From YouTube to Sky Sports: Dan Bardell’s Broadcasting Breakthrough

Hi Dan, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. Can you tell us about your journey into football broadcasting? What initially sparked your interest in this field?

It was something I’d always wanted to be a part of, but I was in my 30’s and career/life hadn’t really gone that way. Basically I started my own youtube channel “The Villa View” because I thought it was something I could do, and it went from there really. Starting a fan channel was a vehicle to get into the industry.

Being the first Aston Villa fan channel, it caught momentum quite quickly, enabled me to gain a social following and basically pick up skills by just doing it.

I was wary of fan channel stereotypes, but I always maintained I wouldn’t be that ranty, gobby fan, I tried to be more insightful in what was a rubbish time for Villa, struggling in the championship.

Over the years opportunities arose talking about Villa on national and international platforms and I probably made myself quite well known as someone who could talk about the club.

The next step was trying to prove I could do more than just talk about Aston Villa.

Looking back, was there a specific moment or opportunity that really propelled your freelance career in the industry?

So I’d started out doing my own stuff in 2016, It was 2019 Villa had been promoted, I’d had a year working for the club as a matchday Facebook live presenter but things weren’t really going as I wanted.

The Athletic had just started in the UK and were going heavy on club specific content, including podcasts. So I was lucky enough to be asked to host the weekly Villa podcast. I was lucky that the Aston Villa writer at the time Gregg Evans knew of my work and he recommended me. I still do stuff with Gregg to this day.

So I started doing that and then obviously Covid hit, no football and we went remote. During that time the shows continued, and I got to interview a lot of ex Villa players remotely, which was a great experience.

I love The Athletic, still do and I wanted to push for more than just Villa. I had sent over an idea for an “England” based show, but the Euros got delayed and I kind of just forgot about it.

I had started doing some presenting for Whoscored on their weekly preview show and I’d done a good job with the Villa pod on The Atheltic, so things were starting to go ok.

One day in spring 2021 I got a call from Tom Hughes who was one of the top audio guys at The Athletic. He’d liked what I’d done with the Villa pod and knew I was keen to do more. He offered me a really big opportunity to share hosting duties with Mark Chapman of their daily Euros podcast - “The England Show”.

Chappers is obviously a legend and has loads of work commitments, so I basically ended up hosting about 70 per cent of the shows and England did well. Looking back I had absolutely no right to be sharing hosting duties with such a big name, but Tom believed in me and gave me a big chance. From there things started to lift off and I was suddenly a big part of The Atheltic hosting 3 shows a week when the Premier League started again. I owe Tom a lot.

You’ve worked across platforms like The Athletic and Sky Sports. How do you adapt your style to suit different formats, like podcasts versus TV?

I think my style has changed a lot over time, and I think I’m quite adaptable depending on what kind of platform I work on. Because I’ve done the fan channel stuff and the traditional media side as well at The Athletic, Sky Sports News and talkSPORT - I think I’ve had a good grounding and experienced things that maybe others haven’t.

I don’t think my style massively changes, I always keep the basics in place, but I know that I have to change certain things depending on who I’m working for. When I’m on talkSPORT I probably have a bit more freedom than I would on The Athletic for example. It’s about knowing the audience.

Could you share a memorable experience/highlight from your career to date that stands out to you?

The first time I was on Sky Sports News in that famous studio working on “Good Morning Transfers” and “Transfer Talk”. I’d dreamt of working live there my whole life and to achieve something that was at one point a pipe dream felt good and a little emotional.

I never take working for any of these companies for granted, but the buzz of being in the studio and being live on Sky is something that will never not be exciting for me. I’ve still got things I want to achieve and I’m nowhere near where I want to be still, but that felt like a massive moment.

The transfers team I work in is genuinely the best team I’ve ever worked with. Chris Siddall and Ellen McCarthy have put together such a brilliant team, and getting to link up with them all for a month every transfer window is such a brilliant experience.

How do you go about finding new clients/work?

You have to push, you have to hassle, because if you don’t then someone else will be doing it and potentially getting ahead of you. I’m not always great at it, I have representation and they obviously do their bit, but I’ve made a lot of connections over the years and you have to lean on people.

I’ve become a regular on The Guardian Football Weekly and I got the initial chance because I’d done some stuff with Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning on talkSPORT and I just chanced a text to Max and he put in a word for me.

I hate asking, but as I said, you have to sometimes.

What trends do you see shaping the future of football broadcasting, particularly with regard to new platforms and technologies?

I’m good on X and Instagram, but I have to say the emergence of TikTok has beaten me a little and I struggle to update that regularly! It seems to be the big one right now.

Technologically, anyone can create content now, it’s a brilliant time to be young and full of ideas, because nothing is stopping you having a pop. You have to be prepared to do your own thing and build it up.

From a football broadcasting standpoint, things have changed immeasurably, fan’s have a voice. People like me and the people I’ve worked with have a voice and fans want to hear it. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to utilise fan media and it’s given me a grounding to get into “proper” broadcasting.

What key advice would you give to aspiring freelance broadcasters and presenters looking to break into the world of sports media, particularly in football?

You have to do your own thing, it’s the best way to start, to put yourself out there and to learn your strengths and weaknesses. Once you think you’ve cracked it, the biggest lesson to learn is that you haven’t.

Football media is tough, you can be pleased to see your friends doing well, but then also if it’s a quiet month for you get imposters syndrome. You have to be resilient, because you will get a tonne of knock backs. Like anything, some people will rate you, some won’t.

Opportunities come and they also go. I’ve lost more work than I’ve gained over the years that’s for sure. But when you are in it, for me there’s nothing better.

Can you share 3 useful tools or resources which you find helpful to fulfil your role?

You have to be good at networking.

The Athletic, I don’t work for them anymore, but I learn so much reading about all the different teams, you get a great sense of where each fanbase is at.

Get a good microphone, the quality of audio is the most important thing when podcasting.

What do you do to switch off outside of work?

I guess the work is also the hobby, so I go to football and watch football. I’m rarely thinking about anything else anyway!

Spend time with the family. I’m quite a basic guy nowadays!

And finally, Dan, where can people find you on social media to connect?

@danbardell on X and @danbardell16 on Instagram and TikTok.

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