Following the path of his grandfather Vic Richardson, who was a radio commentator for many years, Chappell entered the media in 1973 by writing magazine articles and a column for "The Age". He did television commentary for the 0–10 Network and the BBC before playing WSC. During the 1980s, Chappell spent eight years co-hosting with Mike Gibson, "Wide World of Sports", an innovative magazine-style program broadcast by Channel Nine on Saturday afternoons and co-hosted a sister show, "Sports Sunday", for five years. Early in his stint on the former program, he swore without realising that he was live to air. A similar incident occurred during a live telecast of the 1993 Ashes series. Channel Nine suspended him on both occasions.