Editing Talksport (section)

===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.