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- Duration: 8:49
- Published: 09 Jul 2007
- Uploaded: 01 Sep 2011
- Author: kdtalbot
Name | Talksport |
---|---|
Airdate | 14 February 1995 as Talk Radio UK17 January 2000 as Talksport |
Share | 2.1% |
Share as of | May 2011 |
Share source | |
Frequency | Medium Wave: 1053 kHz, 1071 kHz, 1089 kHz, and 1107 kHzDAB:11D Digital One (England and Wales)12A Digital One (Scotland)12D Score Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland) (United Kingdom)|Freeview 723TalkTalk TV: 625Virgin Media: 927 |
Area | United Kingdom |
Format | Sports commentarySports discussionTalk and news |
Owner | UTV Radio |
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.
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.
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, Alan Parry, Peter Shilton, Brian Moore, Brough Scott, Tom Watt, Gary Newbon, Ian Darke, Tony Banks and Alvin Martin.
The day begins with the morning’s sports news, debate and reaction on The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, before the baton is passed to Richard Keys and Andy Gray, who take an in-depth look at the day’s sports stories and invite listeners to have their say, before Hawksbee & Jacobs take you through the afternoon with their lively combination of sports gossip, interviews and chat. Adrian Durham and Darren Gough round-up the day’s sports news with some lively debate on Drive Time.
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, before handing over to the late night team, including Ian Collins 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 lively 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 a sporting legend, and Full Contact with Mike Bovill, a regular rugby-based magazine show focussing on the Aviva Premiership and Six Nations ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
December 2002: Talksport announced plans for the station's first ever music show. An easy listening music show entitled Champagne & Roses with Gerald Harper, was broadcast each Saturday evening. The show axed after less than six months.
August 2006: Former Sky Sports presenter Kelly Dalglish became the first female sports presenter on Talksport, hosting Monday’s edition of Kick-Off alongside Gabriele Marcotti and Jason Cundy.
April 2009: Russell Brand and Noel Gallagher 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.
June 2010: Talksport secured exclusive broadcast rights to 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
April 2002: Tommy Boyd 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 Cup taking place in Japan and South Korea. 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 Proudfoot and Alvin Martin are Talksport's main commentary team from their studios in London.
February 2003: Talksport received over 200 complaints for giving a platform to the controversial Muslim extremist cleric Abu Hamza. Hamza and his aides are invited into the station to contribute to a religious debate on The James Whale 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 Whale and head of programming Bill Ridley defend the station for having invited Hamza onto the programme.
May 2006: Alan Brazil 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 patched up their differences and the former Scotland international footballer signed a new long-term contract with the station.
June 2006: The Sports Breakfast presenter Alan Brazil got in trouble with Ofcom for referring to the Japanese as "the nips" during the 2006 World Cup in Germany
August 2007: Mike Mendoza and Garry Bushell 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 Whale was dismissed by Talksport after twice urging listeners to vote for Boris Johnson in the 2008 London Mayoral Election The station was subsequently fined £20,000 by Ofcom in December 2008.
November 2008: Controversial presenter Jon Gaunt 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 Liberty activist Shami Chakrabarti, 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 BNP which was leaked on a Google 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 Durham caused controversy after stating during his show, that the footballer Andrey Arshavin "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 Sports presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys a fortnight after the pair were sacked from Sky Sports for being at the centre of a sexism controversy.
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 Radio.
Talk Radio was set to return to the airwaves as a station on DAB digital radio in 2008 after Ofcom awarded a second DAB digital radio national commercial multiplex to the 4 Digital Group consortium led by Channel 4. However, the station never launched after Channel 4 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. Sport 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.
Talksport Legends & Anthems is a three CD package, released in 2009, featuring 40 tracks of the greatest radio anthems by the likes of The Who, The Cure, The Killers, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and Elton John amongst others. As well as two CDs full of classics from bona fide musical legends the package also includes a bonus CD with all the best bits taken from Talksport, including bloopers, out takes, and other classic highlights from the station.
The Talksport Book of World Cup Banter Released in 2010, the book includes everything you need to know in the run-up to the world's biggest tournament, some things you didn't know you needed to know, and a host of other pub ammo.
The TalkSport Book of Cricket's Best Ever Sledges features contributions from Talksport presenters Darren Gough and Ronnie Irani as well as many other cricket stars, brings together the best examples of sledging from around the world. Released in 2010.
Category:News and talk radio stations in the United Kingdom Category:UTV Radio Category:Radio stations established in 1995 Category:Sports radio stations in the United Kingdom Category:Radio stations in London Category:1995 establishments in the United Kingdom
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