TalkSport signs Premier League radio rights for outside Europe

TalkSport has struck a groundbreaking deal to secure Premier League radio rights outside Europe and will broadcast live match commentary around the world in English, Spanish and Mandarin. The sports broadcaster, which is owned by UTV Media, has struck a deal for the international radio rights to broadcast live commentary of all 380 Premier League matches each season outside the European Economic Area for four years from August. TalkSport will broadcast commentary in three languages from its London studios via the internet and mobile apps, using a branded radio player. The broadcaster's London premises will be expanded to accommodate the extra work. The Premier League last sold the international radio rights in a three-year deal in 2007 to marketing and media company IMG, which exploited them by selling to broadcasters in different markets, but this deal was not renewed when it expired in 2010. It is understood that the BBC World Service will continue to hold the rights to broadcast the second half of two matches a week – one that kicks off at 3pm on a Saturday and one Sunday game. TalkSport said that the four-year deal, which will run until the end of the 2015/16 season, marks the most significant development for the station since it launched in 2000. UTV said that set up and pre-launch costs will be about £800,000. The company said that in the first year the service is expected to make a loss of about £1m, in year two it will hit break even and the remaining two years of the deal it will return a profit. TalkSport is looking to recruit about 40 new staff – 20 part time – to be able to handle the increase in broadcasts. The company expects to broadcast 21 live commentaries on the opening day of the new Premier League season in August. The increase in staff numbers euqates to about a 30% increase in the 120 staff employed by TalkSport. TalkSport said that the production of the international output will be handled by expanding its studio output at its operation in London. "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 the TalkSport chief executive, Scott Taunton. The digital radio player will be ad funded in the first year, but UTV will look at the possibilty of launching a paid-for app for a premium service. The global Talksport player could also be offered as a radio service via deals to embed it on other popular sites, with Perform-owned Goal.com cited as an example of a good fit although no talks are currently in progress. "Premier League is saying 'go and prove the model'," he said. "We have a good relationship with them and no one has tried this – it is up to us to build the model." Taunton added that the three launch languages are the tip of the iceberg and if there is a commercial or joint venture partner – the company is in talks with several in different markets – there is the possibility of launching in languages such as Portugese, Indonesian or Thai. UTV is also in talks with rights holders over adding other football rights to the service, as well as other sports to make it a more universal sport radio player. TalkSport said that it also intends to establish a network of global radio partners in key markets such as Asia, North America and Africa. The company said that it is already in discussions with "a number" of potential commercial and distribution partners for the international programming. "Since UTV acquired TalkSport in 2005, we have invested significantly in sports rights and presenters," said the UTV Media group chief executive, John McCann. "Today's agreement with the Premier League is part of UTV's strategy to market TalkSport globally." In the UK the radio rights to the Premier League are split between the BBC, TalkSport and Absolute Radio. The latest three-year UK deal was struck in 2010, when the BBC lost a third of its live radio commentaries following an aggressive push by TalkSport.