Super Sunday (British TV programme)

The first match shown on Super Sunday was between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool on 16 August 1992, a match Forest won 1-0. This first broadcast featured a digital on-screen graphic (DOG) throughout the game showing the score and match time. It was the first time a UK broadcaster had done such a thing and DOGs are now part of coverage of virtually all televised sports worldwide.

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In the first four seasons of the programme, Ford Super Sunday – the title due to major sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company – used to start at 2pm, giving viewers two hours build-up before the slightly untraditional kick-off time of 4pm, as opposed to a Saturday kick-off at 3pm. Eventually, Sky decided this was a bit too much, and in 1996 decided to start the programme at 3pm instead. From the 2004–05 season, some Super Sunday coverage started as early as 1:00 pm if two live games were shown that day. From the 2005–06, coverage began at 3:30pm if only one live game was shown.

Sometimes, three live games are shown on Super Sunday, with the games kicking off at 12pm, 2:15pm and 4:30pm respectively. This can happen because of one of two reasons, either Sky selecting three matches for live broadcasting on a Sunday during the three time slots or the Saturday 12:30pm game being rescheduled for Sunday at 12:00pm due to the team featured playing in the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference League the preceding Thursday night. Sunday noon kick-offs are sometimes broadcast on TNT Sports instead.

Sky advertise Super Sunday as showing the Premier League's biggest match of the weekend, but, although they have first pick of live Premier League games on most weekends, there are numerous restrictions which mean the best game does not necessarily kick off at 4:30pm, or is even broadcast on Sky. Police restrictions mean many derby matches must kick off earlier while there are restrictions on the number of times Sky can show each team per season. Additionally, Sky can not move a game to take place on Super Sunday if one of the teams involved is playing in the UEFA Champions League the following Tuesday, in order to give the team time to recover. As Sky are also the broadcasters of the EFL Cup, the final takes centre stage on the network on a Sunday mid-afternoon (usually 4:30pm) in late February/early March, meaning on that particular day, only one Premier League match is broadcast live, usually at 2pm. This was changed to 1:30pm from the 2022-23 season.

In the 2020-21 season, when fans were not allowed to attend matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in all matches being televised, Super Sunday was sometimes expanded to broadcast three matches. The matches at 2pm, 4:30pm were retained, with an extra match that kicked off at 7pm or 7:15pm, depending on the scheduled games that day.

From the 2025-26 season, Sky has the rights to broadcast every match scheduled on a Sunday (except for any matches selected for broadcast on TNT Sports that are moved from their original 12:30pm slot on a Saturday). All 2pm kick-offs are broadcast live individually on separate channels before the featured match takes place at 4:30pm as usual. Additional features to the coverage on the weeks when multiple matches are shown include a dedicated 'multi-view' screening allowing viewers to watch all 2pm matches concurrently, and a special analysis programme entitled Super Sunday Extra Time presented by Jamie Carragher, which is shown after all matches that day have taken place.

Richard Keys had hosted the programme from one of the grounds, usually from that of the second game, alongside Jamie Redknapp and at least one more guest. The panel often introduce the first game with an empty stadium behind them because of the staggered kick-off times. This was until 27 January 2011 when Keys resigned from Sky Sports following allegations of sexist remarks and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace.

Martin Tyler and Andy Gray have been the most regular commentators on Super Sunday, appearing either as a team or split over two matches. When there were two matches, Gray would commentate on the main match and act as a studio pundit for the other game as well as appearing on The Last Word discussion programme alongside Keys immediately after Super Sunday on Sky Sports 1.

However, following sexist comments towards assistant referee Sian Massey in a conversation prior to a match between Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and Liverpool on Saturday, 22 January, Gray was sacked by Sky and soon after Richard Keys handed in his resignation. Keys said:

It would be impossible to go on without Andy.

Keys was permanently replaced by Ed Chamberlin for the 2011-12 season, after Sky were impressed by his presenting on the Survival Sunday coverage at the end of the 2010-11 season. The Last Word discussion programme has been dropped since Keys and Gray's departures. Since Chamberlin's departure from Sky, David Jones is the current presenter of Super Sunday since the 2016-17 season, although in a rotating format - the show is also presented occasionally by Kelly Cates. Beginning from the 2025-26 season, Mark Chapman joined the presenting line-up, alternating the role with Jones and Cates.

On some occasions for the final day of the league season, which usually takes place on the Sunday, the programme is presented from the Sky Sports studios in London instead of from one of the grounds hosting a key match that is being broadcast by Sky. During the 2020-21 season, the programme was largely presented from Sky's London studio due to COVID-19 restrictions on the number of personnel that can be in attendance at matches. Presentation from a football ground was only done at matches of a significant interest during that season.