Editing Talksport (section)

==History==
===Talk Radio era===
The station was originally and officially launched as Talk Radio UK on 14 February 1995 by American-based [[Emmis Communications]], attempting a talk station with a "brasher" style and with [[Shock jock|shock jocks]] compared to [[BBC Radio 5 Live]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://transdiffusion.org/2008/11/27/home_of_the_sho/|title=Former home of the Shock Jocks|first=Stephen|last=Hopkins|website=Transdiffusion}}</ref> It launched with the original ''Talk Radio Breakfast Show'', however, the first live broadcast had been [[Caesar the Geezer]]'s phone-in which aired the previous night. Other presenters on Talk Radio included [[Jeremy Beadle]], [[Tommy Boyd]], [[Anna Raeburn]], [[Lorraine Kelly]], [[Gary Newbon]], [[Terry Christian]], and [[Dale Winton]].

After quitting the [[Radio 1 Breakfast|Breakfast Show]] on [[BBC Radio 1|BBC Radio 1 FM]] in April 1995, [[Steve Wright (DJ)|Steve Wright]] joined the station, presenting ''Steve Wright's Talk Show'' – a live Saturday morning programme.<ref>{{Citation |title=Steve Wright's Talk Show - Talk Radio - 6 January 1996 | date=13 February 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQjWsVS5PBg |access-date=2023-08-07 |language=en}}</ref> The show was guest-focused and popular at the time, but short-lived, as it moved to [[BBC Radio 2]] in March 1996 and re-launched as ''Steve Wright's Saturday Show''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Radio 2 - Presenters - Steve Wright |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/presenters/steve-wright/ |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

By the end of its first year, the shock jocks were dropped, leading to increased ad revenue from advertisers, and the station was bought out by Media Ventures International (MVI).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uk.themedialeader.com/media-ventures-buys-out-partners-in-talk-radio/|title=Media Ventures Buys Out Partners In Talk Radio - The Media Leader|date=3 November 1995}}</ref> Luxembourg based [[RTL Group|CLT-UFA]] eventually became the majority owner of Talk Radio. A year later Talk Radio launched a new breakfast show presented by [[Paul Ross]] and [[Carol McGiffin]]. Former [[BBC Radio 1]] [[Disc jockey|DJ]] [[Simon Bates]] also joined the station, along with [[James Whale (presenter)|James Whale]], [[Ian Collins (radio presenter)|Ian Collins]], and [[Mike Dickin]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Talk Radio made its first foray into the world of sports radio rights bidding by purchasing from [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] the rights to broadcast [[English Football League|Football League]] matches for the 1997–98 season. In addition, the station broadcast its first [[FIFA World Cup]] from France in 1998, bringing in the [[Sky Sports]] commentary team of [[Alan Parry]] and [[Andy Gray (footballer born 1955)|Andy Gray]] to commentate on the major matches. [[Dave Roberts (sports broadcaster)|Dave Roberts]] covered additional games in France. Talk Radio also acquired up the rights to broadcast [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]'s matches in the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]] for the 1998–99 season.

===Creation of Talksport===
On 12 November 1998, TalkCo Holdings – whose chairman and chief executive was [[Kelvin MacKenzie]], former editor of ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' – purchased Talk Radio.<ref name="purchase">{{cite web|url=http://www.talksport.co.uk/about|title=About|access-date=18 January 2007|publisher=talkSPORT|archive-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820090030/http://www.talksport.co.uk/about/|url-status=dead}}</ref> This led to a mass clearout of presenters including [[Nick Abbot]], [[Anna Raeburn]], [[Tommy Boyd]] and [[Peter Deeley]], with MacKenzie placing an emphasis on a sports-oriented programming schedule, including ''The Sportszone'' with [[Alan Parry]], [[Gary Newbon]], Tony Lockwood, [[Tom Watt (actor)|Tom Watt]], and former [[Heart North East|Century Radio]] sports editor Dave Roberts presenting the weekend edition of ''The Sports Breakfast''.

In late 1999, TalkCo, rebranded as The Wireless Group, announced a relaunch of Talk Radio to become the UK's first national commercial sports radio station called Talksport. The relaunch occurred at midnight on 17 January 2000, and was accompanied by the station moving from [[Oxford Street]] to a new studio at Hatfields on the [[South Bank]] of the [[River Thames]]. Now mainly dedicated to sport, the programming lineup was drastically altered, beginning with ''The Sports Breakfast'' show; this was followed by a mid-morning motoring show called ''The Car Guys'', with further sports programming in the afternoon and evening.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Most of the station's talk show presenters were ousted at the time, including ''The Big Boys Breakfast'' with [[David Banks (journalist)|David Banks]] and [[Nick Ferrari]], with only James Whale, Ian Collins and Mike Dickin surviving. To complement its new format, Talksport purchased the rights to broadcast [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] and [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] matches in the [[UEFA Champions League]], the [[FA Cup]], [[England national football team|England football internationals]], [[UEFA Cup]], [[England cricket team|England]]'s winter cricket tours to [[South Africa]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Pakistan]], and [[India]], [[British & Irish Lions]] tours to South Africa and New Zealand, and rights to the [[Super League]], [[Rugby League World Cup]], and world title [[boxing]] fights.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

The new line-up involved a number of presenters and commentators, including [[Alan Brazil]], [[Mark Nicholas]], [[Chris Cowdrey]], [[Geoffrey Boycott]], [[Mike Parry]], [[Peter Shilton]], [[Brian Moore (commentator)|Brian Moore]], [[Brough Scott]], [[Tom Watt (actor)|Tom Watt]], [[Gary Newbon]], [[Ian Darke]], [[Tony Banks, Baron Stratford|Tony Banks]], and [[Alvin Martin]].

Approximately 39 hours of non-sports programming still remained on the schedule as of March 2012, including an overnight show hosted by [[Mike Graham (journalist)|Mike Graham]], and [[George Galloway]]'s ''[[The Mother of All Talk Shows]]'' on Friday evenings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Oakes |first=Omar |date=8 February 2016 |title=UTV names George Galloway and Paul Ross among TalkRadio presenters |url=http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/utv-names-george-galloway-paul-ross-among-talkradio-presenters/1382571 |accessdate=5 April 2016 |work=Campaign Live}}</ref> On 7 March, it was announced that month that Talksport would discontinue or reformat its remaining non-sport programming, considering it an "exciting yet natural next step" for the station, and citing opportunities to provide more coverage of American sport during its overnight lineup. Galloway was dropped, while Graham's show pivoted to primarily discussing sport.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Plunkett |first1=John |date=7 March 2012 |title=Talksport to axe all non-sports content |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/07/talksport-axe-non-sports-content |access-date=9 November 2018 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

On 25 June 2016, [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]] announced that it was acquiring the parent Wireless Group company for $296 million.<ref name="wsj">{{cite news |last=Gallivan |first=Rory |date=25 June 2016 |title=News Corp Buys Wireless Group for $296 Million |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/news-corp-buys-wireless-groups-talksport-for-290-million-1467290471 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

===Expansion of the Talk brand===
Sound Digital's successful bid for second national commercial DAB multiplex in 2016 also saw the return of [[Talkradio]], as well as [[Virgin Radio UK|Virgin Radio]] and the creation of Talksport 2.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/02/digital-two-applications-published-by-ofcom/|title=Digital Two applications published by Ofcom|date=3 February 2015|publisher=Radio Today}}</ref> On 25 June 2016, [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]] announced that it was acquiring the parent Wireless Group company for $296 million.<ref name="wsj"/> Since June 2020 it has also produced sports bulletins for [[Times Radio]]. In 2022 a televised version of TalkRadio launched on [[TalkTV (British TV channel)|TV]].