INTERVIEW
The women's handball world starts Saturday in Japan. And all the matches of the France team will be broadcast on TMC, the channel of the TF1 group. France will face South Korea in its first preliminary round match, starting at 10 am with comments: Grégoire Margotton. The football commentator on the first channel moves to handball to follow the Blue in this new adventure. Guest of Philippe Vandel, Friday on Europe 1, the journalist said his enthusiasm for this project.
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"They are world champions, they are preparing for the Games, because the goal is still the Olympics, but if they could still chained a world title, we would be happy to accompany them," rejoices Gregory Margotton, who will be accompanied to the comments of Nodjialem Myaro, world champion in 2003, as a consultant.
A lightened device before the semi-finals
To continue the presentation of Télefoot, every Sunday at 11 o'clock, the commentator will not be able to go to Japan. "We'll do it in the cabin in front of a screen unfortunately," says Grégoire Margotton. "But there will be people on the spot for possible interviews, from the semi-finals if the Blue are there.To collect the reactions of the future, we hope, world champions". "We loup a lot of things when we're not there, handball" concedes he.
"I've always been handball, and I've been a fan since I started with TF1," says the commentator in full preparation "Having already commented on world championships, from Europe for three four years makes me I already have a little less to prepare myself than four years ago. "
Good audiences expected despite jet lag
In the previous Euro, the victory of the French against the Russians (24 -21) had attracted nearly 5.4 million viewers. Nevertheless the jet lag imposing matches broadcast in the morning, may cause a loss of audience. "It will necessarily be a little less than what we experienced in handball for the last Euro, jet lag requires", admits the commentator. "But if the French team goes all the way to the final, and I hope for a final on Sunday around noon, I think there will still be a lot of people." There were people for the women's world cup , this summer".
According to him, the feminine-masculine sport distinction tends to fade for the public. A differentiation between masculine and feminine that he will not do in his comments. "Why would it be different? Obviously, we comment in the same way," says Grégoire Margotton. "After that it may not be the same rhythm, because it does not necessarily go so fast, the physical intensity is not yet the same, but we still have the same gestures!"
TMC, for the moment, will broadcast only the matches of France, until the final, if they reach this stage of the competition. "Otherwise, we'll stop before," says the commentator. The TF1 group has chosen a secondary channel for retransmission, but mainly because of jet lag, according to the sports journalist. "It's a choice: it's good to start on a chain and accompany them to the end," he adds. "It's a question of timing too, Japan does not help that side with the gap, for the European championships we started on TMC and then we finished on TF1. can do it, we do it, there we can not. "
The next championships broadcast on the TF1 group
The TF1 group continues to bet on handball. He has just acquired the rights of the men's and women's European Championships from 2020 until 2024, with beIn Sport. "This is very good news, we will continue on the same agreement with beIn, but the next three European Championships for men and women will be followed at the maximum on the TF1 group, enthuses the commentator." There will be one or two matches of the preliminary round, one match of the main round, and if that goes further, semifinal and final. We try to accompany the most beautiful adventures. "