talkSPORT goes global with football rights

UTV Media has signed a four-year deal with the Premier League which will see it produce commentaries on every top-flight match in the English game for countries outside Europe.

talkSPORT becomes the global audio partner from August 2012 and will broadcast coverage of 380 games per season in languages including English, Spanish and Mandarin.

The station says it will establish a network of radio partners across markets including Asia, North America and Africa.

The deal doesn’t affect talkSPORT’s UK coverage of the Premier League, which allows it to broadcast 64 matches each season.

Scott Taunton, Chief Executive, talkSPORT said: “This is a huge development for talkSPORT which builds on the significant progress the station has made in the UK in recent years. 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. We’ll be expanding our London office studio and production space and I can’t wait to see the buzz on matchdays.”

John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc said: “Since UTV acquired talkSPORT in 2005, we have invested significantly in sports rights and presenters to successfully reposition talkSPORT as the brand leader for sports audio content in the UK. Today’s agreement with the Premier League is part of UTV’s strategy to market talkSPORT globally. We look forward to building on talkSPORT’s reputation for quality sports content with international audiences and advertisers alike, backed up by UTV’s expertise in global digital delivery.”