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UTV Radio owned talkSPORT is the only dedicated national commercial sports and talk radio station, based in London, broadcasting to the United Kingdom providing sports talk, live commentaries, phone-in discussion and talk shows.

It is transmitted on 1089 and 1053 kHz across the UK and digitally via: DAB Digital Radio, Freeview, Sky, NTL, Telewest and Homechoice. talkSPORT is also streamed online, however due to rights restrictions on live coverage of some events is not available online.

The station was originally launched as Talk Radio on 14th February 1995, with Sean Bolger and Samantha Meah presenting the original Talk Radio Breakfast Show. Other presenters on Talk Radio included Tommy Boyd, Ceaser The Geezer, Wild Al Kelly, Anna Raeburn, Gary Newbon and Dale Winton. A year later Talk Radio launched a new Breakfast Show presented by Paul Ross and Carol McGiffen. Former BBC Radio 1 DJ and current Classic FM Breakfast presenter Simon Bates also joined the station along with James Whale and Ian Collins.

Talk Radio made their first foray into the world of sports radio rights bidding, by purchasing the rights to broadcast the Nationwide Football League from BBC Radio Five Live for the 1997-1998 season. In addition, the station broadcasts their first World Cup from France in 1998, with them bringing in the top Sky Sports commentary team of Alan Parry and Andy Gray to commentate on the major matches. Talk Radio also picked up the rights to broadcast Manchester United’s matches in the Champions League for the 1998-1999 season, a competition the Red Devils go onto win beating Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp.

In November 1998, TalkCo Holdings, whose Chairman and Chief Executive is former Sun Editor Kelvin MacKenzie, purchase Talk Radio from CLT. This leads to a mass clearout of presenters including Nick Abbot, Anna Raeburn, Tommy Boyd and Peter Deeley, with them putting in place a more sports orientated programming schedule, including The Sportszone with Alan Parry, Gary Newbon, Tony Lockwood and Tom Watt.

Late 1999, TalkCo who rebrand as The Wireless Group, announce plans to launch Talk Radio as the UK’s first national commercial sports radio station called talkSPORT. The means the end of most of the remaining talk shows including The Big Boys Breakfast with David Banks and Nick Ferrari. In addition talkSPORT purchases the rights to broadcast Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle in the Champions League, the FA Cup, England Internationals, UEFA Cup, England’s Winter Tours to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India, British Lions Tours to South Africa and New Zealand and rights to the Super League, Rugby League World Cup, and World Title Boxing Fights.

At Midnight on Monday 17th January 2000, Talk Radio became talkSPORT with the station moving from Oxford Street to a new studio in Hatfield on the South Bank of the River Thames near Waterloo Station. With the advent of a new sports station, this saw the introduction of a dedicated Sports Breakfast show, mid-morning motoring show called The Car Guys and sports programming in the afternoon, drive and evening with a number of new presenters and personalities.

A number of presenters and commentators joined talkSPORT and formed part of their programming schedule and coverage team. This included Alan Brazil, Mark Nicholas, Chris Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott, Alan Parry, Peter Shilton, Brian Moore, Brough Scott, Tom Watt, Gary Newbon, Ian Darke, MP Tony Banks and Alvin Martin.

In the last few years talkSPORT have broadcast coverage of a number of sporting events including Euro 2000, 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2004 Athens Olympics, England's Winter Tours to India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies, The Open Golf Championship, The Ryder Cup, Champions League, Premiership, Carling Cup, FA Cup, British Lions Tours of South Africa and New Zealand, 2003 Rugby World Cup, World Boxing Title Fights, Grand Prix, The Grand National, The Derby and The Cheltenham Festival.

This summer talkSPORT broadcast their first World Cup as an official broadcaster of the 2006 FIFA World Cup with live match commentary of all 64 matches in Germany with a commentary team including: Chris Cooper, Nigel Pearson, Jim Proudfoot, Ian Danter, Tim White and Geoff Peters. Pundits include: Alvin Martin, Rodney Marsh, Gary Stevens, Jason Cundy, Micky Quinn, Ray Houghton and Andy Townsend.

In addition, talkSPORT will also have live commentary of The 135th Open Championship between Thursday 20th July until Sunday 23rd July at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake with a commentary team likely to include regulars Robert Lee, Richard Boxall, Rupert Bell and Bob Bubka. Also, talkSPORT will have live commentary of the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day from Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday 12th August.

Programmes & Presenters

=The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast
= The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Graham Beecroft broadcasts each weekday between 6:00am-10:00am and is the UK's only dedicated sports breakfast show with all the latest sports news, views, and phone-in discusion. Ian Abrahams and Rachel Brookes provide the latest news and sports updates, Derek Thompson with horse racing news and tips and Henk Potts with finance news. Currently sponsored by Ford, The Transit Hour between 9:00am-10:00am is a dedicated phone-in on the day's top sports stories and headlines.

=The Jon Gaunt Show
= Former BBC London presenter and columnist with The Sun, Jon Gaunt hosts talkSPORT's mid-morning current affairs phone-in each weekday between 10:00am-1:00pm. Gaunt can be controversial, outrageous and entertaining but you either love or hate him.

=Sportswatch
= Broadcast each weekday at 1:00pm, Sportswatch is an extended sports bulletin with all the day's sports news, headlines and interviews from the world of football, cricket, rugby, golf, tennis and beyond. Presented by Andrew McKenna.

=Hawksbee & Jacobs
= Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs broadcast their afternoon sports show every weekday afternoon following Sportswatch with Andrew McKenna until 4:00pm. With interviews, features and sports chat, Hawksbee & Jacobs is one of radio's funniest show with some of the best names. In the last few weeks, they have interviewed: Paul Gascoigne, Pele, Tim Sherwood, Steve Waugh, Ricky Tomlinson and Tony Cottee.

=The Game
= The Game with Adrian Durham and Rodney Marsh, sponsored by The Times, is the UK's only dedicated drivetime sports show broadcasting from Monday and Thursday between 4:00pm-7:00pm. On Friday, The Game is presented by Andy Townsend and Mike Parry. Includes news and sports upates with Robyn Schonhofer and Andrew McKenna, plus phone-in discussion, interviews and debate on all the day's big sports news and headlines.

=Evening Kick-Off
= With Rhodri Williams joined by Gabriele Marcotti and Jason Cundy on Monday between 7:00pm-10:00pm and Patrick Kinghorn with either Ray Houghton, Alvin Martin and Gary Stevens between Tuesday and Friday, Evening Kick-Off is a nightly football phone-in show. Plus, on busy matchnights, updates and reports from the night's matches with talkSPORT's team of reporters.

=Champions League Live & UEFA Cup Live
= talkSPORT broadcast live commentary from the UEFA Champions League. Last season, the station broadcast commentary from matches involving Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, including the 2006 Champions League Final in Paris: Arsenal 1-2 Barcelona with Adrian Durham, Nigel Pearson and Alvin Martin. In 2005, talkSPORT also broadcast Liverpool v AC Milan in the Champions League Final in Istanbul with Adrian Durham, Chris Cooper, Alvin Martin & Ray Houghton. In addition, talkSPORT broadcast live match commentary of the 2006 UEFA Cup Final from Eindhoven for Middlesbrough v Sevilla with Patrick Kinghorn, Chris Cooper and Alvin Martin.

=Football First International Special
= talkSPORT broadcast commentary of England's World Cup Qualifiers, Euro 2008 Qualifiers and Friendly matches with their commentary team on a midweek and weekend. Following commentary of a game, the station broadcasts a phone-in until 11:00pm on a matchnight.

=Football First Premiership Live
= talkSPORT broadcast live Premiership commentary to listeners on 1089 kHz AM in the London region. Last season, the station broadcast matches involving Arsenal and Chelsea. In previous years talkSPORT has also broadcast, Fulham and Tottenham and Blackburn, Everton and Manchester City in the North-West region. Live Premiership commentaries are not broadcast on Saturday at either 3:00pm or 5:15pm but are broadcast at all other times. talkSPORT have the ability to broadcast opt-out commentaries on their transmitters in the North West on 1089 kHz AM, Midlands on 1053 kHz AM and London on 1089 kHz AM under permission from regulators OFCOM.

=The James Whale Show
= James Whale broadcasts Monday to Thursday between 10:00pm-1:00am and Sunday between 12:00pm-4:00pm. Whale is the self-proclaimed king of late night radio and is known for his controversial and forthright manner as well as his guests from the weird to the wonderful. Previous guests include Uri Geller, Abu Hamza, Nick Pope, David Icke, Faria Alam and Rebecca Loos.

=The Late Night Ian Collins Show
= Having previously presented The Creatures of the Night and Ian Collins: Unbranded, Ian Collins now presents The Late Night Ian Collins Show alongside Lisa Francesca Nand 1:00am-6:00am from Tuesday to Friday with a mix of late night chat, dicussion and banter.

=Fisherman's Blues
= Keith Arthur and Nigel Botherway host the nation's only dedicated fishing show with the chance to talk angling each Saturday and Sunday between 6:00am-8:00am before The Weekend Sports Breakfast.

=The Weekend Sports Breakfast
= Andy Townsend and Mike Parry host talkSPORT's Weekend Sports Breakfast every Weekend between 8:00am-12:00pm with an early-morning fix of sports news, discussion and pre-match debate ahead of the day's Premiership and Football League fixtures.

=Football First
= Adrian Durham, Alvin Martin and Gary Stevens with full coverage of the afternoon's action in the Premiership, Football League, Conference and SPL with reporters stationed at every gamein the Premiership and the games that matter in the Championship. The fastest moving show on radio with the thrills and spills from every game on a Saturday afternoon. Football First broadcasts every Saturday between 12:00pm-5:00pm.

=The Final Whistle
= The Final Whistle broadcasts Saturday between 5:00pm-8:00pm with Patrick Kinghorn and Micky Quinn with full reaction and analysis of the afternoon's matches on the ultimate post-match football phone-in. The show is also broadcast on Sunday between 4:00pm-8:00pm with Patrick Kinghorn, Gabriele Marcotti and Ray Houghton and includes news and interviews from Europe.

=Mike Dickin
= Mike Dickin, known as "the angriest man in Britain" broadcasts every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10:00pm-1:00am with a late night phone-in talk show. Dickin previously hosted the mid-morning show and broadcasts his show from Bodmin in Cornwall rather than London.

=Mike Mendoza
= Mike Mendoza broadcasts every Saturday, Sunday and Monday between 1:00am-6:00am with late night chat and conversation, plus a link up with KABC Talk Radio in Los Angeles, Michael Van Straten and the Gadget Detective.

=George Galloway
= George Galloway, the MP for Bethnal Green & Bow in London, broadcasts his talk show every Saturday and Sundy evening between 8:00pm-10:00pm. The show is also broadcast on Talk 107 in Edinburgh, a talk station owned by UTV Radio.

=Monday Night Racing From Windsor
= Broadcast every summer between the end and beginning of the football season. Derek Thompson and Micky Quinn along with Charlie McCann hosted the show in 2005 every Monday between 7:00pm-9:30pm with live commentary from the night's races at Windsor, plus all the colour and atmosphere from around the course.

=Saturday & Sunday Scoreboard
= Broadcast between the end and beginning of the football season on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon instead of Football First. In 2005, Scoreboard broadcast on a Saturday and Sunday between 2:00pm-6:00pm and was hosted by Adrian Durham. He was alongside Gabriele Marcotti, Henry Winter, Alvin Martin and Rob Beasley on a regular basis in addition to updates and reports from the afternoon sport.

=The Cricket Show
= Chris Cowdrey and Jack Bannister hosted talkSPORT's dedicated cricket show in 2005 each Wednesday night between 7:00pm-10:00pm at a time when England were face Australia in the Ashes Series. In addition, Allan Lamb and The Barmy Army made contributions to the show discussing the latest action involving England, Twenty20 Cup and the County Championship. In 2001, talkSPORT's dedicated Cricket Show was hosted by Geoffrey Boycott called Call Geoffrey Boycott with it even having Jonathan Agnew from the BBC Radio 4 LW & BBC Radio Five Live Sports Exta's Test Match Special phoning the show regularly.

=The Open Championship Live
= Each year, talkSPORT provides live commentary of every day of The Open Golf Championship. Last year, Rupert Bell lead a commentary team from the 134th Open Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland that included, Robert Lee, Richard Boxall, Mark Roe and Bob Bobka. In 2006, The 135th Open Championship takes place between Thursday 20th July and Sunday 23rd July at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake and talkSPORT's coverage will be anchored by Adrian Durham.

=The Rugby Show
= Earlier in 2006, Rhodri Williams and Jeff Probyn presented The Rugby Show every Monday between 9:00pm-10:00pm during the Six Nations Championship. talkSPORT also broadcast The Rugby Show with Rhodri Williams in 2005 as a preview programme to their live commentary of the British Lions Tour of New Zealand.

=Twenty20 Cup Live
= talkSPORT will broadcast the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day on Saturday 12th August from Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Both Semi-Finals at 11:30am and 3:30pm will be broadcast on talkSPORT's digital platforms only with Football First and The Final Whistle on AM. The Final at 7:30pm will be broadcast on all platforms. Commentators are likely to include Chris Cowdrey, Jack Bannister and Andrew McKenna and hosted by Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs throughout the day.

Station Management

Scott Taunton 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.

Speaking about his role when appointed: “I am delighted to take one of the most exciting jobs in British media. Kelvin has done a great job at building awareness of the talkSPORT brand. I will now focus on growing our audience nationally and locally to provide a compelling commercial offering to advertisers, and ensuring the highest quality output for our listeners.”

Audience Figures

talkSPORT’s latest RAJAR audience figures for Quarter 1 of 2006 show a loss of 16.6% for reach year-on-year for the station.

In the previous Quarter 4 of 2005, talkSPORT topped 19 million listening hours a week for the first time since the station was launched as Talk Radio in 1995. Before 2005, the station had recorded more than 19 hours only three times since 1995. In addition talkSPORT scored a reach of 2.2m listeners each week and a market share of 1.8%, according to the RAJAR results for Q4 2005 (19th September - 18th December).

The most recent period, Quarter 1 of 2006, is less impressive with reach for the station down 16.6% year-on-year, down 5.0% quarter-on-quarter and market share down 0.2% year-on-year also. talkSPORT reached an audience of 2.1m listeners each week compared to almost 2.5m listeners for the same period last year.

Audience figures for The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Graham Beecroft which broadcasts on talkSPORT each weekday morning between 6:00am-10:00am: In Quarter 1 for 2005, The Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil & Graham Beecroft reached an audience of 1.2m listeners every week. In Quarter 4 for 2005, reach dropped under 1 million listeners to 995,000 listeners. In January 2006, the show was rebranded as The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Graham Beecroft but figures dropped further for Quarter 1 of 2006 reaching an audience of 976,000 listeners.

Trivia and Information

  • talkSPORT sponsored the fictional football team Warbury Warriors, who appear in the comic strip Striker, from 2001 until 2004.

  • In 2004, talkSPORT presenters appeared on ITV's CD:UK and the BBC's Top of the Pops peforming their anthem for Euro 2004: "Come on England" with Northamptonshire-based band 4-4-2. The single was released was reached number 2 in the Official UK Singles Chart.

  • In a bid to promote talkSPORT's live and exclusive coverage of England's Tour of India in 2000, commentator Chris Cowdrey rode an elephant whilst commentating on the Test.

  • talkSPORT presenters Adrian Durham and James Whale share the same birthday: 13th May.

See also

External links

Radio stations in the United Kingdom | Sports radio in the United Kingdom

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "TalkSPORT".

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