ABC Radio Grandstand is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station. The program runs on Saturdays and Sundays, typically from noon or an hour before, until 6 pm. Sports that are covered by ABC Radio under the Grandstand banner include Test and One Day International cricket, Rugby League (mostly in Queensland and New South Wales), the Summer Olympics, Australian Football League games, Australian Open tennis and soccer matches, including games involving the Socceroos and the A-League competition. However, when there are major football, cricket or tennis matches in progress, or the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, the coverage is often continued for the entirety of the relevant time frame if Grandstand is broadcasting the competition, as opposed to simply reporting the results. This can result in broadcasts in the early hours of the morning if Australia is playing in a cricket Test on another side of the world.
Being a national program with significant local content, Grandstand includes live crosses to local ABC radio stations for sporting updates as well as centralised broadcasts of major events.
Presenters include:
During the summer months, when cricket is predominant, National Grandstand is run across the country. Whenever an international cricket match is in progress, full commentary of the match is provided, and other sports are fitted in during breaks in play, or rain delays and so forth. Day-night matches continue into the night, and some night-time basketball or soccer matches are provided to certain states outside the usual timeslot if a team from the state is in action. When there is no international cricket in progress, the time is divided up more evenly among various sports. There are regular phone-ins to reporters at various sports events across the country for score updates as well as short stints of commentary and analysis from the reporter. This is mixed in with in-depth, pre-arranged interviews with sports administrators, coaches, scientists and athletes from a variety of fields. Sometimes there are panel discussions to analyse future or recent events, as well as opportunities for members of the public to partake in discussions or compete in sports quizzes.