National talkSPORT has won the rights to broadcast live Barclays Premier League football commentary on games kicking-off on Saturdays at 5.30pm and Sunday early afternoons.
It comes after Absolute also secured the second pick of the Saturday 3pm matches, with the rest going to the BBC.
In what can only be described as a complicated situation, it means the BBC now has four of the seven available "packages" and will broadcast 128 games in total, rather than its previous 192 before commercial radio won three packages.
The BBC website has made easy to work out, by writing the following on [link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8522871.stm?]their[/link] website:
[blockquote]Package 1 (Saturday 3pm matches first pick) – BBC
Package 2 (Saturday 3pm matches second pick) – Absolute Radio
Package 3 (principally Sunday 4pm matches) – BBC
Package 4 (Saturday lunchtime matches prior to 3pm) – BBC
Package 5 (principally Sunday matches before 3pm) – Talksport
Package 6 (Saturday matches at 5.30pm and Wednesday evenings) – Talksport
Package 7 (principally Mondays 8pm and Tuesday evenings) – BBC[/blockquote]
Here are the quotes:
Scott Taunton, talkSPORT, chief executive 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.”
Richard Scudamore, 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.”