TalkSPORT
Encyclopedia
Talksport owned by UTV radio
, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio
broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London
to the United Kingdom
.
Its content includes sports phone-ins and discussions, live sports commentaries, and general phone-in discussions. It is transmitted on 1089 and 1053 kHz across the UK and digitally
via DAB
digital radio
, Freeview, Sky
, Virgin Media
, Freesat
and TalkTalk TV. Talksport is also streamed online; however, due to rights restrictions on live coverage, some live sport commentaries are not available online.
, Scott Chisholm, Moz Dee, Tommy Boyd
, Anna Raeburn
, Gary Newbon
, Terry Christian
, Ronnie Barbour, Jonny Gould and Dale Winton
. Also joining the line-up were Caesar the Geezer
and Wild Al Kelly, dubbed as shock jock
s.
A year later Talk Radio launched a new breakfast show presented by Paul Ross
and Carol McGiffin
. Former BBC Radio 1
DJ Simon Bates
also joined the station along with James Whale
, Ian Collins
and Mike Dickin
.
Talk Radio made their first foray into the world of sports radio rights bidding, by purchasing the rights to broadcast the Football League from BBC Radio Five Live
for the 1997/98 season. In addition, the station broadcast their first World Cup from France in 1998, with them bringing in the Sky Sports
commentary team of Alan Parry
and Andy Gray to commentate on the major matches. Tony Lockwood, Clive Allen and Dave Roberts
covered additional games in France. Talk Radio also acquired up the rights to broadcast Manchester United’s matches in the Champions League
for the 1998/99 season.
Editor Kelvin MacKenzie
, purchased Talk Radio. This led to a mass clearout of presenters including Nick Abbot
, Anna Raeburn
, Tommy Boyd
and Peter Deeley
, with them putting in place a more sports oriented programming schedule, including The Sportszone with Alan Parry
, Gary Newbon
, Tony Lockwood, Tom Watt
and former Century Radio sports editor Dave Roberts
presenting the weekend edition of The Sports Breakfast.
In late 1999, TalkCo, rebranded as The Wireless Group, announced a relaunch of Talk Radio to become the UK's first national commercial sports radio station called Talksport. The relaunch occurred at midnight on Monday 17 January 2000 and was accompanied by the station moving from Oxford Street
to a new studio
in Hatfields on the South Bank
of the River Thames
. Now mainly dedicated to football, the programming lineup was drastically altered, beginning with The Sports Breakfast show, a mid-morning motoring show called The Car Guys, with further sports programming in the afternoon and evening. Almost all the station's talk show presenters were axed at the time, including The Big Boys Breakfast with David Banks
and Nick Ferrari
, with only Whale
, Collins
and Mike Dickin
surviving. To complement their new format, Talksport purchased the rights to broadcast Manchester United, Arsenal
and Newcastle
in the UEFA Champions League
, the FA Cup
, England
Internationals, UEFA Cup
, England’s Winter cricket Tours to South Africa
, Zimbabwe
, Pakistan
and India
, British and Irish Lions
Tours to South Africa
and New Zealand
and rights to the Super League
, Rugby League World Cup
, and World Title Boxing
Fights.
The new line-up involved a number of presenters and commentators. They included Alan Brazil
, Mark Nicholas
, Chris Cowdrey
, Geoffrey Boycott
, Mike Parry
, Peter Shilton
, Brian Moore
, Brough Scott
, Tom Watt
, Gary Newbon
, Ian Darke
, Tony Banks
and Alvin Martin
.
The weekday schedule begins with the morning’s sports news, debate and reaction on The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil
and Ronnie Irani
, followed by Richard Keys
and Andy Gray, who take an in-depth look at the day’s sports stories and invite listeners to have their say. Hawksbee & Jacobs present through the afternoon with sports gossip, interviews and chat, followed by Drive Time with Adrian Durham
and Darren Gough
round-up the day’s sports news with debate.
Kick Off, hosted by Mark Saggers
, Danny Kelly and Stan Collymore
then guides listeners through the evening's sporting action with live commentary of selected matches. Andy Goldstein
, Bobby Gould
and Jason Cundy
take further phone-calls and debate on the Sports Bar before handing over to the late night team, including George Galloway
and Mike Graham who tackle the big news and social issues of the day, with listener interaction on the nightly phone-in.
On Saturday and Sunday, Talksport has full coverage of the weekend’s sport with the latest news and scores from around the grounds on Matchday Live, including live Premier League commentary, followed by a post-match phone-in hosted by Stan Collymore
.
Talksport also broadcasts specialist programming, including the long-running fishing-based phone-in, Fisherman's Blues, hosted by Keith Arthur, Howzat!, a cricket show with Ronnie Irani, My Sporting Life with Danny Kelly, an in-depth interview with sporting legends, and Full Contact with Mike Bovill, a regular rugby-based magazine show focussing on the Aviva Premiership and Six Nations
and the 2011 Rugby World Cup
in New Zealand
.
Since its launch, Talksport has held the rights to the Premier League, UEFA Champions League
, UEFA Europa League, FA Cup
, England internationals, Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup, 2010 World Cup, Carling Cup, Football League, domestic Twenty20
cricket, 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, England’s winter cricket Tours to South Africa
, Zimbabwe
, Pakistan
and India
, British and Irish Lions
Tours to South Africa
and New Zealand
and rights to the Super League
, Rugby League World Cup
, Ryder Cup
and World Title Boxing
Fights.
, Alan Brazil
, Andy Goldstein
, Andy Gray, Andy Jacobs
, Danny Kelly, Duncan Barkes, Eddie Irvine
, George Galloway
, Graham Beecroft
, Ian Danter, Jack Bannister
, John Anderson, John Rawling
, Keith Arthur, Mark Saggers
, Matt Forde, Mike Bovill, Mike Graham, Neil Manthorp
, Nigel Pearson
, Paul Hawksbee
, Ray Parlour
, Richard Keys
, Rupert Bell, Russell Brand
, Sam Matterface
, Stan Collymore
and ex-professional sportsmen to provide expert comment on a variety of the station's programmes, including: Alvin Martin
, Bobby Gould
, Darren Gough
, Jason Cundy
, Jeff Probyn
, Matt Holland
, Micky Quinn
, Neil Warnock
, Ray Houghton
, Ronnie Irani
and Stewart Robson
.
The station also has a team of journalists and reporters bringing listeners the latest news and sport through their bulletins and programmes, including: Andrew McKenna, Andy Clarke, Bob Bubka, Dave Rowe, David Brady, Dominic McGuinness, Faye Carruthers, Geoff Peters, Graham Courtney, Grahame Lloyd, Ian Abrahams, John Temple, Kevin Lawrence, Nick Heath, Nigel Ringland, Pete Abbott, Peter Martin, Robyn Schonhofer, Roger Hughes, Russell Hargreaves, Simon Humphreys, Simon Ward and Tony Incenzo.
, Mark Nicholas
, Chris Cowdrey
, Geoffrey Boycott
, Alan Parry
, Peter Shilton
, Brian Moore
, Brough Scott
, Tom Watt
, Gary Newbon
, Ian Darke
, Tony Banks
, James Whale (radio)
, Ian Collins
, Derek Hatton
and Mike Dickin
.
Other past presenters on the network include Mike Parry
, John Gaunt, Nicky Horne
, Tony Lockwood, Tommy Boyd
, Charlie Wolf
, Mark Green
, Richard Kaufman
, Bill Young
, Patrick Kinghorn, Mike Mendoza
, Rhodri Williams
, Howard Hughes
, Jeremy Kyle
, Dave Roberts
, Chris Cooper
, Jim Proudfoot
, Rodney Marsh
, Ian Wright
, Rob McCaffrey
, Russ Williams
, Steve Bower
, Kelly Dalglish
and many others.
was previously the Business Development Director at UTV, responsible for radio and new media. A native of Australia, he has been working in the UK for a decade and took over from Kelvin MacKenzie
as Chief Executive
of Talksport in July 2005. Moz Dee is Programme Director, having taken over from Bill Ridley in 2008, while Matt Smith is Programme Controller and Head of Outside Broadcasts. Simon Caney is editor of Sport magazine, with Neil Sedley is currently chief engineer, while, Peter Gee is head of creative.
The 1089 and 1053 kHz frequency was originally used by BBC Radio 1
between 1978 and 1994.
It is also transmitted across the UK on digitally
via DAB
digital radio
, Freeview, Sky
, Virgin Media
, Freesat
and TalkTalk TV. Talksport is also streamed online; however, due to rights restrictions on live coverage, some live sport commentaries are not available online.
audience figures for Q1/2011, Talksport’s audience is 3.25 million adults in the UK, which is highest achieved since the station launched as Talk Radio in 1995. Men make up 80% of the Talksport audience, while 47% of all listeners are in the 15-44 age bracket, giving the station an advantage when pitching to potential advertisers. Each listener tuned in for an average of 6.8 hours per week giving them a total of 22.5 million hours. Talksport's market share is 2.1%.
Talksport programme director Moz Dee said: “This is a very promising start to 2011 and shows that our recent record-breaking figures are not just a flash in the pan, but rather a sign of consistent and significant growth as we continue to win new listeners. I’m very proud of everyone in the programming team, as they have worked so hard to build credibility in sports journalism and made talkSPORT must-listen radio for sports fans.”
UTV Radio
UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....
, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio
Independent National Radio
Independent National Radio is the official term for the three national commercial radio stations broadcasting on analogue radio in the United Kingdom...
broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Its content includes sports phone-ins and discussions, live sports commentaries, and general phone-in discussions. It is transmitted on 1089 and 1053 kHz across the UK and digitally
Digital radio in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio is proceeding since test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990. The UK currently has the world's biggest digital radio network, with 103 transmitters, two national DAB ensembles and 48 local and regional DAB ensembles...
via DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
, Freeview, Sky
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
, Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
and TalkTalk TV. Talksport is also streamed online; however, due to rights restrictions on live coverage, some live sport commentaries are not available online.
The Talk Radio era
The station was originally and officially launched as Talk Radio UK on 14 February 1995, with Sean Bolger and Samantha Meah presenting the original Talk Radio Breakfast Show. However the first live broadcast had been Caeser the Geezer's phone-in which aired at 10:00pm the previous night. Other presenters on Talk Radio included Jeremy BeadleJeremy Beadle
Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE was an English television presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s, he was a regular face on British television and in two years appeared 50 weeks of the year. His shows regularly topped the charts beating Coronation Street and EastEnders on one...
, Scott Chisholm, Moz Dee, Tommy Boyd
Tommy Boyd
Timothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
, Anna Raeburn
Anna Raeburn
Anna Raeburn is a British broadcaster and journalist who is famous for her role as an 'agony aunt' giving advice on life relationship and more general life problems. She is principally known for her work on Capital Radio in London....
, Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon is a television sports presenter and executive.He attended Culford School near Bury St Edmunds and upon leaving school he became a junior reporter in Cambridge and then a freelance Fleet Street journalist reporting on tennis and rugby...
, Terry Christian
Terry Christian
Terry Christian is a British television and radio presenter whose credits include Channel 4's late night Youth Entertainment show The Word and ITV1 moral issues talk show It's My Life...
, Ronnie Barbour, Jonny Gould and Dale Winton
Dale Winton
Dale Winton is an English radio DJ and television presenter.-Early life:Winton's father, Gary, was "domineering" and died when Winton was 13. Winton was brought up by his mother, actress Sheree Winton...
. Also joining the line-up were Caesar the Geezer
Caesar the Geezer
Chris Ryder also known as Caesar the Geezer, Caesar the Boogieman, and Deck Rider is a British radio personality of Greek descent, A friend of Kenny Everett, Caesar emulated Everett's use of imaginative and catchy jingles within his show...
and Wild Al Kelly, dubbed as shock jock
Shock jock
Shock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
s.
A year later Talk Radio launched a new breakfast show presented by Paul Ross
Paul Ross
Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist, and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross.-Early life:...
and Carol McGiffin
Carol McGiffin
Carol Deirdre McGiffin is an English broadcaster of radio and television, best known for her regular appearances on daytime talk show Loose Women. She married Chris Evans in 1991; the couple separated in 1994 and divorced in 1998....
. Former BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Simon Bates
Simon Bates
Simon Bates is a UK disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular presenter on Classic FM...
also joined the station along with James Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
, Ian Collins
Ian Collins (radio presenter)
Ian Collins is a British radio and television presenter & journalist. He was the presenter of The Late Show on national talkSPORT Radio. The show was non- sport and took a comedic/observational look at news & current affairs...
and Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin , was a late-night host on the British radio station talkSPORT. Dickin used to present the 1am to 6am slot at weekends on Talk Radio UK from 1995 to 2001. He returned filling in for James Whale during James' battle with kidney cancer...
.
Talk Radio made their first foray into the world of sports radio rights bidding, by purchasing the rights to broadcast the Football League from BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
for the 1997/98 season. In addition, the station broadcast their first World Cup from France in 1998, with them bringing in the Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
commentary team of Alan Parry
Alan Parry
Alan Parry is a British sports commentator, born and raised in Garston, Liverpool, concentrating on football and athletics. He has commentated for all three main broadcasters of football in the UK - the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, as well as for both BBC and commercial radio.Starting his career at BBC...
and Andy Gray to commentate on the major matches. Tony Lockwood, Clive Allen and Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (Sports Broadcaster/Referee)
Dave Roberts is a TV Presenter and commentator specialising in football . He previously worked for ESPN in the USA, ESPN Star Sports in Singapore, Sky Sports in the UK as well as a host of radio stations. As well as his broadcast work he is a fully qualified National/International football referee....
covered additional games in France. Talk Radio also acquired up the rights to broadcast Manchester United’s matches in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the 1998/99 season.
Creation of Talksport
On 12 November 1998 TalkCo Holdings, whose Chairman and Chief Executive was former SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
Editor Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
, purchased Talk Radio. This led to a mass clearout of presenters including Nick Abbot
Nick Abbot
Nick Abbot is a British radio presenter, who has presented on numarious radio station in the uk for past 20 years.-History:Nick Abbot was born 22 August 1960, and was educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh and Brunel University in Uxbridge where he gained a degree in psychology. Abbot's...
, Anna Raeburn
Anna Raeburn
Anna Raeburn is a British broadcaster and journalist who is famous for her role as an 'agony aunt' giving advice on life relationship and more general life problems. She is principally known for her work on Capital Radio in London....
, Tommy Boyd
Tommy Boyd
Timothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
and Peter Deeley
Peter Deeley
Peter Deeley is a British journalist who until January 2006 was a presenter on the London phone-in radio station, LBC 97.3.-Career:Deeley has enabled interviewed Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, former British Prime Ministers Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and Tony Blair...
, with them putting in place a more sports oriented programming schedule, including The Sportszone with Alan Parry
Alan Parry
Alan Parry is a British sports commentator, born and raised in Garston, Liverpool, concentrating on football and athletics. He has commentated for all three main broadcasters of football in the UK - the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, as well as for both BBC and commercial radio.Starting his career at BBC...
, Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon is a television sports presenter and executive.He attended Culford School near Bury St Edmunds and upon leaving school he became a junior reporter in Cambridge and then a freelance Fleet Street journalist reporting on tennis and rugby...
, Tony Lockwood, Tom Watt
Tom Watt (actor)
Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
and former Century Radio sports editor Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (Sports Broadcaster/Referee)
Dave Roberts is a TV Presenter and commentator specialising in football . He previously worked for ESPN in the USA, ESPN Star Sports in Singapore, Sky Sports in the UK as well as a host of radio stations. As well as his broadcast work he is a fully qualified National/International football referee....
presenting the weekend edition of The Sports Breakfast.
In late 1999, TalkCo, rebranded as The Wireless Group, announced a relaunch of Talk Radio to become the UK's first national commercial sports radio station called Talksport. The relaunch occurred at midnight on Monday 17 January 2000 and was accompanied by the station moving from Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
to a new studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
in Hatfields on the South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. Now mainly dedicated to football, the programming lineup was drastically altered, beginning with The Sports Breakfast show, a mid-morning motoring show called The Car Guys, with further sports programming in the afternoon and evening. Almost all the station's talk show presenters were axed at the time, including The Big Boys Breakfast with David Banks
David Banks (journalist)
David Banks is a former British newspaper editor.-Early life:He attended Boteler Grammar School in Warrington.-Career:...
and Nick Ferrari
Nick Ferrari
Nick Ferrari is a radio presenter who currently hosts the weekday breakfast show from 0700-1000 UTC on the London-based talk and phone-in radio station LBC 97.3. He also has a regular column in the Sunday Express and is a regular guest on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1...
, with only Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
, Collins
Ian Collins (radio presenter)
Ian Collins is a British radio and television presenter & journalist. He was the presenter of The Late Show on national talkSPORT Radio. The show was non- sport and took a comedic/observational look at news & current affairs...
and Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin , was a late-night host on the British radio station talkSPORT. Dickin used to present the 1am to 6am slot at weekends on Talk Radio UK from 1995 to 2001. He returned filling in for James Whale during James' battle with kidney cancer...
surviving. To complement their new format, Talksport purchased the rights to broadcast Manchester United, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Newcastle
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
Internationals, UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, England’s Winter cricket Tours to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
Tours to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and rights to the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
, Rugby League World Cup
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...
, and World Title Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Fights.
The new line-up involved a number of presenters and commentators. They included Alan Brazil
Alan Brazil
Alan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
, Mark Nicholas
Mark Nicholas
Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas is a cricket commentator and former player. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement....
, Chris Cowdrey
Chris Cowdrey
Christopher Stuart "Chris" Cowdrey is an English former cricketer. Cowdrey played for Kent, Glamorgan and England as an all-rounder...
, Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
, Mike Parry
Mike Parry
Mike Parry is a British journalist and radio presenter.-Early life:Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School, Chester, and later Trent Polytechnic.-Journalism career:...
, Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
, Brian Moore
Brian Moore (commentator)
Brian Moore was a British sports commentator.-Early life:Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent, which was also the school of fellow commentators Peter West and Barry Davies....
, Brough Scott
Brough Scott
John Brough Scott is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted Great War soldier "Galloper Jack" Seely....
, Tom Watt
Tom Watt (actor)
Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
, Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon is a television sports presenter and executive.He attended Culford School near Bury St Edmunds and upon leaving school he became a junior reporter in Cambridge and then a freelance Fleet Street journalist reporting on tennis and rugby...
, Ian Darke
Ian Darke
Ian Darke is an English football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN US. Darke was previously one of Sky's 'Big Four' football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. He was also the main commentator for Sky's big boxing fights, along with Jim Watt, they...
, Tony Banks
Tony Banks, Baron Stratford
Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2005, before being made a Member of the House of Lords. In government, he served for two years as Minister for Sport...
and Alvin Martin
Alvin Martin
Alvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
.
Programming
Talksport’s programming consists of sports talk, live coverage, discussion and phone-in debate for the majority of the day, but diversifies into more general discussion and phone-in debate during the night.The weekday schedule begins with the morning’s sports news, debate and reaction on The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil
Alan Brazil
Alan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
and Ronnie Irani
Ronnie Irani
Ronald Charles "Ronnie" Irani is a former England cricketer who spent most of his career at Essex County Cricket Club, latterly as captain. He is of Irani descent, the Iranis being a community of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the British Raj...
, followed by Richard Keys
Richard Keys
Richard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....
and Andy Gray, who take an in-depth look at the day’s sports stories and invite listeners to have their say. Hawksbee & Jacobs present through the afternoon with sports gossip, interviews and chat, followed by Drive Time with Adrian Durham
Adrian Durham
Adrian Durham is a football journalist and broadcaster.-Career:Durham currently hosts TalkSPORT's "Drivetime" on weekdays between 4pm–7pm alongside ex-cricketer Darren Gough....
and Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
round-up the day’s sports news with debate.
Kick Off, hosted by Mark Saggers
Mark Saggers
-Early life:He attended the Perse School, Cambridge, 1970–77 and was a keen sportsman representing the school at rugby, hockey, and cricket. As a schoolboy, he was a regular on the Newmarket Road End terrace at Cambridge United Football Club.-Sporting career:...
, Danny Kelly and Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
then guides listeners through the evening's sporting action with live commentary of selected matches. Andy Goldstein
Andy Goldstein
Andrew 'Andy' Goldstein is a British TV presenter.Well known for his rather long nose, homosexuality, dodgy briefs and dapple faced complextion....
, Bobby Gould
Bobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...
and Jason Cundy
Jason Cundy
Jason Cundy is a former English footballer.-Football career:During his career, Cundy played for Chelsea , Tottenham Hotspur , Crystal Palace , Bristol City , Ipswich Town and...
take further phone-calls and debate on the Sports Bar before handing over to the late night team, including George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
and Mike Graham who tackle the big news and social issues of the day, with listener interaction on the nightly phone-in.
On Saturday and Sunday, Talksport has full coverage of the weekend’s sport with the latest news and scores from around the grounds on Matchday Live, including live Premier League commentary, followed by a post-match phone-in hosted by Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
.
Talksport also broadcasts specialist programming, including the long-running fishing-based phone-in, Fisherman's Blues, hosted by Keith Arthur, Howzat!, a cricket show with Ronnie Irani, My Sporting Life with Danny Kelly, an in-depth interview with sporting legends, and Full Contact with Mike Bovill, a regular rugby-based magazine show focussing on the Aviva Premiership and Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
and the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Programming highlights
- May 2001: Talksport secured rights to broadcast Premier League games for the first time. The Radio Authority grant the station permission to broadcast games involving ChelseaChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, FulhamFulhamFulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
and Tottenham Hotspur on their London transmitters only. Later, Talksport also secure similar deals with EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City for their transmitters in Greater ManchesterGreater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
and LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
following approval from the Radio Authority. The station also had the ability to split their transmitters in the West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
for games involving Aston Villa but this never comes to fruition.
- December 2002: Talksport announced plans for the station's first ever music show. An easy listening music show entitled Champagne & Roses with Gerald HarperGerald HarperGerald Harper is an actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! and Hadleigh ....
, was broadcast each Saturday evening. The show was axed after less than six months.
- June 2004: Talksport broadcast their first international football tournament officially. Euro 2004 from Portugal was broadcast live on Talksport with commentary of various matches, including the final, from Jim ProudfootJim ProudfootJim Proudfoot is an English football commentator, who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s.Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972, but moved to the Midlands at a young age...
and Alvin MartinAlvin MartinAlvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
. Talksport teamed up with Northamptonshire band 4-4-2 to release a single Come on EnglandCome on EnglandCome On England, a music single by the band 4-4-2. A football-themed song, it was released in June 2004 to coincide with the England national team's appearance at the European Championships. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 2....
. The track reached number 2 in the Official UK Singles Chart.
- June 2006: the station broadcast the 2006 World Cup2006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, with live match commentary of all 64 matches in Germany. Commentary was provided by Jim ProudfootJim ProudfootJim Proudfoot is an English football commentator, who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s.Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972, but moved to the Midlands at a young age...
, Chris CooperChris Cooper (broadcaster)Chris Cooper is an Association football commentator in the United Kingdom.-Career:Previously he worked for talkSPORT, commentating on Chelsea and Arsenal matches in the Premier League, plus Liverpool and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League. He has twice been Head of Sport at Century...
, Nigel PearsonNigel PearsonNigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...
, Ian Danter, Tim White and Geoff Peters with punditry from Alvin MartinAlvin MartinAlvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
, Rodney MarshRodney Marsh (footballer)Rodney William Marsh is an English retired footballer. He was named after HMS Rodney by his father, who served on the battleship. He played for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Manchester City, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the England national team. Lately, he has been a pundit and a commentator on the...
, Gary StevensGary A. StevensGary Andrew Stevens is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth. He won seven caps for England.-Career:...
, Jason CundyJason CundyJason Cundy is a former English footballer.-Football career:During his career, Cundy played for Chelsea , Tottenham Hotspur , Crystal Palace , Bristol City , Ipswich Town and...
and Micky QuinnMicky QuinnMichael "Micky" Quinn is a former footballer. He was predominantly a centre forward during a career in which he scored 228 goals from 515 games in the Football League.- Club career :...
. To coincide with the event, Talksport presenters using the collective name "Talksport Allstars", released the novelty song "We're England" to the tune from "Tom Hark" by Elias and the Zig Zag Jive Flutes.
- August 2006: Former Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
presenter Kelly DalglishKelly DalglishKelly Cates is a Scottish television presenter for ESPN. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she is the daughter of former Liverpool player, and current manager, Kenny Dalglish and the sister of retired ex-Celtic, Newcastle United, Houston Dynamo, and Livingston midfielder Paul Dalglish.-TV career:Cates...
became the first female sports presenter on Talksport, hosting Monday’s edition of Kick-Off alongside Gabriele MarcottiGabriele MarcottiGabriele Marcotti is an England-based Italian sports journalist, sports author, and radio-television presenter.Born in Italy and now based in London, he was raised in Chicago, Poland, Germany, New York and Japan...
and Jason CundyJason CundyJason Cundy is a former English footballer.-Football career:During his career, Cundy played for Chelsea , Tottenham Hotspur , Crystal Palace , Bristol City , Ipswich Town and...
.
- October 2006: Talksport secured national radio broadcast rights to 32 live Premier League matches each Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm for the next three years from August 2007. BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
won six of the seven available broadcast rights packages of 32 games each from the Premier League; however, Talksport becomes the first national commercial radio station to broadcast live top flight football since the BBC first aired live football commentary of Arsenal v Sheffield United on 22 January 1927 in the Division One Championship. Talksport's first live commentary match was BoltonBolton Wanderers F.C.Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
1-3 NewcastleNewcastle United F.C.Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
on Saturday 11 August from the Reebok StadiumReebok StadiumThe Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...
. Nigel Pearson and Alvin MartinAlvin MartinAlvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
were Talksport's commentary team with Adrian Durham and Alan Brazil presenting Matchday Live.
- April 2007: Talksport were awarded "official broadcaster" status for the first time by the International Rugby BoardInternational Rugby BoardThe International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
for the 2007 Rugby World Cup2007 Rugby World CupThe 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
in France. The tournament took place in September and October 2007, however, Talksport did not broadcast full, live commentary of matches but it allowed the station to provide updates and news access live from each of the stadia during the competition.
- April 2009: Russell BrandRussell BrandRussell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
and Noel GallagherNoel GallagherNoel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
were signed by Talksport to present a one-off football talk show on 19 April 2009. It was only a few months after Brand resigned from BBC Radio 2 in the wake of the uproar over the Sachsgate affair.
- February 2010: Talksport gained more Premier League football in the latest radio bidding wars. Whilst relinquishing their 3.00 pm package to football newcomers Absolute Radio, they won two packages from BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, who are currently considered to be the home of football broadcasting on radio. They took over the national radio rights to broadcast the late kick-off every Saturday evening from the Premier League (usually kicking off at 5.30pm), and the early Sunday games (before 3.00pm). This agreement will cover the 2010/11 to 2012/2013 Premier League seasons.
- June 2010: Talksport secured exclusive broadcast rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup2011 Rugby World CupThe 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
in New Zealand.
- June 2010: Talksport broadcast the 2010 World Cup2010 FIFA World CupThe 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, with live match commentary of all 64 matches in South Africa. Commentary was provided by Jim ProudfootJim ProudfootJim Proudfoot is an English football commentator, who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s.Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972, but moved to the Midlands at a young age...
, Ian Danter, Nigel PearsonNigel PearsonNigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...
, John RawlingJohn RawlingJohn Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...
, and Graham BeecroftGraham BeecroftGraham 'Beeky' Beecroft is a British radio personality currently working on Century Radio 105.4. He lives in the Wirral, near Liverpool. He is a former Quantity Surveyor and mobile disco DJ....
with punditry from Alvin MartinAlvin MartinAlvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
, Stan CollymoreStan CollymoreStanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
, Ray ParlourRay ParlourRaymond "Ray" Parlour , is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé"; although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour, on account of his solid performance but...
, Bobby GouldBobby GouldRobert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...
, Tony CascarinoTony CascarinoAnthony Guy 'Tony' Cascarino is an former association football player who played as a forward for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland national team, with whom he competed in the 1988 European Football Championship and two World Cups in 1990 and...
, Lawrie SanchezLawrie SanchezLawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...
and Micky QuinnMicky QuinnMichael "Micky" Quinn is a former footballer. He was predominantly a centre forward during a career in which he scored 228 goals from 515 games in the Football League.- Club career :...
.
Live sports coverage
Currently, Talksport focusses its live sports coverage on football, but also has rights to other sports:- Premier League
- Football League
- Carling Cup
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
- FIFA World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
- UEFA European Football ChampionshipUEFA European Football ChampionshipThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
- Rugby World CupRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
Since its launch, Talksport has held the rights to the Premier League, UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, UEFA Europa League, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, England internationals, Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup, 2010 World Cup, Carling Cup, Football League, domestic Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket, 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, England’s winter cricket Tours to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
Tours to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and rights to the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
, Rugby League World Cup
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...
, Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
and World Title Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Fights.
Presenters
Talksport have a selection of regular presenters and commentators, which include: Adrian DurhamAdrian Durham
Adrian Durham is a football journalist and broadcaster.-Career:Durham currently hosts TalkSPORT's "Drivetime" on weekdays between 4pm–7pm alongside ex-cricketer Darren Gough....
, Alan Brazil
Alan Brazil
Alan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
, Andy Goldstein
Andy Goldstein
Andrew 'Andy' Goldstein is a British TV presenter.Well known for his rather long nose, homosexuality, dodgy briefs and dapple faced complextion....
, Andy Gray, Andy Jacobs
Andy Jacobs
Andrew Eustace Jacobs is a British sports radio personality who presents the Hawksbee and Jacobs show alongside Paul Hawksbee on talkSPORT in the UK, every weekday from 1-4pm....
, Danny Kelly, Duncan Barkes, Eddie Irvine
Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, Jr. is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He grew up in Conlig, County Down, and was influenced by his parents, who were also involved in motor racing...
, George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, Graham Beecroft
Graham Beecroft
Graham 'Beeky' Beecroft is a British radio personality currently working on Century Radio 105.4. He lives in the Wirral, near Liverpool. He is a former Quantity Surveyor and mobile disco DJ....
, Ian Danter, Jack Bannister
Jack Bannister
Jack Bannister is the current Talksport radio cricket correspondent, and was, for many years, a BBC television cricket commentator. He had previously played professionally on the county scene for Warwickshire as a fast-medium bowler, taking 1198 first-class wickets in a career that lasted from...
, John Anderson, John Rawling
John Rawling
John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...
, Keith Arthur, Mark Saggers
Mark Saggers
-Early life:He attended the Perse School, Cambridge, 1970–77 and was a keen sportsman representing the school at rugby, hockey, and cricket. As a schoolboy, he was a regular on the Newmarket Road End terrace at Cambridge United Football Club.-Sporting career:...
, Matt Forde, Mike Bovill, Mike Graham, Neil Manthorp
Neil Manthorp
Neil Manthorp is a South African writer and broadcaster based in Cape Town. He is best known internationally for his coverage of cricket.-Biography:Manthorp was born and educated in England, but considers himself very much a South African...
, Nigel Pearson
Nigel Pearson
Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...
, Paul Hawksbee
Paul Hawksbee
Paul Hawksbee presents the Hawksbee and Jacobs show alongside Andy Jacobs on talkSPORT and has also presented You're on Sky Sports on the Sky Sports subscription TV channel....
, Ray Parlour
Ray Parlour
Raymond "Ray" Parlour , is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé"; although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour, on account of his solid performance but...
, Richard Keys
Richard Keys
Richard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....
, Rupert Bell, Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
, Sam Matterface
Sam Matterface
Sam Peter Matterface is a well-known English sports broadcaster currently working for TalkSPORT.He came to prominence as the well-known voice of south-coast radio station 107.4 The Quay, where he presented a variety of sports related programmes from 2001–2007, as well as the breakfast show. He is...
, Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
and ex-professional sportsmen to provide expert comment on a variety of the station's programmes, including: Alvin Martin
Alvin Martin
Alvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
, Bobby Gould
Bobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...
, Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
, Jason Cundy
Jason Cundy
Jason Cundy is a former English footballer.-Football career:During his career, Cundy played for Chelsea , Tottenham Hotspur , Crystal Palace , Bristol City , Ipswich Town and...
, Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn is an English former Rugby Union player.The Askeans, Streatham and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but Probyn did not make his international debut until 1988, at the age of 31, against France...
, Matt Holland
Matt Holland
Matthew Rhys "Matt" Holland is a former English-born Irish footballer, who represented Republic of Ireland at international level...
, Micky Quinn
Micky Quinn
Michael "Micky" Quinn is a former footballer. He was predominantly a centre forward during a career in which he scored 228 goals from 515 games in the Football League.- Club career :...
, Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
, Ray Houghton
Ray Houghton
Raymond James "Ray" Houghton is a retired Scottish-born footballer who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level, qualifying through his Irish father...
, Ronnie Irani
Ronnie Irani
Ronald Charles "Ronnie" Irani is a former England cricketer who spent most of his career at Essex County Cricket Club, latterly as captain. He is of Irani descent, the Iranis being a community of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the British Raj...
and Stewart Robson
Stewart Robson
Stewart Ian Robson is an English former football player. He now summarises for Arsenal TV and sometimes on TalkSPORT's evening Kick Off Show during the week...
.
The station also has a team of journalists and reporters bringing listeners the latest news and sport through their bulletins and programmes, including: Andrew McKenna, Andy Clarke, Bob Bubka, Dave Rowe, David Brady, Dominic McGuinness, Faye Carruthers, Geoff Peters, Graham Courtney, Grahame Lloyd, Ian Abrahams, John Temple, Kevin Lawrence, Nick Heath, Nigel Ringland, Pete Abbott, Peter Martin, Robyn Schonhofer, Roger Hughes, Russell Hargreaves, Simon Humphreys, Simon Ward and Tony Incenzo.
Former presenters
Talksport's original line-up included Alan BrazilAlan Brazil
Alan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
, Mark Nicholas
Mark Nicholas
Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas is a cricket commentator and former player. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement....
, Chris Cowdrey
Chris Cowdrey
Christopher Stuart "Chris" Cowdrey is an English former cricketer. Cowdrey played for Kent, Glamorgan and England as an all-rounder...
, Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
, Alan Parry
Alan Parry
Alan Parry is a British sports commentator, born and raised in Garston, Liverpool, concentrating on football and athletics. He has commentated for all three main broadcasters of football in the UK - the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, as well as for both BBC and commercial radio.Starting his career at BBC...
, Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
, Brian Moore
Brian Moore (commentator)
Brian Moore was a British sports commentator.-Early life:Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent, which was also the school of fellow commentators Peter West and Barry Davies....
, Brough Scott
Brough Scott
John Brough Scott is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted Great War soldier "Galloper Jack" Seely....
, Tom Watt
Tom Watt (actor)
Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
, Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon is a television sports presenter and executive.He attended Culford School near Bury St Edmunds and upon leaving school he became a junior reporter in Cambridge and then a freelance Fleet Street journalist reporting on tennis and rugby...
, Ian Darke
Ian Darke
Ian Darke is an English football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN US. Darke was previously one of Sky's 'Big Four' football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. He was also the main commentator for Sky's big boxing fights, along with Jim Watt, they...
, Tony Banks
Tony Banks, Baron Stratford
Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2005, before being made a Member of the House of Lords. In government, he served for two years as Minister for Sport...
, James Whale (radio)
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
, Ian Collins
Ian Collins (radio presenter)
Ian Collins is a British radio and television presenter & journalist. He was the presenter of The Late Show on national talkSPORT Radio. The show was non- sport and took a comedic/observational look at news & current affairs...
, Derek Hatton
Derek Hatton
Derek 'Degsy' Hatton is a broadcaster, businessman and after-dinner speaker. He won celebrity status as a local politician in Liverpool during the 1980s, where he was deputy leader of the city council, and a supporter of the Trotskyist Militant Tendency.-Early life:He attended Liverpool Institute...
and Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin , was a late-night host on the British radio station talkSPORT. Dickin used to present the 1am to 6am slot at weekends on Talk Radio UK from 1995 to 2001. He returned filling in for James Whale during James' battle with kidney cancer...
.
Other past presenters on the network include Mike Parry
Mike Parry
Mike Parry is a British journalist and radio presenter.-Early life:Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School, Chester, and later Trent Polytechnic.-Journalism career:...
, John Gaunt, Nicky Horne
Nicky Horne
Nicky Horne was a road manager for Emperor Rosko in 1969, before presenting shows on BBC Radio 1, from 1970 - 1973.Horne was one of the original line-up on London's Capital Radio, where he presented shows such as Your Mother Wouldn't like it, Mummy's Weekly & 6 of the Best...
, Tony Lockwood, Tommy Boyd
Tommy Boyd
Timothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
, Charlie Wolf
Charlie Wolf
Charlie Wolf is a British-based American radio talk-show host, disc jockey and political commentator, originally from Boston, and formerly the Communications Director of Republicans Abroad UK. Wolf is best known for the TalkSport show he hosted on Saturdays and Sundays from 1am to 6am, following...
, Mark Green
Mark Green
Mark Andrew Green is an American politician and a former United States Ambassador to Tanzania, a position he held from August 2007 until January 2009. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007, representing...
, Richard Kaufman
Richard Kaufman
Richard Ian Kaufman is an English cricketer. Kaufman is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born at Kettering, Northamptonshire....
, Bill Young
Bill Young
Charles William "Bill" Young is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1971. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is currently the longest-serving Republican member of Congress...
, Patrick Kinghorn, Mike Mendoza
Mike Mendoza
Michael David Mendoza is a British radio presenter and politician best known for the overnight shows he presented on talkSPORT between 2004 and 2008, initially on weeknights before being moved to weekends in 2006...
, Rhodri Williams
Rhodri Williams
Rhodri Williams is a Welsh sports journalist from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.He was a main anchor for Sky channel Sky Sports News and was one of Sky's main rugby presenters - hosting the Heineken Cup and Southern Hemisphere rugby including the Tri Nations, the NPC in New Zealand and the...
, Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle is an English radio and television presenter, best known for his British daytime television chat show on ITV, The Jeremy Kyle Show. Kyle is also the host of an American talk show of the same name that premiered on 19 September 2011.-Radio career:From 1986 to 1995, Kyle worked as a...
, Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (Sports Broadcaster/Referee)
Dave Roberts is a TV Presenter and commentator specialising in football . He previously worked for ESPN in the USA, ESPN Star Sports in Singapore, Sky Sports in the UK as well as a host of radio stations. As well as his broadcast work he is a fully qualified National/International football referee....
, Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (broadcaster)
Chris Cooper is an Association football commentator in the United Kingdom.-Career:Previously he worked for talkSPORT, commentating on Chelsea and Arsenal matches in the Premier League, plus Liverpool and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League. He has twice been Head of Sport at Century...
, Jim Proudfoot
Jim Proudfoot
Jim Proudfoot is an English football commentator, who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s.Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972, but moved to the Midlands at a young age...
, Rodney Marsh
Rodney Marsh (footballer)
Rodney William Marsh is an English retired footballer. He was named after HMS Rodney by his father, who served on the battleship. He played for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Manchester City, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the England national team. Lately, he has been a pundit and a commentator on the...
, Ian Wright
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...
, Rob McCaffrey
Rob McCaffrey
Robert McCaffrey is a British television presenter. He is most notable for presenting shows such as Goals On Sunday and You're On Sky Sports...
, Russ Williams
Russ Williams
Russell "Russ" Williams is an English radio DJ from Blackpool, primarily known for his long-running shows on Virgin Radio , and since 2008 on Absolute Radio, the re-launched version of Virgin Radio.-Biography:...
, Steve Bower
Steve Bower
Steve Bower is an English football commentator, one of the main voices for BBC TV's Match of the Day, culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa...
, Kelly Dalglish
Kelly Dalglish
Kelly Cates is a Scottish television presenter for ESPN. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she is the daughter of former Liverpool player, and current manager, Kenny Dalglish and the sister of retired ex-Celtic, Newcastle United, Houston Dynamo, and Livingston midfielder Paul Dalglish.-TV career:Cates...
and many others.
Station management
Scott TauntonScott Taunton
Scott Taunton is an Australian businessman. Born in Canberra, he was general manager of DNA Internet until March 2000, when the company was acquired by Northern Ireland-based broadcaster UTV Media. He was appointed Managing Director of UTV Internet, which became one of the largest service providers...
was previously the Business Development Director at UTV, responsible for radio and new media. A native of Australia, he has been working in the UK for a decade and took over from Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
as Chief Executive
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Talksport in July 2005. Moz Dee is Programme Director, having taken over from Bill Ridley in 2008, while Matt Smith is Programme Controller and Head of Outside Broadcasts. Simon Caney is editor of Sport magazine, with Neil Sedley is currently chief engineer, while, Peter Gee is head of creative.
Frequencies
In a number of areas, particularly in areas where the signal from the main 1089 and 1053 kHz transmitters overlap with each other, Talksport operates a number of filler transmitters on different frequencies:- 1071 kHz - Nottingham, Newcastle
- 1107 kHz - Merseyside, West Sussex, South Kent, Torbay, The Wash, Hampshire
The 1089 and 1053 kHz frequency was originally used by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
between 1978 and 1994.
It is also transmitted across the UK on digitally
Digital radio in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio is proceeding since test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990. The UK currently has the world's biggest digital radio network, with 103 transmitters, two national DAB ensembles and 48 local and regional DAB ensembles...
via DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
, Freeview, Sky
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
, Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
and TalkTalk TV. Talksport is also streamed online; however, due to rights restrictions on live coverage, some live sport commentaries are not available online.
Audience
According to the RAJARRAJAR
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the RadioCentre...
audience figures for Q1/2011, Talksport’s audience is 3.25 million adults in the UK, which is highest achieved since the station launched as Talk Radio in 1995. Men make up 80% of the Talksport audience, while 47% of all listeners are in the 15-44 age bracket, giving the station an advantage when pitching to potential advertisers. Each listener tuned in for an average of 6.8 hours per week giving them a total of 22.5 million hours. Talksport's market share is 2.1%.
Talksport programme director Moz Dee said: “This is a very promising start to 2011 and shows that our recent record-breaking figures are not just a flash in the pan, but rather a sign of consistent and significant growth as we continue to win new listeners. I’m very proud of everyone in the programming team, as they have worked so hard to build credibility in sports journalism and made talkSPORT must-listen radio for sports fans.”
Controversies
- June 2000: Talksport caused a stir with the BBC after it was revealed Talksport been broadcasting their live commentaries of matches at Euro 2000 from television monitors rather than from each of the stadia due to the lack of available broadcast rights.
- April 2002: Tommy BoydTommy BoydTimothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
and his production team were sacked from Talksport after a call from someone who wanted to shoot the Royal Family views went through on air. Boyd went on record that he did not share the views of the caller
- June 2002: Talksport broadcast unofficial coverage of the 2002 World Cup2002 World Cup2002 World Cup may refer to:*Alpine skiing – 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup*Athletics – 2002 IAAF World Cup*Field Hockey:** 2002 Men's World Hockey Cup** 2002 Women's World Hockey Cup...
taking place in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The station flags up their inability to broadcast live from the stadia, with them taking out full page advertisements in national newspapers containing the tag line “It’s unauthorised. It’s unofficial. And it’s brilliant.” Jim ProudfootJim ProudfootJim Proudfoot is an English football commentator, who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s.Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972, but moved to the Midlands at a young age...
and Alvin MartinAlvin MartinAlvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
are Talksport's main commentary team from their studios in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
- February 2003: Talksport received over 200 complaints for giving a platform to the controversial Muslim extremist cleric Abu HamzaAbu Hamza al-MasriAbu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni activist known for his preaching of a violent and politicised interpretation of Islam, also known as militant Islamism or jihadism...
. Hamza and his aides are invited into the station to contribute to a religious debate on The James WhaleJames WhaleJames Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
Show, alongside other Christian, Jewish and Muslim delegates. On the night of the live broadcast, Monday 24 February, a mass of protesters gather outside the station's London studios. Despite this, both presenter James WhaleJames WhaleJames Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
and head of programming Bill Ridley defend the station for having invited Hamza onto the programme.
- March 2004: Alan BrazilAlan BrazilAlan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
is sacked by Talksport after his failure to show up to present The Sports Breakfast on Friday 19 March after spending three days at the Cheltenham FestivalCheltenham FestivalThe Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
. Less than three weeks later, Brazil is reinstated to his role.
- May 2006: Alan BrazilAlan BrazilAlan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
is reportedly given three months notice by Talksport after bust-up with the station's management. Less than two months later, Brazil and Talksport management held talks and the former ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
international footballer signed a new long-term contract with the station.
- June 2006: The Sports Breakfast presenter Alan BrazilAlan BrazilAlan Bernard Brazil is a Scottish former football player and broadcaster. He was a forward before retirement due to injury. He is now a radio presenter on Talksport.-Club career:...
got in trouble with OfcomOfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
for referring to the Japanese as "the nips" during the 2006 World Cup in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- August 2007: Mike MendozaMike MendozaMichael David Mendoza is a British radio presenter and politician best known for the overnight shows he presented on talkSPORT between 2004 and 2008, initially on weeknights before being moved to weekends in 2006...
and Garry BushellGarry BushellGarry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
made derogatory comments about gay people, and the station was subsequently censured by regulator Ofcom. Bushell left soon after, when his six month contract expired.
- May 2008: James WhaleJames Whale (radio)Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
was dismissed by Talksport after twice urging listeners to vote for Boris JohnsonBoris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
in the 2008 London Mayoral Election The station was subsequently fined £20,000 by Ofcom in December 2008.
- November 2008: Controversial presenter Jon GauntJon GauntJonathan Charles Gaunt , is an English radio talk show presenter, TV Personality, newspaper columnist, social commentator and spokesman....
was fired for repeatedly calling a local councillor a "Nazi". Gaunt has since sought legal action for unfair dismissal, but any potential case has yet to go to court. His campaign has been backed by LibertyLiberty (pressure group)Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
activist Shami ChakrabartiShami ChakrabartiShami Chakrabarti CBE , has been the director of Liberty, a British pressure group, since September 2003. Chakrabarti is the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University.-Early life:...
, who had previously been one of Gaunt's pet hates.
- November 2008: Rod Lucas was dropped by Talksport and claimed they "no plans to use him in the immediate future" after the membership list of the BNPBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
which was leaked on a GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
blog named him as one of its members. The station clarified that this wasn't a sacking as Lucas was only a temporary member of staff. The presenter himself claimed that his membership of the party was part of a covert research project.
- December 2010: Drive Time presenter Adrian DurhamAdrian DurhamAdrian Durham is a football journalist and broadcaster.-Career:Durham currently hosts TalkSPORT's "Drivetime" on weekdays between 4pm–7pm alongside ex-cricketer Darren Gough....
caused controversy after stating during his show, that the footballer Andrey ArshavinAndrey ArshavinAndrey Arshavin is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League club Arsenal FC and is captain of the Russian national team....
"shouldn't be welcomed back to England" after helping Russia win the rights to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- February 2011: Talksport hired former Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
presenters Andy Gray and Richard KeysRichard KeysRichard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....
a fortnight after the pair were sacked from Sky Sports for being at the centre of a sexism controversy.
Other Media
- Soccer Bet was a short-lived 68-page weekly magazine which Talksport had hoped would appeal to football fans that enjoyed betting on games. It was designed in a smaller A5 format to make it easy for fans to carry and the launch was backed by a £500,000 promotional campaign. Soccer Bet lasted just two months before it was axed in October 2003 due to poor sales.
- Talksport TV launched in October 2004 plaform broadcasting for six hours a day on the Sky Digital television platform aiming to catch listeners who've come home from work. The service amounted to little more than the televisualisation of TalkSport's broadcasters and pundits presenting the station's Drive Time and Kick Off programmes. The channel closed in 2005 following the takeover of Talksport by UTV RadioUTV RadioUTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....
.
- Talk Radio was set to return to the airwaves as a station on DAB digital radio in 2008 after OfcomOfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
awarded a second DAB digital radio national commercial multiplex to the 4 Digital Group4 Digital Group4 Digital Group was a media consortium in the United Kingdom. The group won the licence to operate the second national DAB radio multiplex, as advertised by Ofcom in December 2006. The consortium, led by Channel 4 Radio, is a combination of the existing commercial radio operators and brands new to...
consortium led by Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. However, the station never launched after Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
announced that it was abandoning its plans for digital radio stations.
- Talksport Magazine launched in May 2008 as a weekly online-only digital publication to extend the station's brand beyond the radio. The magazine was later integrated into the newly relaunched Talksport website in 2010.
- Sport was acquired by Talksport in 2010 and is the UK’s 2nd largest men’s magazine. SportSport (magazine)Sport is a free French and London-based weekly sports magazine. It specialises in football, rugby, and tennis, together with handball in France and cricket in London...
is targeted at the affluent male and hand distributed in locations across the country including London mainline and tube stations. It’s also made available across many hotels, gyms and airports.
- Talksport Online is the station's website at talksport.co.uk. In January 2011, it announced a seven-fold growth in unique visitors in the previous year. Exclusive content such as Richard Keys’ candid apology for his role in the Sky Sports sexism scandal and the latest gossip on Fernando Torres’ transfer to Chelsea sent monthly unique users soaring to a record 1.7 million – up nearly 600% year on year.
Books, DVDs and Games
- Talksport Road Trip is a DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
including exclusive footage of the English team and a host of celebrity interviews at the 2006 World Cup released in 2006. .
- Talksport Legends & Anthems is a three CD package, released in 2009, featuring 40 tracks by artists such as The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, The CureThe CureThe Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, The Killers, Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
on two of the discs as well as a bonus CD with out-takes and highlights of Talksport.
- Ten Years of Talksport is a book describing the station's history. Originally released in 2009, an updated version of the book including two new chapters was released in 2011.
- The Talksport Book of World Cup Banter Released in 2010, this is a book of football facts about the FIFA World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
.
- The TalkSport Book of Cricket's Best Ever Sledges features contributions from Talksport presenters Darren GoughDarren GoughDarren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
and Ronnie IraniRonnie IraniRonald Charles "Ronnie" Irani is a former England cricketer who spent most of his career at Essex County Cricket Club, latterly as captain. He is of Irani descent, the Iranis being a community of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the British Raj...
among others, recounting 'sledging' (mind-games within cricket). Released in 2010.