Stephanie Brantz
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Brantz is an Australian sports presenter. She began her television career in 2000 on SBS
(2000 - 2006), and has since worked on the Nine Network
(2006 - 2009) and Fox Sports
(2010). She is currently seen on ABC1
, where she has been since late 2010.
in Indooroopilly.
She is married to Fox Sports
football commentator Simon Hill
.
where she became a presenter of On the Ball
in 2000, before filling in as host of Toyota World Sports and later co-hosting the show in 2006 with Les Murray
. She also became the face of SBS during their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
.
In July 2006, just after the World Cup, Brantz was recruited by Nine CEO Eddie McGuire
to front several sporting programmes, including Nine News, The Cricket Show
, Sunday & The Footy Show
.
During the 2006 / 2007 summer season, Brantz presented a weekly highlights show of the National Basketball League
on the Nine Network, which began on October 15, 2006. She also did "analysis and roving reports" for the network's 2006-07 Ashes cricket coverage.
On the 19 February 2007, she was appointed the sports presenter on Nightline.
In 2010, she appeared on Fox Sports News
reading sports news.
In late 2010, Brantz began her duties on ABC1
. She became a sports presenter and reporter on ABC News
. She was the 'side-line commentator' for the W-League (Australia)
, that aired on Saturday afternoons on the network (of the summer of 2010/2011), as well as the host for New South Wales viewers of the Shute Shield
in 2011, also on Saturday afternoons.
and Sydney Football Stadium. At this event, she chats with various commentators from the sport being played at the time.
Stephanie Brantz is also an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
Brantz later clarified her view: "[The media] made a big deal out of the cricketers not speaking to me. What I meant at the time was that the players said if they were losing they'd probably want to talk to someone that had been there before, which meant the commentary team, which was all male. It wasn't something that I thought was a slight or anything. It certainly wasn't a miserable time. I chalked it up to experience."
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(2000 - 2006), and has since worked on 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...
(2006 - 2009) and Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
(2010). She is currently seen on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
, where she has been since late 2010.
Personal life
Brantz, born in Queensland to Dutch parents, began a modelling career in 1985 while attending St Peters Lutheran CollegeSt Peters Lutheran College
St Peters Lutheran College is an independent, co-educational, Lutheran, day and boarding school, situated on a campus in Indooroopilly, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....
in Indooroopilly.
She is married to Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
football commentator Simon Hill
Simon Hill
Simon Hill is an Australian-based association football commentator.-British-based work:After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 1990, Hill began his work in the field of journalism, initially writing for newspapers as a freelance author while studying for the NCTJ Pre-Entry Course in...
.
Television Career
In 2000, she moved to television presenting with SBSSpecial Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
where she became a presenter of On the Ball
On The Ball (SBS television show)
On The Ball was an Australian Special Broadcasting Service television talk show show about soccer, which began around 1984 and ended in 2002....
in 2000, before filling in as host of Toyota World Sports and later co-hosting the show in 2006 with Les Murray
Les Murray (broadcaster)
Les James Murray AM is an Australian sports journalist, football broadcaster and analyst...
. She also became the face of SBS during their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
In July 2006, just after the World Cup, Brantz was recruited by Nine CEO Eddie McGuire
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph "Eddie" McGuire AM is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football and the Channel 9 television network....
to front several sporting programmes, including Nine News, The Cricket Show
The Cricket Show
The Cricket Show is an Australian cricket television show, screened during the lunch breaks of Test matches in Australia on the Nine Network....
, Sunday & The Footy Show
The NRL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award-winning Australian sports variety television programme, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates. Following the success of the AFL program of the same name, the Nine Network quickly developed a version for the rugby league market. The rugby league version has...
.
During the 2006 / 2007 summer season, Brantz presented a weekly highlights show of the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
on the Nine Network, which began on October 15, 2006. She also did "analysis and roving reports" for the network's 2006-07 Ashes cricket coverage.
On the 19 February 2007, she was appointed the sports presenter on Nightline.
In 2010, she appeared on Fox Sports News
Fox Sports News
Fox Sports News is an Australian cable and satellite sports news channel. Owned by Premier Media Group and is the sister channel of Fox Sports.Fox Sports News launched on October 1, 2006. The channel runs live for 19 hours a day, broadcasting sports news...
reading sports news.
In late 2010, Brantz began her duties on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. She became a sports presenter and reporter on ABC News
ABC News (Australia)
ABC News is a national news service produced by the News and Current Affairs division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the division is responsible for all newsgathering and production of news output for ABC television, radio and online services...
. She was the 'side-line commentator' for the W-League (Australia)
W-League (Australia)
The W-League is the preeminent women's semi-professional football league in Australia. Established in 2008, it is composed of eight teams - seven of them are affiliated with seven of the Australian clubs currently in the A-League, with the eighth team based in Canberra...
, that aired on Saturday afternoons on the network (of the summer of 2010/2011), as well as the host for New South Wales viewers of the Shute Shield
Shute Shield
The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded at the end of the Sydney Club Rugby season to the team that wins the Grand Final...
in 2011, also on Saturday afternoons.
Other Roles
As well as her on-air television duties, Brantz is presenter of a pre and post match function at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
and Sydney Football Stadium. At this event, she chats with various commentators from the sport being played at the time.
Stephanie Brantz is also an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
Issues with Channel Nine and cricketers
Brantz's role with Channel Nine came under the spotlight, as she was supposed to interview players during breaks in or at the end of play. Brantz was reported removed from the network's cricket coverage because the players were apparently reluctant to speak with her, preferring to speak to ex-players such as Mark Taylor or Ian Healy. Brantz said "I think the culture needs to change...I think this is perhaps a case of Channel Nine not being quite sure about what to do with a woman in sport." A Cricket Australia spokesman, replied "They [the players] don't have gender concerns and most of the players I know enjoy female company."Brantz later clarified her view: "[The media] made a big deal out of the cricketers not speaking to me. What I meant at the time was that the players said if they were losing they'd probably want to talk to someone that had been there before, which meant the commentary team, which was all male. It wasn't something that I thought was a slight or anything. It certainly wasn't a miserable time. I chalked it up to experience."
External links
- Stephanie's journey from soccer mum to the face of World Cup, Anthony Stavrinos The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
26 February 2006 - Simon and Steph a real team
- Women get second shot at cricket, Annette Sharp The Sun-HeraldThe Sun-HeraldThe Sun-Herald is an Australian tabloid newspaper published on Sundays in Sydney by Fairfax Media. It is the Sunday counterpart of The Sydney Morning Herald. In the 6 months to September 2005, The Sun-Herald had a circulation of 515,000...
12 November 2006