In the past month, the EPL has taken on a fresh new look. The letters and numbers on the kits have been enhanced to improve the readability on TV. Sky Sports and the Premier League have launched their redesign of their web sites. And now Sky Sports’s “Through The Night” program has a completely new look and feel, which debuted on August 5, 2007.

The format of the show is very similar, but what is different is the new set (is it really necessary to have that many banks of computers and TV screens in the background?), the new graphics and titles, what appears to be a longer tease at the beginning of the show where they highlight the main stories of the day and perhaps, which is hard to tell, more intelligent programming.

The new music for the show is more anthemic sounding like something you’d expect to hear in a Hollywood movie such as Gladiator. While it’s quite stirring, it does add a level of professionalism to the show.

Speaking of professionalism, a couple of stories that “Through The Night” touched on this week were more intelligent than usual. One was an interesting piece on the history of football boots and how the new designs from Nike compare with the old-fashioned shoes from the earlier times of football. The other news story was about Portsmouth FC and how they’ve made upgrades to their ground to add roofing to the away end (finally), better facilities for the media, extra seats and a new megastore. Both news stories were of a far better quality than what we’re used to seeing on “Through The Night.”

The show’s graphics and titles are much improved and cleaner, making them a lot easier to read than in the past. For example, the league tables and the two tickers near the bottom of the screen are better organized and less distracting than the previous versions.

I’m glad to see that Sky decided to keep the ‘In The Papers’ section near the end of the show. While it’s somewhat tacky, it’s always refreshing and lighthearted to see what the British tabloids and broadsheets are reporting and how many of them often print conflicting stories based on inconsistencies and mistakes in reporting.

PS - For those readers in the United States who were wondering what happened to Through The Night last week, Fox Soccer Channel informed me that they were experiencing technical difficulties. As you know, everything is fixed now.

Bookmark to: