TalkSPORT
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- The correct title of this article is talkSPORT. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
| talkSPORT | |
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| Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
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| First air date | 14 February 1995 as Talk Radio UK 17 January 2000 as talkSPORT |
| Frequency | Medium Wave: 1053 kHz, 1071 kHz, 1089 kHz, and 1107 kHz DAB: 11D Digital One (England and Wales) 12A Digital One (Scotland) 12D Score Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland) Freeview: 723 Sky Digital: 0108 HomeChoice: 625 Virgin Media: 927 |
| Format | Sports Commentary, Coverage, Talk and News |
| Owner | UTV Radio |
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, Virgin Media and Homechoice. talkSPORT is also streamed online, however due to rights restrictions on live coverage of some events is not available online.
[edit] History
The station was originally launched as Talk Radio on 14 February 1995 (even though its first presenter based broadcast was Caeser the Geezer's phone in at 10pm the night before), with Sean Bolger and Samantha Meah presenting the original Talk Radio Breakfast Show. Other presenters on Talk Radio included Scott Chisholm, Tommy Boyd, Anna Raeburn, Gary Newbon and Dale Winton. Also joining the lineup were Chris Ryder (Caesar the Geezer) and Wild Al Kelly, dubbed as shock jocks by the media.
A year later Talk Radio launched a new Breakfast Show presented by Paul Ross and Carol McGiffin. 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.
On November 12 1998, TalkCo Holdings, whose Chairman and Chief Executive was former Sun Editor Kelvin MacKenzie, purchased Talk Radio.[1]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 orientated programming schedule, including The Sportszone with Alan Parry, Gary Newbon, Tony Lockwood and Tom Watt. The day was coined "Black Thursday" by hardcore Talk Radio listeners and received press attention in several nationa newspapers.
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 dedicated to sports, the programming lineup was drastically altered, beginning with a 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 James Whale surviving. To complement their new format, talkSPORT purchased 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.
The new lineup involved a number of presenters and commentators. They included Alan Brazil, Mark Nicholas, Chris Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott, Alan Parry, Peter Shilton, Brian Moore, Brough Scott, Tom Watt, Gary Newbon, Ian Darke, Tony Banks and Alvin Martin.
In the last few years talkSPORT broadcast coverage of a number of sporting events including Euro 2000, 2002 World Cup, 2006 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.
[edit] Programmes & Presenters
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[edit] Presenters, Commentators & Reporters
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[edit] The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast
The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Mike Parry on Monday and Graham Beecroft between Tuesday and Friday 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 discussion. Lisa O'Sullivan and Ian "The Moose" Abrahams provide the latest news and sports updates, Derek Thompson with horse racing news and tips. Currently sponsored by Ford, The Transit Hour between 9:00am-10:00am is a dedicated phone-in.
[edit] The Jon Gaunt Show
Jon Gaunt presents a mid-morning news and political phone-in.
[edit] Hawksbee & Jacobs
Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs broadcast their afternoon sports show every weekday afternoon following Sportswatch with Andrew McKenna until 4:00pm. It includes interviews, features and sports chat. Regular features include the Birthday Spread, One Size Fitz Hall, Sport or Nought, The Fat Lady Sings, Escalado, and The Fools Panel.
[edit] Drive with Adrian Durham & Ian Wright
Drive with Adrian Durham and Ian Wright between Monday and Thursday is the UK's only dedicated drivetime sports show broadcasting from Monday and Thursday between 4:00pm-7:00pm. On Friday, Drive 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.
[edit] Evening Kick-Off & Tuesday/Wednesday Night Football
With Kelly Dalglish joined by Gabriele Marcotti and Jason Cundy on Monday between 7:00pm-10:00pm and either Jim Proudfoot, Rhodri Williams or Ian Danter with either Ray Houghton, Alvin Martin and Gary Stevens between Tuesday and Friday, Evening Kick-Off & Tuesday/Wednesday Night Football 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 and a post-match football phone-in until 11:00pm.
[edit] Champions League Live & UEFA Cup Live
talkSPORT broadcast live commentary from UEFA Champions League matches involving British clubs. Last season, the station broadcast 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.
[edit] 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 the acquisition of broadcast rights. Following coverage of a game, the station broadcasts a phone-in until 11:00pm on a matchnight.
[edit] Football First Premiership Live (From August 2007)
talkSPORT will broadcast live Premiership commentaries from August 2007 each Saturday afternoon. They will be allowed second choice after BBC Radio Five Live's first pick of the games played at 3:00pm.
[edit] 2006-2007 Carling Cup Final Live: Arsenal v Chelsea
talkSPORT will broadcast live coverage of the Carling Cup Final for the next three seasons following a deal with the Football League. Commentary of the 2007 Carling Cup Final: Arsenal v Chelsea was provided by Nigel Pearson and Alvin Martin with The Weekend Sports Breakfast with Andy Townsend & Mike Parry, Carling Cup Final Preview with Ian Danter, Ray Houghton & Jason Cundy and Carling Cup Final Whistle with Ian Danter, Ray Houghton & Jason Cundy also being broadcast live from Cardiff throughout the day.
[edit] Football League Live: The Play-Off Finals
talkSPORT will broadcast live coverage of the Football League Play-Off Finals in the Championship, League One and League Two for the next three seasons following the signing of a deal with the Football League.
[edit] The James Whale Show
James Whale broadcasts Sunday to Thursday between 10:00pm-1:00am. Whale and his sidekick Ash are the self-proclaimed kings of late night radio and are known for their controversial and forthright manner. Previous guests include Uri Geller, Alex Jones, Abu Hamza, Nick Pope, David Icke, Faria Alam and Rebecca Loos.
[edit] 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, discussion and banter.
[edit] Fisherman's Blues
Keith Arthur or 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Football First
Nigel Pearson, 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 game in the Premiership and the games that matter in the Championship. Football First broadcasts every Saturday between 12:00pm-5:00pm.
[edit] The Sunday Session
Rhodri Williams and Jason Cundy present a round-up of the afternoon's sport in the Premiership, Championship, Guinness Premiership, European Tour Golf and Cricket with a light-hearted angle each Sunday between 12:00pm-4:00pm.
[edit] The Final Whistle
The Final Whistle broadcasts Saturday between 5:00pm-8:00pm with Terry Christian 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] George Galloway
George Galloway, the MP for Bethnal Green & Bow in London, broadcasts his talk show every Friday and Saturday between 10:00pm-1:00am. The show is also broadcast on talkSPORT's sister station Talk 107 in Edinburgh,
[edit] The Football Quiz
Rhodri Williams presents The Football Quiz every Saturday night between 8:00pm-10:00pm.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 facing Australia in the Ashes Series. In addition, Allan Lamb 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's Test Match Special phoning the show regularly.
[edit] The Open Championship Live
Each year, talkSPORT provides live commentary of every day of The Open Golf Championship. In 2001, talkSPORT won a Sony Award for their coverage of The Open Championship at St. Andrews. In 2006, talkSPORT's coverage from Royal Liverpool in Hoylake was anchored by Adrian Durham, with commentary from Rupert Bell, Robert Lee, Richard Boxall, Bob Bubka and Mike Bovill.
[edit] The Rugby Show
In 2007, Rhodri Williams and Jeff Probyn present The Rugby Show every Thursday from 1st February until 15th March between 9:00pm-10:00pm during the Six Nations Championship. Mike Bovill and Simon Ward provide live reports and updates from each of the matches.
[edit] Twenty20 Cup Live
talkSPORT broadcast the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day on Saturday 12th August from Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Both Semi-Finals at 11:30am and 3:30pm were broadcast on talkSPORT's digital platforms only with Football First and The Final Whistle on AM. The Final at 7:30pm was broadcast on all platforms. Commentators included Chris Cowdrey, Jack Bannister and Andrew McKenna and hosted by Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs throughout the day.
[edit] The Clash of The Titans
Festive debate over the issues of the year broadcast every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Regularly chaired by Alan Brazil, the 2006 Clash of the Titans featured James Whale, Mike Parry and Jon Gaunt. In previous years, Tommy Boyd, Mike Dickin, Steve Norris and Ian Collins have all been involved in the show. Clash of the Titans was first recorded in 2000, by Joe Holland and Paul Marchant. Since then it has gone from strength to strength. Great entertainment over the Christmas period.
[edit] Recent Programming Developments
In summer 2006, the station broadcast its first World Cup, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with live match commentary of all 64 matches in Germany. The commentary team included: Chris Cooper, Nigel Pearson, Jim Proudfoot, Ian Danter, Tim White and Geoff Peters. Pundits included: Alvin Martin, Rodney Marsh, Gary Stevens, Jason Cundy, Micky Quinn, Ray Houghton and Andy Townsend.
In addition, talkSPORT also broadcast live commentary of The 135th Open Championship between Thursday 20th July until Sunday 23rd July at Royal Liverpool. talkSPORT also broadcast live commentary of the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day from Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday 12th August with Chris Cowdrey, Jack Bannister, Andrew McKenna, Andy Jacobs and Rachel Brookes.
talkSPORT secured national radio broadcast rights to 32 live Premiership matches each Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm for the next three years from 2007. BBC Radio Five Live won six of the seven available broadcast rights packages of 32 games each from the Premier League; however, talkSPORT become 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.
[edit] 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.”
[edit] Audience Figures
[edit] RAJAR Q2 2006: talkSPORT's Latest Audience Figures
Information: www.talksport1089.co.uk
talkSPORT's audience figures for Quarter 2 of 2006 have been released by RAJAR and show a gain of 7.2% for reach quarter-on-quarter giving the station 2.2m listeners.
In the previous Quarter, Q1 of 2006, talkSPORT suffered a 16.6% loss in each year-on-year, a loss of 5% quarter-on-quarter and market share down 0.2% year-on-year also. talkSPORT reached and audience of 2.0m listeners each week during the period between 2nd January and 26 March 2006 but the latest audience figures show a rise of 7.2% quarter-on-quarter.
For Q2 of 2006 between 27th March and 25th June, which includes part of the World Cup, talkSPORT have a reach of 2.2m listeners each week which is a 0.5% rise compared against the same period in 2005. The station also maintains a market share of 1.7% compared to the previous quarter but it is down 0.1% from Q2 of 2005. talkSPORT listeners listen on average for 8.2 hours each week and total 18.2m hours for the period.
Audience figures have also been released 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 2006, The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil & Graham Beecroft reached an audience of 976,000 listeners every week. In Quarter 2 for 2005, it reached 1,029,000 listeners, however for Quarter 2 of 2006 The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast reaches an audience of 947,000 listeners each week. This represents a 3.3% loss in audience quarter-on-quarter and a loss of 8.0% year-on-year.
In London, talkSPORT bucked the trend as their audience increased by 23% over the previous quarter and up 28% year-on-year. The station, which achieved a reach of 654,000 in the capital, also posted increases in London listening hours, up 10% quarter-on-quarter and 16% year-on-year to 5.8m.
[edit] Trivia and Information
- talkSPORT sponsored the fictional football team Warbury Warriors, who appeared 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 performing their anthem for Euro 2004: "Come on England" with Northamptonshire-based band 4-4-2. The single was released and 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.
- Lisa Francesca Nand is the station's first permanent female presenter alongside Ian Collins. Kelly Daglish is talkSPORT's first permanent female sports presenter on Evening Kick-Off.
- Sports Breakfast presenter Alan Brazil recently got in trouble with Ofcom for referring to the Japanese as "the nips" during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
- The news is provided by Sky News Radio. Sky's Kat Wright, who usually reads on a weekend morning, came 2nd in the News Broadcaster of the Year category at the British Radio Awards 2006.
- On 31 August 1997 Mike Dickin was the first man to announce the car crash involving Princess Diana, that would kill her. It turned out to be one of the most captivating pieces of listening in British radio history. It was a cruel twist of irony and fate that Mike would be tragically killed on 18 December 2006 after suffering a heart attack whilst driving his car.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ HISTORY of talkSPORT .... Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
[edit] External links
- talkSPORT Official talkSPORT Website
- talkSPORT1089.co.uk Unofficial talkSPORT Website: News, Interviews and Information
- talkFORUM Long established talkSPORT message boards and chatroom.
- "The Guardian: Why talkSPORT is an Obscenity"
- The Jon Gaunt Fansite
- mickYNWA's audio site
Radio: UTV Radio
UK National - talkSPORT
Northern Ireland local FM - U105
Great Britain local FM - Imagine FM • Peak FM • Proud FM • The Pulse of West Yorkshire • Signal 1 • 107.4 Tower FM • Radio Wave 96.5 • 96.4 FM The Wave • Wave 102 • 107.2 Wire FM • Wish FM • 107.7 The Wolf • Juice FM • Talk 107
Great Britain local AM - Pulse Classic Gold • Signal 2 • Swansea Sound • Valleys Radio
Republic of Ireland local FM - Dublin's Q102 • Cork's 96FM • 103FM County Sound • Live 95FM • LMFM
Online: UTV Internet • u.tv
See also: ITV • Havelock House, Belfast • British TV • British TV Channels • ITV Channels
