Daily Mail: Jake Humphrey to leave BT Sport after a decade

Story from Daily Mail:

Jake Humphrey has announced he is leaving his role as main anchor at BT Sport after ten years.

Humphrey, who has hosted the channel's Premier League and Champions League coverage for a decade, revealed on Friday that he'll soon be 'stepping back' from the position.

The 44-year-old says his departure will allow him to 'pursue other projects', such as his High Performance podcast.

Following his exit, the company will need to find a new main anchor and it appears they already have a replacement in mind.

Mail Sport revealed that BT Sport want Laura Woods to present their Premier League coverage next season, as part of their rebrand as TNT Sports this summer.

It could spell a huge change in football's television coverage within the UK and, in the wake of the news, Humphrey took to social media to pen an emotional farewell.

Humphrey wrote on Twitter: 'After 10 wonderful years, I am stepping back from BT. As a football fan, hosting Premier League matches, FA Cup games and European Finals has meant the world to me. It has been my dream job. I’ve loved being a very small part of a world class production team.

'I also feel blessed to have shared the screen with legends of the game and incredible broadcasters, who have become friends. Thank you all.'

Humphrey also discussed the growth of Whisper Group, his award-winning broadcast production agency.

He wrote: 'When I joined BT in 2013 I didn’t have children, Whisper Group was in its infancy and I didn’t even know what a podcast was!

'A decade on, Whisper now has hundreds of team members who I want to work with more, and the impact of High Performance amazes me daily. I’m also not ashamed to say I remain hugely ambitious.

'Stepping back from BT will allow me space to pursue other projects and fulfil other ambitions. I'm excited. To everyone that's watched and commented, both good and bad (!), thank you! It's been a blast...'

Humphrey has been a familiar face on BT, working alongside pundits such as Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen.

It is likely that his final game with BT will be the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10.

Prior to joining BT Sport, Humphrey covered various sports for the BBC, including F1. He was previously a children's television presenter.

The offer to Woods includes presenting live matches and involvement in other programming.

Woods currently presents the morning breakfast show on talkSPORT, for which she has won several awards, after hosting ITV’s World Cup coverage in Qatar last year.

BT Sport are axing their popular Score football programme, with the channel's on-screen talent told the show will no longer exist as of next season.

BT show a live Premier League game at 12.30pm each Saturday, with many viewers then staying tuned in to watch Score immediately after.

Hosted by Jules Breach, BT's equivalent to Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday and BBC One's Final Score updates fans on scores from up and down the country.

A panel of pundits including Chris Sutton and Robbie Savage provide their expertise from a lavish studio in Stratford, London.

BT Sport is changing its name to TNT Sports after being bought by Warner Bros Discovery.