Whenever you need us this Christmas and wherever you are, Sky Sports is on hand to provide extra festive fare with a feast of interviews, features and highlights of 2016.
On our eight channels, on our digital platforms and across social media, we’ve got your seasonal sporting favourites covered – browse through the selections below to find something special just for you. Merry Christmas!
(And if you’re spending Sunday with Sky Q in the household, remember to access the Sky Sports News HQ app via the Sidebar button – the split-screen option is sure to come in handy!)
There’s so many gifts to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start! How about two exclusive Sky Sports News HQ interviews to kick things off? Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is in the company of Jamie Redknapp, while new Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce meets Geoff Shreeves to talk about his new job, and his old one with England. SSN HQ will also be catching up with Adebayo ‘The Beast’ Akinfenwa ahead of Wycombe’s Sky Bet League Two clash at Plymouth Argyle on Boxing Day, and a Goals Express Xmas Special at 9.30am, 12.30pm and 5.30pm provides regular netbusting tonic through the day.
Sky Sports 2 HD is choc-full of football on Christmas Day. If you missed Soccer AM with Chelsea legends John Terry and Frank Lampard, it’s repeated at 10.30am and 5pm; there’s a festive Soccer Special at midday and 2pm; ‘Joe Hart: Italian Job’ sees Matt Murray catching up with the England goalkeeper on loan at Torino (2.30pm); and ‘Gareth Bale: Year of the Dragon’ (3pm) charts an extraordinary 2016 for the Wales and Real Madrid star. For England fans of a certain vintage, The Boys of ’66 (7pm) and the accompanying MNF Special (8.30pm) will spark some evening nostalgia.
Thoughts will soon turn to the Boxing Day programme. Looking back, we’ve got the best Premier League goals scored on December 26, plus we look at your club’s record on that date in years gone by. Looking ahead, Paul Merson and David Prutton provide the predictions, we pose some questions that need answers in our regular talking points preview and there’s advice from our experts with £1m up for grabs in Super 6.
On Monday itself, head to SS1 for all your live football – in the Premier League, Watford host Palace from 12pm, while Hull entertain Manchester City from 5pm. Finally, from 7.30pm, we’ll bring you Newcastle’s clash at home to Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship.
On Tuesday, same channel, three more live games – Brighton v QPR (12pm) and Derby v Birmingham (2.45pm) in the Championship, followed by Liverpool v Stoke (5pm) in the Premier League. Wednesday’s live game is Southampton v Tottenham (7.30pm).
If you’re still not satisfied, get stuck into our Quiz of the Year; read our pundits’ Christmas stories; make suggestions for a Christmas-themed XI; and reflect on your club’s best and worst days of 2016.
Nico Rosberg won’t have to watch what he eats on Christmas Day, after F1’s new world champion sensationally retired from the sport just five days after beating Lewis Hamilton to the drivers’ title. And Sky Sports F1 has plenty to keep you well nourished throughout proceedings, with a host of must-see programmes. Relive a dramatic 2016 season with our hour-long season review, airing at 7am, 12pm and 6pm, while you can also catch up on Martin Brundle’s exclusive interview with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
From engine fires and huge shunts to crowd-surfing and emotional retirements, 2016 had it all and you can check out our best pictures of the season in a three-part special, starting here. After Christmas dinner, why not replace your traditional family quiz with our 15-question Quiz of the Year, and see who finishes top of the podium in your house.
And finally, check out our F1 in 2017 section, which has everything you need to know about rule changes, race schedule and car launch dates, to get you in the mood for the new season.
Cricket
There should be no need to use the DRS this Christmas Day for lovers of cricket, with plenty of content and live action to keep everyone happy.
Make sure you’re plumb in front of the TV for our two special programmes airing on Sunday afternoon. ‘Jack Russell: Portrait of an Artist’ is on SS2 at 1.30pm and 3.30pm (and also On Demand), while the England Women on tour special is on SS2 and Sky Sports Mix at 4pm.
If you need a break from your relatives, why not challenge yourself with our quiz, which has three levels of difficulty – easy, medium and hard. Also, reflect on an action-packed 2016 in the world of cricket and look ahead to a ‘dream year’ with Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.
And why not end the day with a spot of live one-day international cricket? New Zealand take on Bangladesh from 9.55pm on SS2 and if that’s not enough live cricket for you, get up at 7.55am on Boxing Day for live coverage on the same channel of day one of the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka, which continues throughout the week.
England coach Eddie Jones will be a satisfied man on Christmas Day after guiding his charges to an unbeaten year. Jones and his players feature among the picks from pundits Stuart Barnes and Will Greenwood as they look back on the past 12 months. And with a bumper 23 questions to tackle, you should feel as satisfied as Jones if you rack up a big score in our Quiz of the Year…
Meanwhile, there’s live Guinness PRO12 rugby coming very soon on Sky Sports 2 HD, with Munster v Leinster (5.15pm) the offering on Boxing Day, and Ospreys v Scarlets (2.45pm) televised on Tuesday.
With traditional warm-up matches taking place on Boxing Day and on Tuesday, rugby league remains a firm fixture on the Christmas sporting schedule – and it’s only a little over a month before Super League XXII arrives live on Sky Sports. Leeds host Wakefield at 11.30am on Monday and the Rhinos’ Aussie forward Adam Cuthbertson will be showing SSN HQ what training at this time of year is all about.
Meanwhile, the Rhinos feature along with their rivals on our Super League Christmas wish list feature – what do they all need to succeed in 2017? And if you’ve got some spending money, you’ll be wanting your club’s new kit – see the Super League strips here.
Golf
Beef for Christmas dinner?! Unusual perhaps, but who could turn down an invitation from Andrew Johnston… catch up with one of golf’s most charismatic stars on SSN HQ today.
Johnston finished eighth at the 145th Open Championship at Troon, which features among Ewen Murray’s memories of a marvellous 2016. The USA were emphatic winners over Europe at the Ryder Cup – reviewed in full for us here by Andrew Coltart – and you can relive the drama of Hazeltine for yourself on SS4 from 12pm.
Naturally, there’s a 2016 quiz to attempt – and plenty more ‘best of the year’ features in our Golf section for you to read (for example, look back at the numbers that mattered or our favourite holes-in-one at the majors) and if you need some inspiration for what film to watch after dinner, cast your vote in our ‘Best golf movie’ poll.
Boxing
It’s been a belting year of boxing on Sky Sports, and 2017 is set to produce more thrillers in the ring. Fans will have to wait until January for the next live action, but we’ve still got plenty of features across our channels to get you through the festive season.
Had enough of the traditional family board games after Christmas lunch? Why not test your knowledge of an eventful year for the sport in our annual quiz… and for some light relief, watch our video of the year’s more light-hearted moments, including comedian Kevin Hart’s boxing lesson with Anthony Joshua.
Tony Bellew, Anthony Crolla and Kell Brook all feature as we look back on some of the highlight bouts from the past 12 months; the heavyweight division gets special treatment after a particularly eventful 12 months; while Sky Sports Head of Boxing Adam Smith gives his take on a superb period for British boxing in the video below.
And one for Monday – tune in to Sky Sports 2 HD at 9pm on Boxing Day for a special Fight Night programme, as our team review all the top battles and talking points from a memorable year.
Tennis
He’s top of the tree for Christmas – and we’re celebrating Andy Murray’s achievements with Andy Murray: World No 1, showing on SS5 at 11am, 4pm and 7pm.
Remind yourself of the Brit’s most brilliant winners from 2016 in our countdown feature, and share the Andy Murray Christmas quiz to see how you rank against your friends and family.
Darts
Love Christmas, #lovethedarts. Recap the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship so far on Sky Sports Darts HD through the day; for the state of play at the tournament at the Christmas break, take a look at the updated draw. Live action from Ally Pally returns from 1pm on Tuesday; coverage of the evening session (also being shown on SS1) at 7.45pm. There’s afternoon and evening sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday too.
NFL
Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts and Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins are among those delivering Christmas messages to UK fans, while our ’12 Plays of Christmas’ feature takes you back through the tactical moments that mattered in 2016.
After an action-packed day of NFL highlights on Sky Sports 1 HD, there are two live games to enjoy – Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers from 8.30pm, and Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs from 1.20am.
After the wrapping’s been tidied away, you know the wrestling’s not far away. Late Night Raw is live on Sky Sports 5 HD on Boxing Day night (starts 1am); and on Tuesday, there’s a day of WWE Specials on Sky Sports Mix ahead of another live Smackdown (SS4, 1am). Before all that, watch our WWE Christmas messages video and find out who ruled the ring in our 2016 awards.
