Eddie McGuire
Encyclopedia
Edward Joseph "Eddie" McGuire AM
(born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football
and the Channel 9 television network
.
McGuire is the current president of the Collingwood Football Club
and the current host of Channel Nine program Millionaire Hot Seat
and Million Dollar Money Drop
Australia. He is also the host of The Hot Breakfast
With Eddie McGuire on Triple M Melbourne. He has worked as a journalist, sports broadcaster and business entrepreneur. McGuire has hosted the Nine Network's The AFL Footy Show
, the Australian version of game shows Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
and 1 vs. 100
. He is a former CEO
of the Nine Network
, resigning on 30 June 2007. He returned to commentating Friday night football in August 2007 when he began a new contract with Melbourne radio station SEN 1116
to commentate one match a round.
McGuire is also a member of the Australian Government's Social Inclusion Board.
He and older brother Frank McGuire
both won scholarships to Christian Brothers College. Frank McGuire, who worked as a newspaper sports reporter, helped McGuire to get his first job in the media as an Australian Rules Football
statistician and cricket reporter for The Herald (1978–1982). Later he became a cadet sports reporter for Network Ten
and then transferred, in 1993, to the Nine Network
where he became the host of a sports variety program,
In April 1999, he began hosting the Australian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
, a successful Australian franchise of the globally exported television game show. He hosted the program from its première on 18 April 1999 until 3 April 2006. Eddie briefly returned to the show after an 18-month hiatus in 2007.
McGuire hosted the annual Australian Logie Award
s show in 2003
, 2004
and 2005
.
McGuire also hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve 1999–00 telecast.
McGuire was a football radio caller at Triple M
, a station which had previously concentrated on wall-to-wall rock music. He also wrote a football review for The Herald' s successor The Herald Sun, as well as becoming involved in a variety of sports and media-related business ventures.
McGuire was a prominent campaigner for Australian republicanism (the movement for replacement of the British monarch as Australia's head of state). He was elected as a delegate to represent Victoria at the 1998 Constitutional Convention
, which led to the 1999 referendum.
, an Australian Rules Football
club which was then in financial and on-field difficulties. Results on the field were slow in coming, with Collingwood finishing 16th, the last position ("wooden spoon"), in his first year in charge. In 2002 and 2003 they played in successive losing grand-finals against the Brisbane Lions
.
2010 brought "tears of joy" for McGuire when Collingwood defeated St Kilda in the AFL Grand Final
replay. The first match resulted in a draw, prompting McGuire to say before the replay that "he had seen more drawn Collingwood Grand Finals (1977 and 2010) than he had seen premierships".
, filling a vacancy created by the departure of David Gyngell
in May 2005. McGuire had to sacrifice his on-air commitments including hosting The AFL Footy Show
and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
, as well as AFL commentary, for what turned out to be a very short term tenure.
According to Business Review Weekly
McGuire's on-air salary was $
3.5 million a year. Gyngell had earned $1.1 million a year by comparison. According to the 2006 PBL annual report, McGuire is reported to be on a $4 million fixed remuneration contract.
In May 2006, McGuire travelled to Beaconsfield
, Tasmania
to rally Nine News
reporters covering the mine collapse
. McGuire came out of on-air retirement to host the event, which was broadcast as part of The AFL Footy Show
(both versions).
Before leaving for the Munich edition of The Footy Show he announced the elimination of 100 jobs, most in news and current affairs. Despite a vigorous publicity campaign by the CEO these cost-cutting measures severely damaged morale at the network. On one program McGuire's required job-cuts exceeded the actual number of employees. This raised questions in both the media and within Channel 9 itself about the competence of Nine's executives.
The troubles worsened when an affidavit written by a Channel 9 executive affected by the purges was leaked to the press and Nine failed in its attempts to suppress it. It contained allegations regarding McGuire's treatment of employees. The document's author, Mark Llewellyn (previous head of news and current affairs who has since found work at Channel 7), claimed that McGuire and his staff had told him that he would be forced to "eat a shit sandwich" (accept a dramatic pay-cut). He also recalled conversations with McGuire where the CEO had spoken of wanting to "bone" (fire) Jessica Rowe
, co-host of the network's Today
show. Following these allegations McGuire guaranteed Rowe her position on the program. McGuire has strongly denied the allegations. On 6 May 2007, Llewellyn's position was vindicated when it was announced that Jessica Rowe would not be returning to Channel 9.
McGuire's decision to force Jana Wendt
off the Sunday program backfired with the relaunch of the show on 3 September 2006. The Nine Network's switchboard was flooded with an unprecedented number of calls complaining about the new format and hosts.
This episode was considered by many in the media as a failure by the 'P-plated CEO' (a term coined by Sydney tabloids) to manage the network in a professional and ethical manner. It also fuelled speculation as to his longevity in his position as CEO of Nine.
On 18 May 2007, McGuire announced he would be "resigning" as CEO of the Nine network and would be taking on a new position in programming services as well as more on-screen roles. He officially resigned as CEO on 30 June 2007.
.
On 9 June 2007, McGuire temporarily took over hosting duties of A Current Affair while regular host Tracy Grimshaw
was on leave. This saw the ratings of the show increase with 1.42 million viewers tuning in to watch on his first night of hosting. Rival program Today Tonight still beat ACA with 1.470 million viewers. The ratings for ACA slumped to 1.217 million viewers the following Tuesday whilst Today Tonight achieved 1.549 million viewers.
In February 2009, McGuire hosted a telethon for the victims of the Victorian bushfires
. He also hosted a telethon from Brisbane
on 9 January 2011 for the 2010–2011 Queensland flood
victims alongside Leila McKinnon
and Karl Stefanovic
at the Suncorp Piazza
.
Since April 2009, McGuire has hosted the weeknights game-show Millionaire Hot Seat
program. This show has aired at 5.30pm.
In early 2011, McGuire hosted another quiz prime time quiz show, The Million Dollar Drop
, lasting only for six episodes. He then became the host of the sports-themed quiz show, Between The Lines. His return was short lived when the show quickly failed in the ratings, being axed by Channel 9 after only three episodes had been to air. The fourth and final episode was broadcast on 2 June 2011.
McGuire will join Fox Sports in 2012 in an AFL commentary and program pannelist role, while still remaining at the Nine Network
to host Millionire Hot Seat and the station's Olympic coverage. As part of his new contract with Fox Sports however, he will be spared commentating on matches involving to avoid a conflict of interests.
He was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal
(2001) "for service to Australian Football".
comedy television program CNNNN featured a satirical
skit
about his permeation of Australian media called the “Eddie McGuire Virus”.
On 9 January 2005, in keeping with his nickname, McGuire was on Australia's three commercial TV networks (Seven, Nine, Ten) at the same time, hosting a show simulcast
on the networks to raise money for the 2004 Asian Tsunami victims.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and the Channel 9 television network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
.
McGuire is the current president of the Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and the current host of Channel Nine program Millionaire Hot Seat
Millionaire Hot Seat
Hot Seat is a spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire that began airing on Australia's Nine Network on 20 April 2009, and is hosted by Eddie McGuire, as with the original version of the show...
and Million Dollar Money Drop
Million Dollar Money Drop
Million Dollar Money Drop is a game show which aired on Fox in the United States and Canada. It is based on the U.K. series The Million Pound Drop Live. However, unlike the original UK version, it was not broadcast live, and there were several changes to the format...
Australia. He is also the host of The Hot Breakfast
The Hot Breakfast
The Hot Breakfast is an Australian breakfast radio show that broadcasts weekday mornings from 6 am to 9 am AEST on Triple M Melbourne. It commenced broadcasting on Monday, 7 September 2009....
With Eddie McGuire on Triple M Melbourne. He has worked as a journalist, sports broadcaster and business entrepreneur. McGuire has hosted the Nine Network's The AFL Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
, the Australian version of game shows Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Australian game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was an Australian television game show which would offer a maximum cash prize of $1,000,000 for answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty as a team...
and 1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 (Australian game show)
1 vs. 100 was an Australian spin-off game show based on the American version of the same name and the original Dutch version created by Endemol. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win one million dollars...
. He is a former CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, resigning on 30 June 2007. He returned to commentating Friday night football in August 2007 when he began a new contract with Melbourne radio station SEN 1116
SEN 1116
SEN 1116 , the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating on 1116 kHz...
to commentate one match a round.
McGuire is also a member of the Australian Government's Social Inclusion Board.
Early media career
McGuire grew up in the working-class suburb of BroadmeadowsBroadmeadows, Victoria
Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume...
He and older brother Frank McGuire
Frank McGuire (Australian politician)
Frank McGuire is an Australian politician representing the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Broadmeadows for the Australian Labor Party since the 2011 Broadmeadows by-election....
both won scholarships to Christian Brothers College. Frank McGuire, who worked as a newspaper sports reporter, helped McGuire to get his first job in the media as an Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
statistician and cricket reporter for The Herald (1978–1982). Later he became a cadet sports reporter for Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and then transferred, in 1993, to the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
where he became the host of a sports variety program,
TV hosting: 1994–2006
Maguire's role at Nine expanded when he became the host of The Footy Show (AFL) in 1994. He remained on the show until 2005.In April 1999, he began hosting the Australian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Australian game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was an Australian television game show which would offer a maximum cash prize of $1,000,000 for answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty as a team...
, a successful Australian franchise of the globally exported television game show. He hosted the program from its première on 18 April 1999 until 3 April 2006. Eddie briefly returned to the show after an 18-month hiatus in 2007.
McGuire hosted the annual Australian Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
s show in 2003
Logie Awards of 2003
The 45th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 11 May 2003 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Eddie McGuire from the Nine Network was all Master of Ceremonies...
, 2004
Logie Awards of 2004
The 46th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday, 18 April 2004 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Eddie McGuire presided as Master of Ceremonies for the second year in a row, and the awards featured special guest Mel Brooks...
and 2005
Logie Awards of 2005
The 47th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 1 May 2005 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. In an historic first Andrew O'Keefe from the Seven Network, Eddie McGuire from the Nine Network and Rove McManus from Network Ten were all Master of Ceremonies...
.
McGuire also hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve 1999–00 telecast.
McGuire was a football radio caller at Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
, a station which had previously concentrated on wall-to-wall rock music. He also wrote a football review for The Herald
McGuire was a prominent campaigner for Australian republicanism (the movement for replacement of the British monarch as Australia's head of state). He was elected as a delegate to represent Victoria at the 1998 Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Convention (Australia)
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-1891 convention:The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand. There...
, which led to the 1999 referendum.
Collingwood Football Club
On 29 October 1998, McGuire was elected by the vote of the members as president of Collingwood Football ClubCollingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, an Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club which was then in financial and on-field difficulties. Results on the field were slow in coming, with Collingwood finishing 16th, the last position ("wooden spoon"), in his first year in charge. In 2002 and 2003 they played in successive losing grand-finals against the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
.
2010 brought "tears of joy" for McGuire when Collingwood defeated St Kilda in the AFL Grand Final
2010 AFL Grand Final
The 2010 AFL Grand Final is either of two Australian rules football contests between the Collingwood Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. Together they are considered the 114th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, and were staged to determine the...
replay. The first match resulted in a draw, prompting McGuire to say before the replay that "he had seen more drawn Collingwood Grand Finals (1977 and 2010) than he had seen premierships".
Football media
Despite Lane's resignation, Friday Night Football proved a huge success for Channel Nine, in no small part due to the presence of, in his own words, "the biggest name on the Nine Network", McGuire himself. McGuire also claimed that a recent decline in ratings for Friday night telecasts was partly because "I didn't do football this year."CEO of the Nine Network
On 9 February 2006 it was announced that McGuire would become the new CEO of the Nine NetworkNine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, filling a vacancy created by the departure of David Gyngell
David Gyngell
David Gyngell is the CEO of Australian commercial broadcasting network Channel Nine. He is currently serving his second stint as CEO after resigning from the job in May 2005...
in May 2005. McGuire had to sacrifice his on-air commitments including hosting The AFL Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Australian game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was an Australian television game show which would offer a maximum cash prize of $1,000,000 for answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty as a team...
, as well as AFL commentary, for what turned out to be a very short term tenure.
According to Business Review Weekly
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
McGuire's on-air salary was $
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
3.5 million a year. Gyngell had earned $1.1 million a year by comparison. According to the 2006 PBL annual report, McGuire is reported to be on a $4 million fixed remuneration contract.
In May 2006, McGuire travelled to Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield, Tasmania
Beaconsfield is a town near the Tamar River, in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 40 kilometres north of Launceston on the West Tamar Highway. It is part of the Municipality of West Tamar...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
to rally Nine News
National Nine News
Nine News is the news service of the Australian Nine Network.Nine News's flagship bulletin is the nightly 6:00pm localised bulletin, produced by networked owned-and-operated stations in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Darwin alongside localised bulletins produced by the WIN-owned Nine Network...
reporters covering the mine collapse
Beaconsfield mine collapse
The Beaconsfield Mine collapse occurred on 25 April 2006 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia. Of the 17 people who were in the mine at the time, 14 escaped immediately following the collapse, one was killed and the remaining two were found alive using a remote-controlled device...
. McGuire came out of on-air retirement to host the event, which was broadcast as part of The AFL Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
(both versions).
Before leaving for the Munich edition of The Footy Show he announced the elimination of 100 jobs, most in news and current affairs. Despite a vigorous publicity campaign by the CEO these cost-cutting measures severely damaged morale at the network. On one program McGuire's required job-cuts exceeded the actual number of employees. This raised questions in both the media and within Channel 9 itself about the competence of Nine's executives.
The troubles worsened when an affidavit written by a Channel 9 executive affected by the purges was leaked to the press and Nine failed in its attempts to suppress it. It contained allegations regarding McGuire's treatment of employees. The document's author, Mark Llewellyn (previous head of news and current affairs who has since found work at Channel 7), claimed that McGuire and his staff had told him that he would be forced to "eat a shit sandwich" (accept a dramatic pay-cut). He also recalled conversations with McGuire where the CEO had spoken of wanting to "bone" (fire) Jessica Rowe
Jessica Rowe
Jessica Rowe is an Australian television news presenter. Rowe attended Sydney Girls High School in Sydney, and completed a Communications degree at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. During her studies she was a broadcaster with on-campus community radio station 2MCE-FM...
, co-host of the network's Today
Today (Australian TV program)
Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982...
show. Following these allegations McGuire guaranteed Rowe her position on the program. McGuire has strongly denied the allegations. On 6 May 2007, Llewellyn's position was vindicated when it was announced that Jessica Rowe would not be returning to Channel 9.
McGuire's decision to force Jana Wendt
Jana Wendt
-Early life:Wendt was born to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, and was educated at the University of Melbourne.-Career:Wendt's television career began as a news presenter for ATV-10 evening news...
off the Sunday program backfired with the relaunch of the show on 3 September 2006. The Nine Network's switchboard was flooded with an unprecedented number of calls complaining about the new format and hosts.
This episode was considered by many in the media as a failure by the 'P-plated CEO' (a term coined by Sydney tabloids) to manage the network in a professional and ethical manner. It also fuelled speculation as to his longevity in his position as CEO of Nine.
On 18 May 2007, McGuire announced he would be "resigning" as CEO of the Nine network and would be taking on a new position in programming services as well as more on-screen roles. He officially resigned as CEO on 30 June 2007.
TV hosting: 2007 – present
In January 2007, McGuire returned to the TV screen, hosting the Australian version of the quiz show, 1 vs. 1001 vs. 100 (Australian game show)
1 vs. 100 was an Australian spin-off game show based on the American version of the same name and the original Dutch version created by Endemol. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win one million dollars...
.
On 9 June 2007, McGuire temporarily took over hosting duties of A Current Affair while regular host Tracy Grimshaw
Tracy Grimshaw
Tracy Grimshaw is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She is currently the host of A Current Affair, and was a co-host of Today for nine years.-Career:...
was on leave. This saw the ratings of the show increase with 1.42 million viewers tuning in to watch on his first night of hosting. Rival program Today Tonight still beat ACA with 1.470 million viewers. The ratings for ACA slumped to 1.217 million viewers the following Tuesday whilst Today Tonight achieved 1.549 million viewers.
In February 2009, McGuire hosted a telethon for the victims of the Victorian bushfires
February 2009 Victorian bushfires
The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009...
. He also hosted a telethon from Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on 9 January 2011 for the 2010–2011 Queensland flood
2010–2011 Queensland floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was...
victims alongside Leila McKinnon
Leila McKinnon
Leila McKinnon is an Australian journalist.McKinnon is currently co-host of Weekend Today an is also a reporter and fill in presenter for Nine News and A Current Affair.-Career:...
and Karl Stefanovic
Karl Stefanovic
Karl Stefanovic is an Australian Gold Logie winning television presenter.Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the Nine Network's breakfast program, Today.-Early years:...
at the Suncorp Piazza
Suncorp Piazza
thumb|250px|alt=Suncorp Piazza|Northern side of the piazza.The Suncorp Piazza is a multi-purpose venue in Brisbane, Australia. It was inspired by the popular Piazza performance venue built for World Expo 88 and remains today at South Bank Parklands, the transformed Expo site...
.
Since April 2009, McGuire has hosted the weeknights game-show Millionaire Hot Seat
Millionaire Hot Seat
Hot Seat is a spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire that began airing on Australia's Nine Network on 20 April 2009, and is hosted by Eddie McGuire, as with the original version of the show...
program. This show has aired at 5.30pm.
In early 2011, McGuire hosted another quiz prime time quiz show, The Million Dollar Drop
The Million Dollar Drop
The Million Dollar Drop is a game show which airs on Nine Network in Australia. It is based on the U.S. series Million Dollar Money Drop. However, unlike the original UK version, it is not broadcast live, and there are several changes to the format...
, lasting only for six episodes. He then became the host of the sports-themed quiz show, Between The Lines. His return was short lived when the show quickly failed in the ratings, being axed by Channel 9 after only three episodes had been to air. The fourth and final episode was broadcast on 2 June 2011.
McGuire will join Fox Sports in 2012 in an AFL commentary and program pannelist role, while still remaining at the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
to host Millionire Hot Seat and the station's Olympic coverage. As part of his new contract with Fox Sports however, he will be spared commentating on matches involving to avoid a conflict of interests.
Honours
McGuire's service to Australia has been recognised by the award of Member of the Order of Australia (2005) "for service to the community, particularly through support for health care and welfare organisations, and to broadcasting".He was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal was an award given during 2000 to recognise achievements in Australian sport.Recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, office holders, and people who maintained sporting facilities and services. Over 18,000 Medals were...
(2001) "for service to Australian Football".
In popular culture
McGuire's one-time near-ubiquity in Channel Nine programming led him to be nicknamed Eddie Everywhere. In 2004 the ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
comedy television program CNNNN featured a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
skit
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
about his permeation of Australian media called the “Eddie McGuire Virus”.
On 9 January 2005, in keeping with his nickname, McGuire was on Australia's three commercial TV networks (Seven, Nine, Ten) at the same time, hosting a show simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on the networks to raise money for the 2004 Asian Tsunami victims.
Publications
- McGuire, Eddie and Jim Main. Pants: The Darren Millane Story. Melbourne: Modern Publishing Group, 1994. ISBN 1875481532
- McGuire, Eddie and Jim Main. The Footy Show screamers: Wit and wisdom of Dermott, Doug, Jason, Rex, Sam, Tim-God, Plugger and more! Melbourne: Wilkinson Books, 1994. ISBN 0546651291
Further reading
- Stone, Gerald. Who Killed Channel 9?: The Death of Kerry Packer's Mighty TV Dream Machine. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, 2007. ISBN 9781405038157