Jim Rosenthal
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Jim Rosenthal (born 6 November 1947) is a sports presenter on British television.
As a child he grew up in Oxford and attended Magdalen College School. Rosenthal has always been a loyal supporter of his childhood home team of Oxford United.
His apprenticeship was served on newspapers and BBC local and national radio. In his radio career he spent time as a cricket commentator, and has even tried his hand at acting in Renford Rejects and Footballers Wives. In his television career, which began when he joined ITV in August 1980, he has presented football, boxing and athletics, plus other minor sports. He has also been part of the teams covering World Cup Football since 1982 and The Olympics.
He was the presenter for Formula One (F1) on ITV for eight years and has presented over 150 Grand Prix since 1997. Initially unpopular with motorsport fans[citation needed] (owing to his never having even watched a Formula One race), Rosenthal grew into his role as ITV F1 anchor, and gained popularity with his direct questioning of leading figures in the sport. His mastery of the well prepared cliché (e.g., "he's made his point with eighth place"), is something few other presenters can match.
Rosenthal was named Royal Television Society Sports Presenter of the Year in 1997 and 1999 and has won other awards at home and abroad. He was the main anchor of ITV's BAFTA winning coverage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which took him to Australia for the final.
2005 saw him return to boxing as ITV got back in the ring on Saturday nights. In October 2005, it was announced that Steve Rider had been recruited by ITV from BBC Sport, to assume Rosenthal's former role for the 2006 Formula One season.
Rosenthal instead became the new 'face' of ITV Champions League football coverage, as well as their boxing output. He left by saying: "Covering Formula One has been an amazing time for me and I've really enjoyed the sport, but I don't think I ever made a secret of the fact that football is my first love."
In 2006, Rosenthal worked on his seventh World Cup and he continues to front ITV's Big Fight Live boxing coverage throughout the year. He also presents ITV4's Champions League Live show and the channel's live match coverage.
Internationally, Rosenthal regularly hosts the UEFA Gala Dinner in Monaco, a football spectacular that is broadcast across the world.
