Brian Taylor moved off Channel 7’s prime time Friday night AFL coverage
He may be one of the most recognisable voices in AFL media but Brian Taylor is set for a massive move ahead of the 2025 season.
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Channel 7 is set to make a huge move and shift veteran commentator Brian Taylor from Friday nights to Thursday’s as the network prepares to go head-to-head with Fox Sports in 2025.
After an off-season where the media movements rivalled player movements in one of the greatest upheavals of the TV football world in recent memory, it’s clear the big calls have not finished as the roles for the star-studded teams are revealed.
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From 2025, Fox Sports will produce its own commentary for every home and away match of the AFL season, having previously taken a simulcast of the Seven broadcast for matches shown free-to-air while adding its own analysis pre-game, post-game and between quarters.
Having already announced the all-star line up of Gerard Whateley and Anthony Hudson for Friday nights, Fox fired the first shot.
But Seven have made the call to split Taylor and James Brayshaw, with BT shifting to Thursday nights, while Brayshaw is expected to remain on Friday nights.
Taylor and Brayshaw are only expected to partner during marquee matches including the Anzac match and finals.
The Herald Sun’s Jackie Epstein reported Taylor’s Roaming Brian segment is also set to follow the 62-year-old to Thursday nights with a new post-match program called Extra Time starting on Fridays.
The report added that Hamish McLachlan is expected to join Taylor on Thursdays, while new analyst Kane Cornes is believed to be angling for the Thursday night expert commentator role.
It’s a big move for Taylor, who has been at Seven since 2012 and had moved into the Friday night role in 2017 after taking over from legendary commentator Dennis Cometti.
While Taylor has been the network’s number one caller for several years, he’s also had his share of controversies, having been called out for alleged Collingwood bias as well as perceived favourable treatment of certain players.
Taylor played 11 seasons in the AFL with 43 games and 156 goals for Richmond, before 97 games and 371 goals for Collingwood.
He was a two-time leading goalkicker for the Tigers, five-times for the Pies and in 1986 was the Coleman Medallist, booting 100 goals in the season.
Roaming Brian can also at times be car crash television at its best.
It just continues the massive shake up for the 2025 season as Seven and Fox Sports go to war for eyeballs.
Seven have expanded rights in 2025, which includes digital rights, meaning the free-to-air rights holder for both AFL and cricket will now be able to stream matches via 7plus.
With Nine having been pillaged, losing the likes of Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Craig Hutchison for a beefed up offering from Seven, and Leigh Matthews to Fox Sports, it’s set to be a feast for AFL fans in 2025.
Four-time premiership player Shaun Burgoyne and Geelong champion Tom Hawkins will also join Fox Footy’s commentary team in 2025.
While Fox Sports’ Super Saturday Live will be the only to watch games live on a Saturday until round 8 in South Australia and Western Australia, round 10 in NSW, Queensland and the ACT and all season long in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, Seven is going hard on new shows.
Eddie McGuire is reportedly behind two new AFL talk shows on Seven, with his JAM TV production team said to be producing Sunday Footy Feast, which will air following Channel 9’s dominant Sunday Footy Show, which traditionally wraps up at 12pm (AEDT).
McGuire’s crew has also been tasked with cooking up a show to run immediately following Channel 7’s live match coverage on Sunday afternoons.
That project will reportedly be called The Wash Up.
Originally published as Brian Taylor moved off Channel 7’s prime time Friday night AFL coverage
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