Basil told TV Blackbox he was not leaving the network, but would pull back from his nightly sports presenting commitments.
Sports presenter and former co-host of Weekend Sunrise, Basil Zempilas, will lessen his regular news desk duties with Seven News Perth, after earlier reports today suggesting he was leaving the bulletin altogether.
Zempilas told TV Blackbox he would not be leaving the network nor the program, but sought more flexibility with his sports presenting role because of a heavy schedule.
He said:
“I’ll still present sport but not as regularly. I asked for a bit more flexibility given the Lord Mayor’s gig, and fortunately with such an incredible relationship, Seven have been very accommodating.”
He also confirmed he would still lend his commentary to Seven’s broadcasts of sporting events, such as the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, and Seven’s Perth Telethon, but was after, “just a little less time on the desk”.
In 2020, Zempilas was elected Lord Mayor of Perth, a role he takes on in addition with his various TV commitments at Seven and co-hosting role with Triple M’s breakfast radio program.
A Seven spokesperson said:
“Basil Zempilas is not leaving Seven. In fact, you can see him on air tonight hosting our Olympic Winter Games coverage.
“He has however asked to scale back his full-time commitment reading sport and will focus on his hosting roles with 7SPORT, Telethon and his duties as Lord Mayor of Perth.
“Basil has worked at Seven for 28 years – with plenty more to come.”
Peter Ford initially reported on the story for 6PR Breakfast with Gareth Parker. He said:
“As I understand it, Basil told the network midway through last year that eventually when there’s signs of the border starting to reopen he wanted to be free of the nightly news commitment.
“Obviously, nobody can deny Basil works an extraordinarily punishing schedule. That part can’t be disputed.”
Zempilas began at Seven News as a sports cadet reporter. He eventually anchored the weekend sports bulletin before moving over to weeknights some time later.
He has helmed the coverage and commentated for several of Seven’s broadcasts of sporting events, from the AFL, to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, to the Australian Open.
In 2018, Zempilas replaced Andrew O’Keefe as Weekend Sunrise co-host, but left the program in 2019.
After being elected as Lord Mayor of Perth in 2020, Zempilas parted ways with Nine-owned 6PR, and joined Triple M’s breakfast radio program with Jenna Clarke and Xavier Ellis, which he still co-hosts today.
