BBC radio loses third of live Premier League matches
Corporation will broadcast 128 games in 2010-11 season, down from 192, after TalkSport and Absolute win rights packages
The BBC has lost a third of its live Premier League radio commentaries after its commercial rival TalkSport bagged the rights to late Saturday afternoon games and early Sunday kick-offs.
TalkSport secured two of the seven radio rights packages on offer from the Premier League, doubling the number of live games it currently broadcasts to 64. The new three-year deal runs from the beginning of next season, August 2010.
The BBC secured four rights packages, a total of 128 games, down from its current offering of 192, which will continue on BBC Radio 5 Live. The seventh package of rights was bought by another commercial station, Absolute Radio.
TalkSport said it would revamp its weekend schedule with a pre-match build-up and post match phone-ins to bolster its new live rights.
Today’s deal means that for the first time, a commercial radio station will broadcast live Premier League commentary without going head to head with a rival game on the BBC.
TalkSport chief executive Scott Taunton said: ”This is a great day for TalkSport and commercial radio in the UK. To have won the rights to broadcast live and exclusive Barclays Premier League football on both a Saturday and a Sunday, when no other national radio broadcaster – including the BBC – has commentary, puts the station at the very heart of Premier League football in the UK.
“Our distinctive, passionate and energetic approach to Premier League commentaries has proved to have widespread appeal. We’re now able to provide listeners and advertisers with the best Premier League action through our live commentaries as well as all the up-to-the-minute action from around the grounds.”
The BBC has lost the rights to the late Saturday evening game at 5.30pm and the early Sunday kick-off, at 1.30pm, both of which will be broadcast by TalkSport.
The corporation held on to the first choice games at Saturday 3pm, as well as the Saturday 12.30pm, Sunday 4pm and Monday 8pm fixtures. The kick-off times for the Sunday and Monday matches vary occasionally.
Absolute Radio bought the rights to the second choice of Saturday 3pm games, currently held by TalkSport.
Adrian Van Klaveren, controller of BBC Radio 5 live, said: “We are delighted to be awarded four key Premier League packages in the face of unprecedented competition.
“We know how important live football, above all the Premier League, is to our audience so it is very good news that we will continue to offer 5 Live listeners the fullest football coverage, including not only the Premier League but also the Champions’ League, international matches, the FA Cup, the Football League and Scottish Premier League.”
Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League, said: “We are extremely pleased that we’ve been able to continue and develop our relationship with TalkSport and that the station will now be home to not one, but two live and exclusive Barclays Premier League matches every weekend.”
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.
• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.
Absolute Radio snaps up rights to Premier League football commentary
Commercial station to air 32 Saturday afternoon games in 2010-2011 season – its first Premier League commentary
Absolute Radio is to broadcast live Premier League football commentary for the first time, breaking the BBC and TalkSport’s grip on the rights.
The station will broadcast 32 Premier League games at 3pm on Saturday afternoons, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal. The three-year deal begins in August this year with the start of the 2010-2011 season.
Absolute has picked up one of three Saturday afternoon rights packages being offered by the Premier League. It has secured the “second pick” of matches.
Currently Saturday afternoon games are divided into two rights packages, with BBC Radio 5 Live taking first pick, and UTV-owned TalkSport the second.
The Absolute Radio chief operating officer, Clive Dickens, said “Absolute Radio is a music and entertainment brand with audio as its core.”
“Football is an obvious extension of our entertainment offering. We have a solid presenter lineup including world-class comedic talent Frank Skinner and Dave Gorman, an unprecedented support of live music and now this new exclusive football offering. It is a compelling mix,” Dickens added.
Richard Masters, the Premier League director of sales and marketing, said: “We welcome Absolute Radio as a new radio broadcast partner for Barclays Premier League football. We are confident that they will provide an excellent service for our clubs’ fans and help us reach as wide an audience as possible.”
Dickens said he was “thrilled” to secure the rights, and said Absolute Radio would offer an “alternative style of football commentary” to those offered by Radio 5 Live and TalkSport.
“Maybe there are echoes of some of what Capital Gold did in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Jonathan Pearce,” said Dickens. Pearce, famous for his manic commentary style, later moved from the London station to the BBC.
“For me 5 Live is an excellent sport and news brand, and TalkSport is an excellent talk and sport brand. Absolute is an excellent music and entertainment brand, and this will fit firmly into our entertainment category,” he added.
Skinner, who hosts a Saturday morning show on Absolute, will reunite with his former Fantasy Football League partner David Baddiel for Absolute’s coverage of the football World Cup in South Africa.
Dickens said Skinner was likely to remain in his current slot rather than switch to the Saturday afternoon Premier League football show. Full programming and presenter details are still to be announced by the station.
The live football commentaries will be broadcast on Absolute’s national AM frequency, while its London FM licence will continue to broadcast its current Rock n Roll Football Show.
Absolute plans to split its national digital audio broadcasting (DAB) signal to allow listeners to choose either service. The plan still has to be approved by media regulator Ofcom. Both streams will be available in the UK online.
Dickens said he hoped the football would help drive awareness of the Absolute Radio brand, which has struggled to make an impact since it relaunched from Virgin Radio in 2008.
“It was one of the key reasons why we decided to make the investment,” he added. “Whenever we can acquire unique content it gives a reason for our audience to tell their friends and talk about us. You can’t keep advertising and assume people will know you from your advertising. It’s a significant awareness driver.”
Absolute Radio’s weekly reach fell to 1.49 million listeners in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 1.59 million in the previous three months. But the average number of hours its listeners tune in increased to 7.6 hours, the highest in the station’s history, including its previous incarnation as Virgin Radio.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.
• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.