Popular UK-based sports radio station talkSPORT is planning on expanding its coverage with the launch of a second sports channel.
talkSPORT has confirmed it is involved in one of the bids for a new UK digital radio license. Ofcom, the UK government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries, has asked the public for their feedback before making a decision on the outcome of talkSPORT’s application.
talkSPORT is currently one of the United Kingdom’s premier sport broadcasters with the station holding the rights to live Premier League commentaries as well as extensive coverage of rugby union, rugby league, cricket and more. For listeners outside the United Kingdom, talkSPORT provides live coverage of all Premier League matches via its website and apps, with commentary provided by its own announcers.
Since 2012, when the station became solely sports-focused, the number of live commentaries has further increased with talkSPORT also covering the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and FA Cup.
A second channel would mean even further sports coverage for listeners, with the channel hoping to include soccer, cricket, rugby, horse racing and athletics.
Should the plans to launch talkSPORT2 go through, it would be fair to expect that the original talkSPORT station would become more heavily soccer focused whilst the second channel would be able to broadcast simultaneous soccer coverage or other sports simultaneously.
In addition to the plan to launch talkSPORT2, talkSPORT is considering adding another station named talkRADIO to focus on news, politics and discussion.
Furthermore a fourth channel would then be launched with a focus on business and finance. talkBUSINESS would be the first dedicated channel of its kind in the UK.
talkSPORT’s growth over the past decade has been quite astonishing and it is little surprise that there is a call for an expansion of the station to cover even more sporting content. Of course, the final decision depends on listeners contacting Ofcom in support of talkSPORT but given how popular the brand is and how widespread said popularity is, it would be a surprise if the proposed talkSPORT expansion didn’t go through.
Fans of the station can look forward to an even broader level of sporting coverage in the near future.
