EXCLUSIVE: Mark Chapman will present Sky Sports’ coverage of the Carabao Cup from next season as broadcaster sign up BBC star and Match of the Day 2 host
- Mark Chapman had been in talks over replacing Jeff Stelling on Soccer Saturday
- That fell through but Sky Sports remained interested and have role for him
- Popular broadcaster will front their coverage of Carabao Cup from next season
- Versatile presenter from Manchester has been with the BBC since 1996
Sky Sports have signed BBC star Mark Chapman to present their Carabao Cup coverage from next season.
As Sportsmail revealed, the broadcaster had been in talks with the Manchester-based presenter to take over from Jeff Stelling at Soccer Saturday.
After that move failed to materialise, Stelling performed a U-turn over his retirement.
Mark Chapman will front Sky Sports’ coverage of the Carabao Cup from next season
However, Sky remained keen on Chapman, who will now front their coverage of the competition next season.
The broadcaster is a mainstay with the BBC across a variety of shows on both television and radio.
Chapman, from Sale, Manchester, has been with the BBC since 1996. After reading sport bulletins on Radio 1 he made what has been a successful switch to 5 Live in 2010.
Chapman (left) had been Sky’s preferred option to take over from Jeff Stelling on Soccer Saturday before the veteran of the programme decided to reverse his decision
He has presented a number of programmes on radio and on television and replaced Mark Pougatch on Saturdays in 2016.
Chapman also presented the broadcaster’s NFL coverage until November 2020, and currently hosts shows on The Athletic’s podcast network, too.
Listening figures for Radio 5 Live’s Saturday show, at around 1.7m, are the highest the broadcaster has pulled for four years.