Rebecca Lowe & Kelly Cates: Success, sexism and the ‘male gaze’
Rebecca Lowe has a confession to make.
“When things go wrong… I kind of love it,” smiles the British host of NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage in the U.S., speaking to The Athletic via Zoom from her home in northern California. “If it can go wrong, I want it to go wrong. I want to be challenged.
“I like live TV. If it’s not live, I find it harder.”
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From across the Atlantic, she receives a knowing nod and a hard agree from Kelly Cates, who fronts a large portion of Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage for the UK and Ireland, keeping the likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane in check:
“Definitely. Anything recorded, I hate it. I get so bored. Whereas if something is live, then whatever can go wrong, throw it at me, I don’t care.”
Lowe and Cates have known each other for more than a decade, having worked for the same broadcasters (Setanta Sports, then ESPN) from 2007-13. Since then, their lives have followed similar paths, but in different countries after Lowe relocated to the U.S. to take on presenting duties for NBC 10 years ago.
Now the two British women are leading Premier League coverage in two of the competition’s biggest territories.
They are the steady hands guiding fast-moving live shows that last several hours, tasked with eliciting the most interesting information from the pundits, ensuring everyone gets their say and keeping some of the game’s loosest cannons on track.
“Generally speaking, I find managers and players tend to be less unpredictable than the pundits,” says Cates, referring to the role she and Lowe also play in conducting pre- and post-match interviews.
“I know, first game of the season, we’re pitchside at Burnley (last Friday). And Gary (Neville) and Jamie (Carragher) will be
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