talksporthistory2005

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talkSPORT Station History
From Talk Radio UK to talkSPORT

January: talkSPORT provide unofficial coverage of Manchester United's FA Cup 3rd Round Replay against Exeter City. Chris Cooper and Alvin Martin commentate on United's 2-0 win over the Conference side from talkSPORT's studio monitors. The station provide unofficial FA Cup commentaries throughout the course of the season as a protest against the BBC's deal with the FA over broadcast rights to the FA Cup. OFCOM investigate claims from talkSPORT that the agreement between the BBC and the FA regarding the sale of broadcast rights to FA Cup matches was contrary to article 81 of the EC Treaty and also breached the Competition Act. In the 18-page complaint the group said that the BBC is "locking” talkSPORT out of competition for the next four years. talkSPORT said that the BBC had paid an "artificially high price" for FA Cup rights, "destroying competition" and preventing clubs from selling rights to their own matches.

Commercial radio stations around the UK unite to raise money for the children affected by the Asian Tsunami Disaster with a 12 hour programme called UK Radio Aid. More than 200 stations suspend normal programming to broadcast as a single station from 6:00am-6:00pm attracting an audience of more than 20 million listeners. talkSPORT continue with their live and exclusive coverage of England's Tour of South Africa but give details of how listeners can make pledges to the fund on a regular basis throughout the day.

Gillette M3Power announces that it will be sponsoring The Final Whistle on talkSPORT. Hosted by Graham Beecroft on Saturday and Adrian Durham on Sunday for the most up-to-date, match analysis and searing hot reaction on all the day’s close shaves and pulsating pitch performances.

February: Micky Quinn steps down as co-host of the Weekend Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT alongside Andy Townsend and is replaced by Mike Parry. There is also a rumour regarding the future of Mike Dickin, who now hosts the weekend evening show on the station, due to ill-health. These rumours are to be unfounded following the return of Dickin to the show and trails on talkSPORT.

talkSPORT sells its television venture to a betting channel run by bookmaker William Hill on Sky Digital Channel 425 and will broadcast from 4:00pm-7:00pm daily airing The Game with Patrick Kinghorn and Tony Cascarino. talkSPORT TV is little more than live footage of talkSPORT's presenters and pundits in a radio studio discussing sporting issues, interviewing guests and having phone-in debate. The channel currently broadcasts between 4:00pm-10:00pm daily with an estimated annual budget of Ł500,000 but will now appear on William Hill's Channel 435 between 4:00pm-7:00pm after the bookmaker bought the format.

talkSPORT sign deals with Everton and Blackburn Rovers to broadcast their Premiership matches to listeners of the station on 1089am in the North-West region. Everton v Chelsea with Nigel Pearson and Jason Cundy was the first Everton game to be aired to the North-West whilst the rest of the UK recieved normal programming with Adrian Durham, Alvin Martin and Gary Stevens on Football First.

Kelvin MacKenzie, Chief Executive of The Wireless Group, is poised to take the company private in a Ł100m deal, according to banking sources, reports the Sunday Times Business. MacKenzie floated The Wireless Group on the Stock Exchange in 1999 and is thought to have had an offer of 90p a share accepted by the company's non-executive directors. Goldman Sachs, the Investment Bank, is understood to have advised the board during negotiations. Under the proposed deal, MacKenzie would buy out The Wireless Group's other big shareholders, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and US media conglomerate Liberty Media.

Kelvin MacKenzie's plans to take The Wireless Group into private ownership suffered a severe blow when his private equity backers pulled out, Shares in The Wireless Group fell 3.74% after it said Chief Executive Kelvin MacKenzie's management buyout plan had collapsed. TWG, which owns talkSPORT and 16 local radio stations across the UK, said talks finished after MacKenzie's financial backer withdrew. The broadcaster added that it had authorised MacKenzie to seek alternative potential investors. It also said it had been approached by other unnamed potential bidders.

talkSPORT's Tony Cascarino parts company with the station due to a dispute over money and lack of chemistry with co-host Patrick Kinghorn. In an edition of the Daily Mail, Charles Sale reports that Cascarino had parted company with talkSPORT and cited that there was a dispute over payment and that Cascarino had said there was a lack of chemistry with his co-host Patrick Kinghorn. The report was today confirmed by a source close to talkSPORT saying that the station wouldn't be moved over Cascarino's pay demands. Jason Cundy replaces Cascarino as co-host of The Game from 4:00pm on talkSPORT.

talkSPORT provide live coverage of their first Carling Cup Final as Chelsea face Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Chris Cooper and Alvin Martin are talkSPORT's commentary team for the Chelsea win, in addition to a whole host of other programmes throughout the course of Cup Final day. The full schedule on talkSPORT for the Carling Cup Final was as follows:

2:00am Charlie Wolf 6:00am Fisherman's Blues with Keith Arthur 8:00am The Sports Breakfast with Andy Townsend 12:00pm Carling Cup Final Preview with Patrick Kinghorn & Jason Cundy from the Millennium Stadium 2:30pm Carling Cup Final Live: Chelsea v Liverpool with Chris Cooper & Alvin Martin 6:00pm The Final Whistle with Adrian Durham, Gabriele Marcotti & Gary Stevens 8:00pm The Golf Show with Ray Houghton & Andy Brookes 10:00pm-1:00am Mike Dickin.

March: talkSPORT announce they have secured the non-exclusive rights to broadcast live and delayed coverage of all 64 matches in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. In an agreement with Infront Sports & Media, talkSPORT are able to bring listeners their first FIFA World Cup live and official from the stadia used in the tournament. The 2006 World Cup in Germany will have wall-to-wall coverage on talkSPORT with commentary and coverage of every single game from the tournament. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are yet to qualify for the World Cup but have qualifying matches in the coming months.

Rodney Marsh joins talkSPORT following his sacking by Sky Sports earlier in the year for making a remark on-air about David Beckham and the Asian Tsunami disaster earlier in the year. Whilst Alan Brazil is at the Cheltenham Fesitval, Rodney Marsh and Paul Breen-Turner are alongside Graham Beecroft on The Sports Breakfast each weekday morning between 6:00am-10:00am on talkSPORT.

talkSPORT are reprimanded by OFCOM after a presenter on Evening Kick-Off described a Norwich City player as looking “like somebody with Down’s”. A listener to talkSPORT’s Evening Kick-Off with Adrian Durham and Gabriele Marcotti on Monday 1st November complained about the use of “offensive language” used in analysis of a match between Manchester City and Norwich. During the discussion, one of the presenters commented on one of the Norwich players saying: “he looked like somebody with Downs”. In OFCOM’s programme complaints report for March, it states that the listener felt that the offence was compounded by the fact that no apology was broadcast on the show.

talkSPORT's European Football Expert Gabriele Marcotti leaves the station following a complaint to OFCOM after he described a Norwich player as looking "like somebody with Down's". A listener to Evening Kick-Off on Monday 1st November complained about the use of "offensive language" used in analysis of a match between Manchester City and Norwich. During the discussion, Marcotti commented on one of the Norwich players saying: "he looked like somebody with Downs". However, Marcotti is reinstated at talkSPORT following a great number of listeners and talkSPORT employess demanding that Kelvin MacKenzie bring the pundit back.

April: Ulster TV enters into talks to buy The Wireless Group, owners of talkSPORT, with Kelvin MacKenzie expected to quit if UTV win the unofficial auction. The Belfast-based owner of the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland is understood to be holding discussions over a bid that values the broadcaster at more than Ł100m. The surprise move pitches UTV against The Wireless Group Chief Executive Kelvin MacKenzie, who is attempting to put together a management buyout that values the company at Ł100m, or 90p a share. Industry observers have warned that whoever wins the unofficial auction will inherit a national commercial radio station facing strong competition from the BBC. Chrysalis Group, owner of the stations Heart and Galaxy, is understood to have backed away from bidding for The Wireless Group because of the competition. MacKenzie and senior management at talkSPORT are expected to quit if the UTV takeover bid is accepted by The Wireless Group's non-executive directors.

May: talkSPORT provide coverage of the General Election including a Sports Breakfast Election Special with Alan Brazil, Tony Banks and Steve Norris. The night before, James Whale, Mike Mendoza, Charlie Wolf, Lisa O'Sullivan, Mike Bovill and Giles Carruthers were part of talkSPORT's election night coverage following the race as to whether Tony Blair, Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy would win.

talkSPORT overtakes Virgin Radio for the first time ever in its history with its highest weekly reach ever, according to the latest RAJAR results for Q1 2005. talkSPORT has a record weekly reach of 2.5m adults, compared against Virgin Radio's total of 2.4m, which scores an historic victory of speech radio over music radio. talkSPORT, which becomes the second biggest national commercial radio station in the UK under RAJAR, also posted a record market share of 1.9% compared to Virgin Radio's 1.5% market share. As well as posting a 16% increase in audience reach over the same quarter last year, the latest RAJAR figures post huge increases on the previous quarter for talkSPORT. Kelvin MacKenzie, Chairman and Chief Executive of The Wireless Group which owns talkSPORT, says: "This is a fantastic chapter in the success story of talkSPORT. There has been a lot of talk in the music radio industry recently about speech formats not working in commercial terms , but we are proving them wrong."

Ulster TV, the Belfast-based broadcaster, makes an approved bid of Ł98.2m for talkSPORT owner The Wireless Group. The bid has been backed by The Wireless Group's Independent Directors and now requires the approval of UTV shareholders. Commenting, Patrick Cox, the Senior Independent Non Executive Director of TWG said: "The Independent Directors of The Wireless Group are pleased to recommend this offer to the Wireless Group shareholders. The offer provides the best available cash value for those investors that are seeking to monetise their holdings and provides a share alternative for those investors that would elect to maintain their exposure to the growing UK radio market. We believe that the combination of Wireless and UTV will create a strong competitor in the UK media market."

talkSPORT's Patrick Kinghorn is dropped as host of The Game because of comments he made about the Amir Khan fight, according to Charles Sale in the Daily Mail. Kinghorn and co-host Jason Cundy are sensationally dropped from talkSPORT's Drivetime show, The Game, and replaced by Paul Breen-Turner and Mike Parry. According to Charles Sale in the Daily Mail on Tuesday 17th May: "Kinghorn has been stood down from the radio programme after making comments on air that could have been construed as suggesting Mario Kindelan was never going to win the Olympic rematch at Bolton's Reebok Stadium."

Chief Executive Kelvin MacKenzie leaves The Wireless Group following Ulster TV’s takeover of the company. He said that leaving had been "painful", but not as bad as it might have been because Ulster TV were "good guys". Adding, he said: "I can hardly complain about capitalism can I? But I've learned a valuable lesson, which is that, if you want to control your own destiny, you need to own more than 7% of the company." MacKenzie is replaced by Ulster TV’s Scott Taunton with his first act as new Chief Executive to relieve Managing Director Michael Franklin and Head of Sales Ashley MacKenzie for their positions at talkSPORT.

talkSPORT win a Silver Award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in the Station Sound of the Year Category. Kiss 100 in London won the Gold Award with Kerrang! 105.2 taking the Bronze Award.

talkSPORT sign broadcasting legend Richard Park to broadcast a series of Saturday sports programmes during the summer months. Best known for his role as headmaster on the BBC’s Fame Academy programme, Park is currently the Programme Director at Magic 105.4 in London and has had similar roles with Capital Radio and Radio Clyde in Scotland. Other summer programmes including the return of Monday Night Racing with Derek Thompson, G’Day with Patrick Kinghorn and extensive coverage of the British Lions Tour of New Zealand including live commentary with John Taylor, Gavin Hastings and Dick Best.

June: talkSPORT sign deals with B&Q Warehouse and DHL to sponsor the Hawksbee & Jacobs programme and coverage of the British lions Tour of New Zealand respectively. The deal with B&Q sees branding and promotion on Hawksbee & Jacobs including Gilo’s Warehouse Trolley Dash and interviews with athletes involved in the B&Q Olympic programme. talkSPORT’s deal with DHL means they will sponsor their British Lions Preview show with Rhodri Williams & Jeff Probyn and their live commentary as well as other features for competitions on other programming.

talkSPORT broadcast dedicated programming for the announcement of who will host the 2012 Olympic Games. Adrian Durham is joined by former Sports Minister Tony Banks and Great Britain Olympic and Commonwealth athlete Derek Redmond on a 2012 Olympic Bid Special, whilst The Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil and Graham Beecroft was broadcast live from Singapore where the announcement by The International Olympic Committee takes place.

July: Between the 14th-17th July, talkSPORT provide full live coverage of the 134th Open Golf Championship from the Royal & Ancient Course of St. Andrews in Scotland. Rupert Bell, Richard Boxall, Robert Lee, Mark Roe and Bob Bubka commentate on Tiger Wood’s victory, with Rhodri Williams, Ray Houghton and Andy Brookes providing further coverage each night on the talkSPORT Golf Show.

talkSPORT axe The Golf Show hosted by Ray Houghton and PGA Professional Andy Brookes from the Sunday night slot between 8:00pm-10:00pm. The programme is understood to have been axed “partly because of audience figures” and because management “want to try to something different in that timeslot.” Mark Keen is the new presenter hosting a new phone-in dedicated to current affairs.

August: Former Sky Sports pundit Rodney Marsh is announced as the new co-host of The Game on talkSPORT alongside Paul Breen-Turner. The Game, which broadcasts between 4:00pm-7:00pm each weekday broadcasting the latest sports news, discussion and debate, was hosted by Patrick Kinghorn until earlier in the year before moving to a new weekend slot on The Final Whistle.

talkSPORT introduce a regular weekday football phone-in following the conclusion of commentary matches in the Champions League, World Cup Qualifying matches and busy nights in domestic competition such as the Premiership, Football League, Carling Cup and FA Cup. Adrian Durham and Alvin Martin are to host an extended Evening Kick-Off until 11:00pm on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. talkSPORT also announces that it has signed broadcast rights deals with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. The deal means that talkSPORT will broadcast Champions League home matches involving each club and Premiership matches involving Arsenal and Chelsea to listeners of the station in the London region.

September: Virgin Radio newsreader Robyn Schonhofer signs for talkSPORT to deliver the afternoon bulletins each weekday afternoon during the Hawksbee & Jacobs show and The Game with Paul Breen-Turner & Rodney Marsh. Lisa O’Sullivan also replaces Pete Abbott as sports newsreader on The Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil & Graham Beecroft and Ian Collins mid-morning show.

October: UTV Radio cease transmission of their talkSPORT TV service which broadcast each day between 4:00pm-7:00pm on Channel 425. Having launched the operation by former Chief Executive Kelvin MacKenzie in September 2004, new owners felt that the Ł500,000 cost of maintaining the service each year was seen to be as too much of an expense for the station. At the time MacKenzie described the channel as “as marketing tool” but critics argued that no advertising space was sold to cover costsl and that promoting the radio station would have meant mentioning the frequency of talkSPORT but neither was done.

OFCOM drops an investigation into the BBC’s exclusive deal with the Football Association for radio broadcast rights to live FA Cup matches. The media regulator closes the file on a complaint submitted in December 2004 by talkSPORT, which was at that time run by Kelvin MacKenzie. It had argued the agreement between the BBC and the FA about the sale of national radio broadcast rights to FA Cup matches was contrary to article 81 of the EC Treaty and also breached the Competition Act. The BBC was accused of "hoarding" games and locking talkSPORT out of competition by paying over the odds for exclusivity. talkSPORT also said agreements preventing individual clubs from selling games were anti-competitive and argued the FA was able to fix prices as the only supplier of rights. But OFCOM said today it had evidence that there was "only limited interest" in games outside the seven per round that are broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live.

December: The Game’s Rodney Marsh and Overnight Presenter Mike Mendoza both sign contract extensions with the station. talkSPORT offered both presenters a three year extension to their current contracts keeping them at the station until 2008 at the very least.

The Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil & Graham Beecroft is awarded the title of the “UK’s best radio show” by industry publication the Campaign Magazine. Campaign Magazine, a marketing, media, public relations and marketing magazine, has voted The Sports Breakfast as the UK’s Number One Radio Show giving talkSPORT and presenters Brazil and Beecroft well earned praise for their work at the radio station with them travelling to a number of sporting events in the last few months including Cheltenham, Lords and Singapore for the Olympic Games host city announcement. talkSPORT's Graham Beecroft said: "We just feel very privileged that someone as respected as Campaign has honoured us for our efforts. This award is for everyone who has listened and supported the show. Without those who phone in, text and email every week the show would never have got where it is today."

Former Labour Sports Minister and talkSPORT presenter Tony Banks dies in the United States after suffering a stroke. The 62-year-old former Labour MP, who became Lord Stratford when he accepted a peerage in 2004, was being taken to a hospice when he died. He had been left "effectively brain dead" after suffering the massive stroke while holidaying on Sanibel Island. Banks hosted a number of programmes on talkSPORT including The Sporting Lunch and was a regular guest on The James Whale Show.

2006: talkSPORT talkSPORT Uber Alles!

January: talkSPORT no longer broadcast The Unexplained with Howard Hughes on the Saturday night schedule, with Mark Keen as replacement. Click here to read talkSPORT Station History for 2006.

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