John Dykes is an international sports broadcaster, especially well known in Asia after working for almost a decade as host of ESPN STAR Sports' coverage of the Premier League and European football.
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Dykes was born in Essex, England in 1964, went to Brentwood School and left England when he was 18.
He began his media career as a college radio DJ whilst studying English Literature at Warwick University. A move to Hong Kong led to a successful stint at the South China Morning Post, where he was a Sports Writer, Feature Writer and Entertainment Editor for the Sunday Edition. During his time in Hong Kong, he also covered both sports and entertainment beats as a showbiz presenter at TVB. He hosted TVB's live coverage of the Academy Awards for five straight years.
At the start of his career at ESPN STAR, Dykes hosted tournaments across diverse sports such as tennis, golf, cricket and rugby. Highlights of his time with ESPN STAR Sports include his anchoring the broadcast of cricket's 1999 World Cup in England, trips to Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows to work alongside Vijay Amritraj on Grand Slam tennis, and his work in Augusta for Tiger Woods' triumph at the 2001 Masters. Over the years, he has been the host of Inside Cricket and The Formula One pre-show, Raceday, as well as launching Sportsline - the predecessor to SportsCenter - in India.
From 2001 to 2010, Dykes hosted football on ESPN Star Sports including Live Matchday coverage of the Barclays Premier League, post-match (Final Score), Football Focus and First Edition. Dykes was joined by Sky Sports' Richard Keys for First Edition, which rounded-up the major footballing stories across European newsprint. His departure from ESPN Star Sports was announced in March 2010 and he hosted his final shows in May 2010.
In March 2010 it was announced that John Dykes would take up a job as lead presenter for the Premier League's content service that launched in August 2010. The service, a 24-7, year-round channel specifically for its licensees, is a showcase for the 20 Premier League clubs, providing international broadcasters with a range of new English language, studio based output.
He was based in Asia for over 20 years and holds Singapore permanent residency, having lived there since 1997 with his wife and two daughters.