Ken Sutcliffe

Ken Sutcliffe
Born	(1947-11-15) November 15, 1947 Oberon, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)	Sports journalist, broadcaster
Years active	1966–2016
Known for	Nine Network sports presenter, Wide World of Sports host
Notable work	The Wide World of Ken Sutcliffe (autobiography)

Ken Sutcliffe OAM (born 15 November 1947) is a retired Australian sports journalist and broadcaster, best recognized for his extensive career with the Nine Network.

Early life and career

Originating from Oberon, New South Wales, Sutcliffe launched his broadcasting journey in 1966 at a radio station in Mudgee. He advanced to become a general announcer at 2LF Young before transitioning to television as a newsreader at CBN-8 Orange. During the mid-1970s, he moved to TNQ-7 in Townsville. His television hosting debut came in 1982 with Bedtime stories with Ken and Daz, co-hosted alongside Darrell Eastlake; however, the program ran for only eight episodes.

Nine Network Sport Broadcaster

In 1979, Sutcliffe commenced his tenure at the Nine Network's TCN9 Sydney, featuring on World of Sport alongside Ron Casey. Following Mike Gibson's exit in 1988, Sutcliffe assumed the position of lead sports presenter for Nine News Sydney, maintaining this role until his retirement in December 2016.

He was a key figure on Nine's Wide World of Sports, initially joining in 1982. After briefly co-hosting Graham Kennedy's late-night news program in 1988, he returned as the primary host of WWOS in 1989.

Sutcliffe reported on numerous significant international sporting competitions, including the Summer Olympics (Los Angeles 1984, London 2012), Winter Olympics (Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994, Vancouver 2010), and four editions of the Commonwealth Games (Brisbane 1982, Auckland 1990, Kuala Lumpur 1998, Melbourne 2006).

His tennis broadcasting credentials include two decades covering Wimbledon and over ten years reporting on the US Open. A highlight was hosting the Masters tournament coverage in Augusta during Tiger Woods’ landmark victory in 1997, along with eight additional Masters events.

Additionally, Sutcliffe presented major Rugby League Grand Finals and State of Origin matches, US Open Golf tournaments, Pan Pacific and Olympic swimming trials, World Swimming Championships held in Japan, and the Brisbane Goodwill Games.

On 2 November 2016, he declared his retirement from his role as Nine News sports editor and presenter. His successor was Cameron Williams.

Awards and honours

In recognition of his career achievements, Sutcliffe was honored with the Australian Sports Commission Media Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2014. He also received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) during the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for his "service to broadcast media, particularly television".

Memoirs

Sutcliffe authored his autobiography titled The Wide World of Ken Sutcliffe, which was published in 2009.

The Twelfth Man

Within The Twelfth Man comedy series, Sutcliffe was portrayed as the "male model from Mudgee," who was notably admired by the spouses of fellow commentators Richie Benaud and Max Walker. The plot involves Walker kidnapping Sutcliffe in an attempt to rejoin the Commentary Team. Uniquely, Sutcliffe provided his own voice for this character—the only one not voiced by creator Billy Birmingham.