talkSPORT and ADREP bring Barclays Premier League to China
talkSPORT have announced today that they have entered into a long-term collaboration to develop national sports radio marketing services in the People’s Republic of China. The agreement is with Adrep China Advertising Services Limited, an advertising sales, marketing and business support services company with offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
talkSPORT and ADREP will collaborate on a range of ventures within China, initially focused on providing live radio coverage of Barclays Premier League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup football.
From the beginning of the 2013/14 football season in August, radio listeners in China will be able to hear live Mandarin commentary of matches between clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool via a network of radio stations in key Chinese provinces. ADREP and talkSPORT will also collaborate to distribute the commentaries via mobile apps, Chinese social media platforms and digital platforms.
talkSPORT and ADREP also intend to provide coverage of selected matches before the current football season ends in May as the coveted Premier League and FA Cup trophies are awarded.
talkSPORT already streams live Mandarin commentary outside China via talksport.com, mobile apps, TuneIn and Twitter as part of its talkSPORT Live service. talkSPORT’s Mandarin commentary team made history at the Capital One Cup final in February 2013, with the first ever live commentary in Mandarin from London’s Wembley Stadium.
ADREP was incorporated in February 2008 and successfully established an advertising representation business in China. ADREP is building a national radio advertising sales network under its proprietary brand “MY FM” in major cities throughout China. MY FM has achieved coverage in seven major markets, namely Nanjing, Nanchang, Hefei, Urumqi, Xian, Changchun and Tianjin.
UTV Media plc Chief Executive John McCann said “The sheer scale of the Chinese market and popularity of Premier League football make China a key focus for talkSPORT’s global expansion. Through this collaboration with ADREP, talkSPORT can play a major role in the future development of Chinese sports radio services, providing advertisers with new platforms to connect with Chinese sports fans.”
talkSPORT Chief Executive Scott Taunton said “We look forward to working with ADREP to bring talkSPORT’s distinctive and passionate brand of live sports coverage to China. Radio is one of the best ways to follow your favourite team and our expert team of football commentators and analysts are sure to bring the drama of the Premier League to life for our Chinese listeners.”
Ken Wang, ADREP Executive Director, said, “Our partnership with talkSPORT enables us to bring unique and specific content to local Chinese radio stations and communities. Through the network of terrestrial based radio stations and via digital platforms, Chinese audiences will now be able to experience the excitement of the Premier League football like never before. In addition, this collaboration brings with it a ground-breaking opportunity for advertisers to be involved with the broadcasts.”
talkSPORT nominated in three categories for the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2013
Well done to talkSPORT, as the station has been nominated in three different categories for this year’s Sony Radio Academy Awards.
Judgement Sunday – The Final Day of the Premier League (Matchday Live) was the only nomination from a commercial station in the Best Live Event category, and in the year of the Olympics this is a fantastic achievement.
The Coca-cola Fan Reporter promotion is up for Best Competition, and Keys and Gray will fight it out with two offerings from BBC 5 Live, plus BBC Radio York and Rugby Nation for Best Sports Programme.
The winners will be announced on May 13 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, and the ceremony will be hosted by Chris Evans.
talkSPORT wins two Barclays Premier League packages
talkSPORT, the world’s biggest sports radio station, has bagged two Barclays Premier League packages for the next three football seasons, starting with 2013/14.
The deal means that talkSPORT will be the exclusive audio rights holders for the Saturday late and Sunday lunchtime matches.
talkSPORT will broadcast between 62 and 66 matches in total each season, with the opportunity to build on the unprecedented increase in audience that Premier League commentary has given the station over the past three years, when it first grabbed these rights from the BBC.
Since talkSPORT began broadcasting commentaries on these two timeslots three years ago, its reach in audience has rocketed from 2.5m to 3.0m adults. Now, after establishing 5.30pm on Saturday and 1.30pm on Sunday as appointments to listen on talkSPORT, the next three years will be spent on building on that growth both in audience and in commercial terms.
After securing the Barclays Premier League audio rights outside Europe in 2012, talkSPORT has built international studios and now broadcasts every Premier League match live across the world, as well as several key FA Cup and Capital One Cup fixtures.
The station has also invested significantly in UK sports commentary rights this year, with the growing roster now including the FA Cup, England football internationals, Capital One Cup, the Aviva Premiership and also the exclusive UK radio rights to the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in June. There is also the exciting prospect of coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
talkSPORT Chief Executive, Scott Taunton, said: “We’re really pleased to have secured these two Barclays Premier League packages, as it puts us in a firm position to build on our past success and drive the business forward.
“Over the past six years, we have established ourselves as a major player in providing exciting, energetic and distinctive Premier League commentary. We have proved that we are providing what people want – and now, with the extra rights we have secured already and with a firm policy to continue investing in sports rights, we can move forward to gain recognition as a bigger player not just with the Premier League but across the board.”
“Live football is an integral part of what talkSPORT does best and we’ve seen phenomenal growth in audience and a growing interest from advertisers.”
John McCann, Group Chief Executive UTV Media plc, said: “Investment in sports rights is a key way for us to expand the business, and this latest development will provide a significant step change in terms of listener and advertiser perceptions of the station, as well as strengthening the value for shareholders.”
Liam Fisher Appointed New talkSPORT Programme Director
talkSPORT has announced today that Liam Fisher will be the company’s new Programme Director. Fisher has been with the company since 2000 most recently as Head of Production.
Calum Macaulay, Managing Director for talkSPORT said, “Liam knows the business inside out and has been a major part of driving the station to record audiences over the last few years. He knows the talent. He knows the audience. And he knows what makes them tick. He’s got great ideas and I’m confident that he will lead the station’s output to the next level.”
Liam Fisher said: “Over the past 13 years I’ve seen talkSPORT grow into the award-winning, 24 hour global sports station that it is today. To be the station’s Programme Director is one of the biggest jobs in sport and I’m really excited about our live sports coverage, including our exclusive commentary of this summer’s British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia, the incredible broadcasting talent that we have and working with our superb on-air, digital and commercial teams.”
talkSPORT broadcasts 100th live football commentary of the season
Bayern Munich v Arsenal, Wednesday 13 March, 7pm
Tomorrow (13 March) talkSPORT will broadcast its 100th live football commentary of the 2012 /2013 season in the UK, making it the busiest season for live football in the station’s history. Arsenal will face Bayern Munich to keep British Champions League hopes alive from 7pm and talkSPORT will have every kick live.
talkSPORT now broadcasts more live sport than ever before, having added FA Cup, England internationals Capital One Cup coverage to its Champions League, Europa League and Barclays Premier League commentary this season.
Since the start of the season talkSPORT has conveyed the passion, excitement and drama across all competitions. Highlights of talkSPORT’s live commentary have included the nine-goal thriller that saw Chelsea defeat Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, the Sweden v England match with Ibrahimovic’s sensational bicycle kick goal, the historic FA Cup match between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, the Barclays Premier League clash that saw Arsenal put seven goals past Newcastle’s defence and the Capital One Cup final.
The station’s live commentary team includes Stan Collymore, Sam Matterface, Andy Gray, Ray Houghton, Ray Parlour, Michael Gray and Nigel Adderley. talkSPORT’s exclusive Barclays Premier League commentaries are sponsored by Sky Sports, FA Cup title sponsor Budweiser sponsors the station’s coverage of the tournament, Ford continues its longstanding sponsorship of talkSPORT’s Champions League coverage and League Cup title sponsors Capital One are also sponsors of the station’s Capital One Cup commentary.
There’s lots more action still to come with talkSPORT’s coverage of the climax to the Barclays Premier League season, the FA Cup final, Championship playoffs and the Champions League and Europa League finals.
And they’re off! talkSPORT goes to the Cheltenham Festival
Hawksbee and Jacobs and the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast to broadcast live from the festival
AP McCoy’s Cheltenham Festival Preview
talkSPORT will be out in full force for Cheltenham Festival 2013 next week, the biggest jump racing festival in the UK.
From Tuesday, Hawksbee and Jacobs (1 – 4pm)will broadcast live from the centre of the action for the full length of the festival, bringing listeners regular reports and updates. Paul and Andy will also play host to an array of celebrity and racing guests, and the show will feature commentaryofthe marquee race each day at 3.20pm including the Gold Cup.
The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast (6 – 10am)will be live from the festival on the 14 and 15 March, and the show will have daily previews with champion jump jockey AP McCoy every day at 7.45am.
In the build up to the festial talkSPORT broadcast AP McCoy’s Cheltenham Preview with Danny Kelly, racing journalist Bruce Millington and talkSPORT’s racing correspondent Rupert Bell joining AP McCoy. For top racing tips from the experts, listen here - http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickoff/130307/cheltenham-festival-preview-bell-millington-and-ap-mccoy-193155
talkSPORT produces documantery on the Capital One Cup Final
‘A Tale of Two Cities’ Documentary
Sunday Exclusive on talkSPORT from 12pm
talkSPORT has produced a fascinating documentary about the Capital One Cup final between Bradford City and Swanseacity on Sunday. The programme, A Tale of Two Cities, will be aired in three parts at 9.30am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
It will take an in-depth look at the histories of both teams over the past decade and their very different journeys to the final.
Guests include current Swansea player Leon Britton, ex-Swansea managers Brendan Rodgers and Kenny Jackett, ex-Bradford players Stuart McCall, Dean Windass and Stan Collymore plus Paul Jewell, who used to manage the team. We will also hear all the latest from the current squads.
The documentary will be voiced by two presenters from UTV Media (GB) local stations: Kev Johns from Swansea Sound and Kevin Foster from the Pulse in West Yorkshire.
talkSPORT will also broadcast full and uninterrupted commentary of the match. The Sunday Exclusive, hosted by Georgie Bingham and Robbie Fowler, will kick off at 12pm. The show will feature a build up to the big match with special guests and then commentary from Sam Matterface and Stan Collymore from Wembley Stadium.
talkSPORT proves a big hit on YouTube
The talkSPORT video channel is proving to be a big hit at the moment, as in the last six months the channel’s subscriber base has soared from 22,000 to more than 105,000.
And a brilliant gallery of sports photographs taken at just the right moment – it’s attracted over 21 million views so far. Take a look at Part 2, which has just come out!
talkSPORT also caught on to the Harlem Shake very early and the unique take on the craze has been viewed 100,000 views in just two weeks, as well as featuring regularly on Harlem Shake compilations with millions of hits.
talkSPORT’s YouTube channel was launched in May 2009, initially as secondary video hub for hosting content produced by talkSPORT’s digital magazine. As talkSPORT.co.uk launched and began taking off, the features team started uploading videos exclusively on YouTube and from there it’s gone from strength to strength.
Darren Gough re-signs with talkSPORT
Former England cricketer Darren Gough has extended his contract with talkSPORT, the world’s biggest sports radio station, for a further two years.
Darren, who has been on talkSPORT since2009, presents Drive with Adrian Durham every weekday between 4-7pm. The show has grown its audience over the past few years and now has over 1 million listeners according to the most recent set of RAJAR figures.
A passionate Yorkshireman, Gough is one of England’s most revered cricketers of all time, playing over 50 test matches and 150 ODI’s for England and becoming the first Englishman to take 200 wickets in one-day internationals.
Darren said: “I’ve learnt so much over the last three years working with Adrian. I really love what I do and we’ve got a great team and atmosphere at talkSPORT. I’m looking forward to being here for a long time and taking the show to the next level. Roll on this summer’s Lions tour, the Ashes and Brazil 2014.”
Calum Macaulay, Managing Director of talkSPORT said: “Goughie is a huge part of the team at talkSPORT and, as the listening figures have shown, he and Adrian are a winning combination. It’s fantastic news that he’s committed to us for the next two years. And not only is Darren a brilliant broadcaster, he’s also the only talkSPORT presenter to have won Strictly Come Dancing!”
talkSPORT and Sport magazine restructure sales teams
talkSPORT and Sport magazine have announced this week that their sales teams have undergone a restructure, moving from platform based teams to agency focused ones.
The sales teams will be aligned under three Group Business Directors, Tom Kelly, Laura Wade and Iain Duffy. Each team will work to offer cross platform solutions to their agencies, covering radio, print, online and digital. talkSPORT and Sport’s sales teams were previously arranged by brands and platform, with separate teams for Sport magazine, talkSPORT and online.
The restructure reflects the fact that the majority of the company’s partnerships with advertisers are now running across more than one platform and aims to offer more holistic solutions to the market.
talkSPORT’s Creative Sales team, led by Anthony Hogg, will continue to run separately, but feed expertise into each of these business units. In recent weeks they have signed significant partnerships with brands including Ford, Heinz and Dove Men+Care which are all multiple platform deals.
This restructure has been supported by office redevelopment with increased meeting room space, and dedicated digital production and filming areas to accommodate talkSPORT’s growing content business.
Calum Macaulay, Managing Director for talkSPORT and Sport magazine, said: “This restructure is a natural progression for us, reflecting our increasing multi platform business. The move allows us to broaden our reach within agencies and build strong relationships with our key customers from top to bottom.”
