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John Helm (born 8 July 1942 in Baildon, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English sports commentator who has commentated on football, golf, cricket and rugby league both for ITV and other broadcasters.

Helm is known for being a commentator on the international broadcast feed of various FIFA tournaments; he has provided live commentary at the FIFA World Cup (since 1982), the FIFA U-20 World Cup (since 2001), as well as numerous international football tournaments including youth and women's competitions.^[1]^[2]

Early career

After working his way up through local and national newspapers, where he began his journalistic career in 1959, Helm broke into broadcasting on BBC Radio Leeds and was chosen from a number of local radio broadcasters to cover the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. After this, he joined national BBC Radio Sport, then broadcast mainly on Radio 2's old medium wave (frequencies now used by Five Live).

ITV Sport

Helm's association with the BBC ended in 1981 with a move to ITV company Yorkshire Television, replacing Martin Tyler as the regional station's football commentator. At the end of his first season he was rewarded with a berth on the ITV team for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, covering all of Scotland's matches and the second round group featuring Italy, Brazil and Argentina.

When ITV's regional system of football coverage was largely abolished in 1983, Helm found himself fourth in the network pecking order covering matches for The Big Match and Midweek Sports Special. Martin Tyler and Peter Brackley were chosen above him to cover UEFA Euro 1984 in France, while Brian Moore headed for South America to cover the concurrent England tour of the continent.

In 1985 Helm commentated on the match between Bradford City and Lincoln City in which the Bradford City stadium fire took place, killing 56 supporters. He was subsequently part of the ITV team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, covering a number of key live games including two of Scotland's matches and a second round meeting between Italy and France.

ITV won exclusive rights to live Football League coverage in 1988, but Helm was not to provide commentary on any of their games during the four-year contract, reporting only on highlights. He was part of the ITV commentary team at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, covering a semi-final at USA 1994.

After 1992, when ITV lost the rights to top flight English football, Helm was a regular voice of live football. For the following four years he covered live matches for Yorkshire TV, London Weekend Television and Granada as they carried coverage of the lower leagues. He also continued his network commitments covering live and recorded European football in the early years of the Champions League.

Other networks

Helm had a minor role at Euro '96 in England, and the arrival of Peter Drury in 1998 meant that he had no part to play in the network's coverage of that year's World Cup in France. From there on his ITV work was restricted to recorded highlights in the Yorkshire region, but Helm branched out as a freelancer. International audiences heard him regularly on broadcasts of both the Premier League and the Champions League. He also featured briefly on British Eurosport.

In 2002, FIFA recruited him as one of their commentators for the World Cup in Korea/Japan, and he covered 39 of the 64 matches. He reprised the role at every tournament until 2018, and several other FIFA events. In addition to this, Helm was five's chief football commentator, reporting on UEFA Cup ties and the occasional international.

Helm has also commentated for Radio Robins on Radio Alty and Alty TV who cover Altrincham FC games.

References

^ "Veteran broadcaster Helm offers insights and career highlights". FIFA.com. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
^ "The renowned football commentator shares his tales of following the Three Lions". The Football Association. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

External links

[1] "Veteran broadcaster Helm offers insights and career highlights". FIFA.com. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

[2] "The renowned football commentator shares his tales of following the Three Lions". The Football Association. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

[1]

[2]

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+{{Short description|English sports commentator (born 1942)}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2012}}
+{{Multiple issues|
 {{BLP sources|date=March 2009}}
-{{No footnotes|date=October 2010}}
+{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2010}}
+}}
-'''John Helm''' (born 1942, in [[Baildon]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], [[England]]) is a British sports commentator with over 25 years of network television experience, mainly with [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. Now he is the voice of international broadcasts of the [[FIFA World Cup]] and other events. Helm has also frequently covered other sports - in the main golf, cricket and particularly [[rugby league]] both for ITV and other broadcasters.
+{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
+'''John Helm''' (born 8 July 1942 in [[Baildon]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]) is an English sports commentator who has commentated on [[Association football|football]], golf, cricket and [[rugby league]] both for ITV and other broadcasters.
-==Early career==
-After working his way up through local and national newspapers, where he began his journalistic career in 1959, he broke into broadcasting on [[BBC Radio Leeds]] and was chosen from a number of local radio broadcasters to cover the [[1974 British Commonwealth Games|1974 Commonwealth Games]] in [[Christchurch]], [[New Zealand]]. After this, he joined national [[BBC Radio]] Sport, then broadcast mainly on [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]]'s old [[medium wave]] (frequencies now used by [[BBC Radio Five Live|Five Live]]).
+Helm is known for being a commentator on the international broadcast feed of various [[FIFA]] tournaments; he has provided live commentary at the [[FIFA World Cup]] (since 1982), the [[FIFA U-20 World Cup]] (since 2001), as well as numerous international football tournaments including youth and women's competitions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-08 |title=Veteran broadcaster Helm offers insights and career highlights |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/u20worldcup/fifa-u-20-world-cup-poland-2019/news/origin1904-p.cxm.fifa.comveteran-broadcaster-helm-offers-u-20-world-cup-insights-and-career-highlights |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=FIFA.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-05-17 |title=The renowned football commentator shares his tales of following the Three Lions |url=http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/may/15/what-england-means-john-helm-170520 |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=The Football Association |language=en}}</ref>
-==With ITV Sport==
-His association with the BBC ended in 1981 with a move back to his native county and ITV company [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]], replacing [[Martin Tyler]] as the regional station's football commentator. At the end of his first season he was rewarded with a berth on the ITV team for the [[1982 World Cup]] in Spain, covering all of Scotland's matches and the second round group featuring Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
+==Early career==
-When ITV's regional system of football coverage was largely abolished in 1983, Helm found himself fourth in the network pecking order covering matches for [[The Big Match]] and [[Midweek Sports Special]]. [[Martin Tyler]] and [[Peter Brackley]] were chosen above him to cover [[UEFA Euro 1984]] in France, while [[Brian Moore (commentator)|Brian Moore]] headed for South America to cover the concurrent England tour of the continent.
+After working his way up through local and national newspapers, where he began his journalistic career in 1959, Helm broke into broadcasting on [[BBC Radio Leeds]] and was chosen from a number of local radio broadcasters to cover the [[1974 British Commonwealth Games|1974 Commonwealth Games]] in [[Christchurch]], [[New Zealand]]. After this, he joined national [[BBC Radio]] Sport, then broadcast mainly on [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]]'s old [[medium wave]] (frequencies now used by [[BBC Radio Five Live|Five Live]]).
+==ITV Sport==
-In 1985 Helm commentated on the match between [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] and [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] in which the [[Bradford City stadium fire]] took place, killing 56 supporters.
+Helm's association with the BBC ended in 1981 with a move to ITV company [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]], replacing [[Martin Tyler]] as the regional station's football commentator. At the end of his first season he was rewarded with a berth on the ITV team for the [[1982 World Cup]] in Spain, covering all of Scotland's matches and the second round group featuring Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
+When ITV's regional system of football coverage was largely abolished in 1983, Helm found himself fourth in the network pecking order covering matches for ''[[The Big Match]]'' and ''Midweek Sports Special''. [[Martin Tyler]] and [[Peter Brackley]] were chosen above him to cover [[UEFA Euro 1984]] in France, while [[Brian Moore (commentator)|Brian Moore]] headed for South America to cover the concurrent England tour of the continent.
-Helm was subsequently part of the ITV team at the [[1986 World Cup]] in Mexico - he covered a number of key live games including two of Scotland's matches and a second round meeting between World Champions Italy and European Champions France.
+In 1985 Helm commentated on the match between [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] and [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] in which the [[Bradford City stadium fire]] took place, killing 56 supporters. He was subsequently part of the ITV team at the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]] in Mexico, covering a number of key live games including two of Scotland's matches and a second round meeting between Italy and France.
-ITV won exclusive rights to live [[The Football League|Football League]] coverage in 1988, but Helm was not to provide commentary on any of their games during the four-year contract. He was confined to highlights while the likes of Brian Moore, [[Alan Parry]] and Martin Tyler dominated the scene. He did however feature prominently in the ITV team at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups - covering a semi-final at USA '94.
+ITV won exclusive rights to live [[English Football League|Football League]] coverage in 1988, but Helm was not to provide commentary on any of their games during the four-year contract, reporting only on highlights. He was part of the ITV commentary team at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, covering a semi-final at USA 1994.
-After 1992, when ITV lost the rights to top flight English football, Helm was at least a regular voice of live football. For the following four years he covered live matches for Yorkshire TV, [[London Weekend Television]] and [[Granada TV|Granada]] as they carried coverage of the lower leagues. He also continued his network commitments covering live and recorded European football in the early years of the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]].
+After 1992, when ITV lost the rights to top flight English football, Helm was a regular voice of live football. For the following four years he covered live matches for Yorkshire TV, [[London Weekend Television]] and [[Granada TV|Granada]] as they carried coverage of the lower leagues. He also continued his network commitments covering live and recorded European football in the early years of the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]].
-==Helm with other networks==
-ITV confined him to a minor role at [[Euro '96]] in England and the arrival of [[Peter Drury]] in 1998 meant that he had no part to play in the network's coverage of that year's World Cup in France. From there on his ITV work was restricted to recorded highlights in the Yorkshire region, but Helm branched out as a freelancer. International audiences heard him regularly on broadcasts of both the [[Premier League]] and the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]]. He also featured briefly on [[British Eurosport]].
+==Other networks==
-In 2002, FIFA recruited him as one of their commentators for the World Cup in Korea/Japan. Mainly from the comfort of the International Broadcasting Centre he covered 39 of the 64 matches. It is a role he has reprised at the tournament in Germany in 2006 and several other FIFA events. In addition to this, Helm cultivated a niche role for himself as [[Five (channel)|five]]'s chief football commentator. Their "ad hoc" coverage of UEFA Cup ties and the occasional international ensured that Helm had clocked up a quarter of a century of national TV broadcasting in Britain.
+Helm had a minor role at [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro '96]] in England, and the arrival of [[Peter Drury]] in 1998 meant that he had no part to play in the network's coverage of that year's [[1998 FIFA World Cup|World Cup in France]]. From there on his ITV work was restricted to recorded highlights in the Yorkshire region, but Helm branched out as a freelancer. International audiences heard him regularly on broadcasts of both the [[Premier League]] and the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]]. He also featured briefly on [[British Eurosport]].
+In 2002, FIFA recruited him as one of their commentators for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|World Cup in Korea/Japan]], and he covered 39 of the 64 matches. He reprised the role at every tournament until 2018, and several other FIFA events. In addition to this, Helm was [[Channel 5 (UK)|five]]'s chief football commentator, reporting on UEFA Cup ties and the occasional international.
-In 2010, Helm was heard around the world as one of the main commentators for the FIFA English language world feed at the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|FIFA World Cup]] in South Africa.
+Helm has also commentated for Radio Robins on Radio Alty and Alty TV who cover Altrincham FC games.
-Helm has been employed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a commentator in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
-In 2014, Helm was contracted to provide commentary for the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League.
-Helm is a life long [[Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.|Bradford Park Avenue]] fan.
-John has held the position of President of the Northern U19 Alliance League since 2006.<ref>[http://full-time.thefa.com/gen/Index.do?league=7166491 Full-time.thefa.com] retrieved 13 July 2014</ref>
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/womensworldcup/china2007/news/newsid=604427.html "'The best job in the world'" John Helm profile piece, FIFA.com]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100618113625/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/womensworldcup/china2007/news/newsid=604427.html "'The best job in the world'" John Helm profile piece, FIFA.com]
-*[http://www.tssonnet.com/tss2846/stories/20051112004506200.htm "Describing the beautiful game" John Helm profile piece, Sportstar]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120309033522/http://www.tssonnet.com/tss2846/stories/20051112004506200.htm "Describing the beautiful game" John Helm profile piece, Sportstar]
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              =Helm, John
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British commentator
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1942
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    = [[Baildon]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], [[England]], [[UK]]
-| DATE OF DEATH     =
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, John}}
+[[Category:English sports broadcasters]]
-[[Category:British sports broadcasters]]
+[[Category:English association football commentators]]
-[[Category:British association football commentators]]
 [[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:1942 births]]