By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – British commercial radio station talkSPORT has struck a groundbreaking deal to secure English Premier League commentary rights of all 380 league games to countries outside Europe, broadcasting live in English, Spanish and Mandarin.
The landmark agreement, the first of its kind, will see the broadcaster, owned by UTV Media, cover games for radio audiences in Asia, North America and Africa from next season for four years in the most significant development for the station since it launched in 2000.
The commentaries will take place either from stadiums themselves or from talkSPORT’s London studios via the internet and mobile phone apps.
It is hoped that the venture will break even in the second year after making an initial loss.
The English Premier League has a huge global following and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore welcomed the partnership.
“As we’re seeing in the closing stages of this season the Barclays Premier League is a compelling competition and radio rights are important to ensuring that as many fans as possible can follow the League and their club,” he said.
In the United Kingdom, radio rights to the Premier League are split between the BBC, TalkSPORT and Absolute Radio.
But the new deal represents a potentially dynamic breakthrough in the evolution of broadcasting.
“I’m really excited about the potential for TalkSPORT as a global brand, invoking the same passion in listeners and advertisers overseas as it does in the UK,” said TalkSPORT chief executive, Scott Taunton.
“Premier League is saying ‘go and prove the model’.
“We have a good relationship with them and no one has tried this.”
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