Antonio Lobato

Born in Oviedo, he graduated in information sciences in Madrid. He began his professional career in 1987, in the sports section of the ABC newspaper.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-19 |title=ABC MADRID 13-01-1988 página 74 - Archivo ABC |url=https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19880113-74.html |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=abc}} He then continued in radio, working as a sports reporter, covering sporting events such as the Olympic Games of Barcelona 92 or several editions of the Vuelta ciclista a España. He first worked for Radio España and then for Onda Cero. Parallel to his work at the latter station, he debuted on television in 1991 as a contributor to the sports program Campeones on Telecinco.

After three years at Onda Cero, in October 1994, he left the radio to join the sports newsroom of Informativos Telecinco. In January 1997, he went on to present sports news in the midday edition of Informativos Telecinco, and in 1999, he was appointed deputy sports director of the channel.

In 2001, he became the host of "La Tertulia Deportiva," a sports debate program broadcast daily after the evening news.

In 2004, Telecinco acquired the rights to broadcast Formula 1 in Spain and Lobato, who had already broadcast the Giro d'Italia in 1995 for the private channel, was chosen to cover the races. This would bring great popularity to the journalist, as he was able to narrate the first two world titles of a Spanish driver, Fernando Alonso, for the first time in Formula 1, in 2005 and 2006. Alonso's emergence skyrocketed the television audiences of Telecinco's broadcasts, which have been among the most watched programs of the year in Spain ever since.{{Cite web |title=elmundo.es - Las retrasmisiones de Fórmula 1 ganan un millón de espectadores al pasar de TVE a Telecinco |url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/10/20/comunicacion/1098263679.html |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=www.elmundo.es}}

El calvo de Telecinco, El calvo de La Sexta, and finally El calvo de la Fórmula 1 were popular names for him{{Cite web |date=2010-01-24 |title=De 'Calvo de Telecinco' a 'Calvo de La Sexta' |url=http://www.publico.es/televisionygente/164582/formula/jose/antonio/lobato/sexta/telecinco |access-date=2021-05-14 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124103801/http://www.publico.es/televisionygente/164582/formula/jose/antonio/lobato/sexta/telecinco |archive-date=24 January 2010 |url-status=dead}} He became one of the most charismatic faces of the private channel. As evidence, in 2006, he was chosen to co-host the New Year's Eve "Campanadas" broadcast with Carmen Alcayde.{{Cite web |date=2005-12-15 |title=Antonio Lobato y Carmen Alcayde darán las Campanadas en Telecinco |url=https://vertele.eldiario.es/videos/actualidad/antonio-lobato-alcayde-campanadas-telecinco_1_7784068.html |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=Vertele |language=es}} In 2006, he also lent his voice to the dubbing of the character Bob Cutlass in the movie Cars in Spain and to the PlayStation 2 video game Formula One 2006, acting as race commentator. He has also been a member of the jury for the Prince of Asturias Sports Awards since 2002.

In September 2007, Telecinco restructured its sports news area and he was appointed deputy news director for events and sports broadcasts of the network, in addition to continuing to direct and narrate Formula 1.

From the 2009 Formula 1 season until the 2011 season, he broadcast the races on La Sexta, the channel that acquired the broadcasting rights for the following five years and the services of the journalist. However, due to non-payment, La Sexta transferred the television rights to Antena 3.{{Cite web |title=Los derechos de la Fórmula 1 salen a subasta por impago de laSexta |url=https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/23336/derechos-formula1-salen-subasta-impago-lasexta/ |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=FormulaTV |language=es}}

In November 2010, he was awarded the Ondas Award (along with the La Sexta team) for his free-to-air coverage of Formula 1.{{Cite web |title=Antonio Lobato le dedica el Premio Ondas a Fernando Alonso |url=https://www.f1aldia.com/10648/antonio-lobato-dedica-premio-ondas-fernando-alonso/ |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=www.f1aldia.com |language=en}}

On February 16, 2012, it was announced that Antonio Lobato would broadcast the 2012 Formula 1 season with his team on Antena 3.{{Cite web |date=2012-02-17 |title=Antena 3 ficha a Antonio Lobato para retransmitir el Mundial de Fórmula 1 |url=https://www.antena3.com/objetivotv/actualidad/espana/antena-ficha-antonio-lobato-retransmitir-mundial-formula_2012021757909f156584a8b7b4299e15.html |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=ObjetivoTV |language=es}}

On February 21, 2014, Antonio Lobato himself confirmed on his Twitter account that he would continue for one more season in charge of Formula 1 broadcasts on Antena 3.{{Cite web |date=24 February 2014 |title=Lobato seguirá al frente de la Fórmula 1 |url=https://www.hoy.es/v/20140224/sociedad/lobato-seguira-frente-formula-20140224.html |website=Hoy |language=es}}

On November 29, 2015, he narrated on television his last Formula 1 race{{Cite web |date=29 November 2015 |title=Antonio Lobato se despide de la Formula Uno: "Adiós, gracias y hasta siempre" |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.es/2015/11/29/antonio-lobato-despedida_n_8676532.html |website=HuffPost |language=es}} until then, on Antena 3, to take a 2-year break away from television racing.

In 2016, he presented the program "Desafa tu mente" on TVE's La 1.{{Cite web |last=Periódico |first=El |date=2016-05-26 |title=Antonio Lobato 'Desafía tu mente' en TVE-1 |url=https://www.elperiodico.com/es/tele/20160526/antonio-lobato-desafia-mente-tve-5160027 |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=elperiodico |language=es}}

From the 2018 Formula 1 season, the journalist returns to narrate the Grand Prix on Movistar Formula 1.{{Cite web |date=12 February 2018 |title=Antonio Lobato ficha por Movistar F1 para la temporada 2018 |url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/3259660/0/antonio-lobato-ficha-movistar-f1-temporada-2018/ |website=20 Minutos |language=es}}

From the 2021 Formula 1 season, DAZN gets the rights to Formula 1. Movistar Formula 1 is renamed DAZN F1 and it is there where it continues to narrate the GPs.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-20 |title=Movistar+ y DAZN alcanzan un acuerdo que reforzará la oferta deportiva de sus clientes |url=https://media.dazn.com/es/notas-de-prensa/2021/01/movistar-y-dazn-alcanzan-un-acuerdo-que-reforzara-la-oferta-deportiva-de-sus-clientes/ |access-date=2021-05-14 |website=DAZN Media Centre |language=es |archive-date=2021-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121101234/https://media.dazn.com/es/notas-de-prensa/2021/01/movistar-y-dazn-alcanzan-un-acuerdo-que-reforzara-la-oferta-deportiva-de-sus-clientes/ |url-status=dead }} He combines his work with the presentation of the program Vamos sobre ruedas (Let's go on wheels) on the #Vamos channel.{{Cite web |date=14 March 2022 |title=Antonio Lobato ficha por Movistar F1 para la temporada 2018 |url=https://okdiario.com/deportes/vuelve-vamos-sobre-ruedas-programa-amantes-del-motor-8733447 |website=OkDiario |language=es}}

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• [https://twitter.com/alobatof1 Antonio Lobato] on Twitter

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Category:Living people

Category:1965 births

Category:Formula One journalists and reporters

Category:Spanish television presenters

Category:Spanish radio presenters