By Matt Badcock – An informed and entertaining read
Will Grigg may well have been on fire with 25 goals for Chesterfield‘s National League title winners last season but could he move closer to his internet router?
It’s a little before 7pm on Tuesday evening and the DAZN team are testing the 33-year-old’s connection before going live with him a bit later on.
DAZN’s innovative Multi-Match Live Show – an additional extra to the available streams of individual games on this busy midweek at both ends of the National League table as well at Step 2 – is on air in less than an hour and the final preparations are being made.
A Tom Tonks throw from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, the base is their production partner Over Exposed’s purpose built studio – assembled in three weeks – ready to host the evening’s entertainment.
You can watch ALL National League games, live or on demand HERE
Action
Focusing on one game but also flicking between two others, the concept sees presenter James ‘Curly’ Kirtland and former Aldershot Town, Grays Athletic and Ebbsfleet striker Aaron McLean keep a close eye on all the action, showing it in real time, while some familiar faces hop on video calls for short interviews.
As well as Grigg, the team are also joined on this show by Kidderminster Harriers boss Phil Brown, Dorking Wanderers supremo Marc White and Farsley Celtic chief David Stockdale, an ex-team-mate of McLean at Hull City.
The streaming giant signed a deal with the National League until the 2030-31 in the summer and since then National League TV has been migrated onto their platform that can be viewed around the world with a standalone subscription.
“When DAZN partnered with the National League, the priority for everyone on the production team was to engage with fans in a more meaningful and relevant way,” David Wade, Head of Football and MultiSport, says.
“Key to that has been our focus on integrating our social output, live production and other engagement-focused programming.
“Our mission is to democratise the coverage of National League football by bringing it closer to the fans in a more accessible, meaningful and vibrant way than ever before.”
Graphics
The next Multi-Match will be shown for free on their DAZNSPORT YouTube channel on Easter Monday as the National League season reaches its crescendo.
But first, Grigg’s signal is sorted, and Stockdale has had his checked before he takes Farsley’s training, so it’s time for a quick rehearsal.
In the truck outside, Lead Producer Rhys Griffiths kicks off the dry run.
In communication with a colleague in Leeds, the titles are set rolling, commands of “animate” and “de-animate” see graphics appear and disappear on the screen as Kirtland goes through the script, with countdown timings intermittently fed in through his earpiece.
It goes well; a couple of tweaks and we’re not far away from the real thing.
By now, the screens are showing players warming up and fans arriving at their chosen games – York City v Altrincham, Aldershot Town v Dagenham & Redbridge and Eastleigh v Ebbsfleet United – so shots for the title sequences are clipped and banked.
Chemistry
Kirtland and McLean’s chemistry is clear as soon as they arrive just after 5pm and the ribbing of each other continues on air too when they kick-off at 7.30pm.
“As well as our live coverage, DAZN also produces highlights for every National League match,” Wade says, “a round-up show and ‘National League 72′ a weekly podcast show that gets under the skin of all the stories.
“We’ve had behind-the-scenes access at Barnet and big names like Ipswich’s Jack Taylor, whose journey started in Non-League football.
“Hosted by Aaron and Curly, it’s a mix of the serious, the funny, the action and the news.
“It is a key part of our philosophy of continuing to tell the stories throughout the week and not just on a Saturday afternoon.”
Multi-Match
Between the guests joining them on Multi-Match Live, the games dictates the flow.
Eastleigh lead Ebbsfleet before Altrincham go one-up against York.
With Barnet beating Yeovil, thoughts turn to a pivotal evening in the title race.
Although the Minstermen level early in the second half, Alty re-take the lead while Barnet build their own winning margin and Forest Green continue to stumble at FC Halifax.
The duo are keeping an eye on York as they go close late on but the summary at the final whistle, as the Bees move nine points clear, is Dean Brennan‘s leaders look unstoppable.
But, who knows?
By the time the next Multi-Match is shown on Easter Monday, there’s sure to have been a few more twists and turns across the league.
