-coach-valencia-england |archive-date=2023-03-16 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/02/gary-neville-coach-valencia-england}}</ref> he left the show to focus on his managerial duties. After leaving Valencia in March 2016 due to a poor run of results, Neville's return to Sky in his previous role was confirmed on 10 August 2016, ahead of the 2016–17 football season; he made his on-air return on 14 August, although from there on he would not appear on every ''MNF'', with some episodes instead involving special guests such as [[Roy Keane]] and [[Thierry Henry]] appear alongside Carragher.

In 2016 [[David Jones (presenter)|David Jones]] took over as anchor presenter from Chamberlin, who had left Sky to take over [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s horse racing coverage.

During the 2020–21 season, when fans were not allowed to attend matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ''Monday Night Football'' was occasionally extended to broadcast two matches, one at 18:00 and another at 20:15.

In 2023, Sky Sports confirmed there would be a new studio for ''Monday Night Football'' to develop the programme. This featured more analysis, a new regular pundit of [[Karen Carney]] joining Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, and a new earlier start time of 18:30.

==Naming==
'''1992-2016 : Ford Monday Night Football'''

From its launch on August 17, 1992 to May 2016, the programme was known as '''''Ford Monday Night Football''''' [with the exception of the 1994/1995 and 1995/1996 seasons when the programme was titled '''''Ford Escort Monday Night Football'''''] and was sponsored by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], in a partnership between the American motor company and [[Sky Sports]] that ran for 24 years.

'''2016–present Monday Night Football'''

Following the end of Ford's association with Sky Sports' coverage of the Premier League, the company's name was dropped from the programme's title in 2016 alongside three of Sky Sports' live Premier League programming titles named under the company's name (e.g. "Ford Super Sunday, "Ford Football Special and "Ford Saturday Night Football Live"), with the show simply being known as ''Monday Night Football''.

==Presenters==
*1992–2003, 2010–2011: [[Richard Keys]]
*2003–2005: [[Ian Payne (sports broadcaster)|Ian Payne]]
*2005–2007: [[Jeff Stelling]]
*2011–2016: [[Ed Chamberlin]] 
*2016–present: [[David Jones (presenter)|David Jones]]

==Pundits==
*[[Jamie Carragher]] (Primary pundit)
*[[Gary Neville]] (Main secondary pundit)
*[[Karen Carney]] (Main secondary pundit)
*[[Thierry Henry]] (Frequent secondary pundit)
*[[Roy Keane]] (Frequent secondary pundit)
*[[Frank Lampard]] (Two shows, 2015 and 2016)
*[[Roberto Martinez]] (Two shows, 2015 and 2018)
*[[Brendan Rodgers]] (One show, 2016)
*[[Jurgen Klopp]] (One show, 2016)
*[[Ryan Giggs]] (One show, 2016)
*[[Claudio Ranieri]] (One show, 2017)
*[[Alan Pardew]] (One show, 2017)
*[[Craig Bellamy]] (One show, 2017)
*[[Wayne Rooney]] (Two shows, 2018 and 2022)
*[[Graeme Souness]] (One show, 2018)
*[[Rafael Benítez]] (One show, 2019)
*[[Micah Richards]] (One show, 2020)
*[[Mauricio Pochettino]] (One show, 2020)
*[[Eddie Howe]] (One show, 2020)
*[[Robert Green|Rob Green]] (One show, 2021)
*[[Chris Coleman (footballer)|Chris Coleman]] (One show, 2021)
*[[Mark Hughes]] (One show, 2021)
*[[Steph Houghton]] (One show, 2021)
*[[Dominic Calvert-Lewin]] (One show, 2021)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Sky Sports original programming]]
[[Category:1992 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1990s British sports television series]]
[[Category:2000s British sports television series]]
[[Category:2010s British sports television series]]
[[Category:2020s British sports television series]]
[[Category:British television series revived after cancellation]]
[[Category:Premier League on television]]
[[Category:Monday]]