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Radio Football Commentators and Reporters 2016/17
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The Difference
19-10-2016
Wednesday 19th October - talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2

Ian Danter presenting Kick Off: Champions League Live (on talkSPORT)

Dan Windle presenting Kick Off: Champions League Live (on talkSPORT 2 from 7.30pm)

UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Arsenal v Ludogorets Razgrad - Ian Abrahams
Barcelona v Manchester City - Nigel Adderley and Ray Wilkins (7.45pm commentary on talkSPORT)
Bayern Munchen v PSV Eindhoven - Alex Crook and Adam Virgo (7.45pm commentary on talkSPORT 2)
Celtic v Borussia Monchengladbach - Nigel Pearson

talkSPORT 2 simulcast talkSPORT's Kick Off between 7-7.30pm.


UEFA.com

Rob Daly presenting Champions League Matchday Live alongside Paul Saffer

UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Barcelona v Manchester City - Phil Blacker and Paul Saffer (commentary)
Bayern Munchen v PSV Eindhoven - Richard Kaufman
swfcforever
19-10-2016
Originally Posted by IanFergus:
“Andy Giddings I think will commentate on Cardiff City v Sheffield Wednesday for BBC Radio Sheffield. I assume John Pearson will join him. It is all surmising at present.”

Yeah your right

Rob Staton hosted Football Heaven between 18:00 and 19:00, including an Interview with Gareth Southgate. After the match Jamie Campbell linked until 22:00 and replayed the Gareth Southgate interview from earlier.
bwfcol
20-10-2016
I'm not criticising but with TS2, would providing commentary on Arsenal or Celtic be worthwhile? Same could be said for Sports Extra too (if nothing was on at the same time).

Might be a rights issue of course but be good if as many games as possible had national radio coverage.

SE should also have more FL on IMO too.
Mark.
20-10-2016
BBC Radio Scotland Sportsound, 19/10/16

Presented by Richard Gordon from Celtic Park, with Tom English.

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Celtic v Borussia Mönchengladbach* (7.45pm) - Liam McLeod, Pat Bonner and Scott McDonald (commentary) with Chris McLaughlin reporting



*Definitely not copy-and-pasted...no, siree...ahem...
The Difference
20-10-2016
Originally Posted by bwfcol:
“I'm not criticising but with TS2, would providing commentary on Arsenal or Celtic be worthwhile? Same could be said for Sports Extra too (if nothing was on at the same time).

Might be a rights issue of course but be good if as many games as possible had national radio coverage.

SE should also have more FL on IMO too.”

I think the reason why talkSPORT 2 don't provide alternative commentaries on Champions League games involving British clubs like the ones last night is because the cost of buying one-off official rights to their home European games can be prohibitive - in the past they've had difficulty in gaining reporting access to Arsenal and Manchester United's home matches in this competition due to the sums of money demanded, what with the individual clubs being in control of their national radio rights for European games.

talkSPORT very clearly have a policy of only covering European matches where the British sides are playing in continental Europe, which must prove to be the most financially viable way of covering the competition for them. Then on most European Wednesday nights, they opt to provide commentary on an all-continental Champions League tie, which won't be receiving coverage anywhere else on British radio. Yes, it'd be better to have two ties involving British clubs covered, but what talkSPORT 2 do here is in itself a good thing.

Most Champions League Tuesdays are typically very busy nights of domestic football and so talkSPORT 2 have this season started to provide separate Around the Grounds shows focusing on the Football League programme on those nights. I think this is a very welcome move on their part - as proven by their long-running Matchday Live show on Saturday (which rates better now than it did when they first had 3pm Premier League commentary rights), there's clearly a demand for this format and when there was only one talkSPORT station I thought it was a shame that updates from the Football League were neglected on nights when they were doing Champions League commentary. So making this sort of show available on their secondary platform most Tuesdays is ideal.

However, it'll be interesting to see what happens in two weeks time on Tuesday 1st November. Both Arsenal and Celtic are playing away from home, and the domestic programme is pretty bare - there's just a couple of League One fixtures in the EFL. The last time both Arsenal and Celtic played away from home in this season's Champions League, talkSPORT had Arsenal commentary while talkSPORT 2 did an Around the Grounds show, but in this instance they will not do the latter so I see no reason why they couldn't pick up commentary rights to both matches.

With Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, they're never going to spend a significant sum of money on acquiring rights to one-off European matches that the British clubs would expect when it comes to their home games. However, it has been welcome to hear them team up with BBC Local Radio to provide commentary on English clubs playing European away games - often 5/6pm kick-offs in Russia - which have been simulcast on both 5LSE and the relevant local stations. Doing that is a good, cost-effective idea, as are their once-more regular simulcasts of BBC Local Radio commentaries. I think they should do this more often on European/busy domestic matchnights, whether the commentary they simulcast be BBC Radio Scotland's Celtic coverage or Radio London's Arsenal coverage in this instance, or a BBC Local Radio commentary on a Championship match.

On talkSPORT's European coverage, I'm a tad disappointed that it doesn't appear as if they'll be doing commentary on Internazionale v Southampton tonight on either of their stations. It's arguably the most appealing match of the Europa League group stage for the UK clubs and as a 6pm kick-off should gain an audience among commuters. talkSPORT 2 has routinely covered the away games of the English clubs in the Europa League so far this season, so this is a notable omission.
Peachy Keen
20-10-2016
Originally Posted by The Difference:
“On talkSPORT's European coverage, I'm a tad disappointed that it doesn't appear as if they'll be doing commentary on Internazionale v Southampton tonight on either of their stations. It's arguably the most appealing match of the Europa League group stage for the UK clubs and as a 6pm kick-off should gain an audience among commuters. talkSPORT 2 has routinely covered the away games of the English clubs in the Europa League so far this season, so this is a notable omission.”

Yes, it's very strange that TalkSPORT isn't doing a commentary on the Inter v Saints tie, yet they have one of their top commentators Jim Proudfoot reporting on the game with Ray Houghton providing the analysis! I wonder if there was going to be a commentary but at the last minute, due to reasons unknown, TalkSPORT pulled out of supplying one?
IanFergus
20-10-2016
As per usual, Adam Blackmore and Dave Merrington are commentating on Southampton (at Inter Milan tonight) for BBC Radio Solent.
shaun_d
20-10-2016
5 Live - 19.10.16

With Mark Chapman

Arsenal v Ludogorets - Alistair Bruce-Ball
Barcelona v Man City - John Murray & Phil Neville (commentary)
Celtic v Borussia M - Chris McLaughlin

John Bennett rounded up the other CL matches

Preston v Huddersfield - Ian Brown

5 Live - 20.10.16

With Caroline Barker

Inter v Southampton - Tony Husband
Man U v Fenerbache - Conor McNamara
The Difference
20-10-2016
Thursday 20th October - talkSPORT

Drive Time with Matt Smith and Darren Gough, followed by Mark Saggers presenting Kick Off alongside Gareth A Davies from The Daily Telegraph

UEFA Europa League Group Stage
Internazionale v Southampton - Jim Proudfoot and Ray Houghton
Manchester United v Fenerbahce - Dom McGuinness

Cricket: First Test Match
Bangladesh v England - Jon Norman

As Peachy Keen alludes to, it's interesting to note that they had a pundit in Ray Houghton with Jim Proudfoot for their Southampton updates - with Jim and Ray being their most regular Sunday Exclusive commentary pairing. This suggests talkSPORT (2) may have been hoping to provide commentary on this match, but perhaps ran into trouble when attempting to acquire rights from Inter. This would make more sense than them deciding to get one of their top commentary pairings in to file reports all along.


BBC Radio Solent

Chris Wise presented BBC Radio Solent Sport from the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

UEFA Europa League Group Stage
Internazionale v Southampton - Adam Blackmore and Dave Merrington (6pm commentary)

Commentary on this match didn't appear to be available via Saints Player through the EFL Digital Player app, with Southampton having recently redesigned their official website. I imagine this commentary was carried through their new audio platform, but I wasn't able to access it ahead of the match. BBC Radio Solent Sport ran from 5.30-9pm.
samburrows
21-10-2016
Apologies if this has been asked elsewhere but why was there no live commentary of Manchester United v Fenerbace last night?

I was driving home late and found it remarkable that neither 5 Live (cycling chat), talkSport (boxing chat), talkSport 2 (NFL Show) or 5LSX (BBC Radio Bristol syndication of live Rugby Union) were covering the match.

Was it covered anywhere at all?
swansea steve
21-10-2016
5Live have pretty much always (rightly IMO) had a policy of not covering the group stages of the Europa League, particularly as they always try to keep Thursdays as a football free night so this would explain why they didn't cover it. Given 5Live's love for all things Man United, I did wonder if their interest in the Europa league might pick up this season but they've opted for business as usual. Talksport don't ever seem to pick up rites to British teams playing at home in Euro fixtures. for TS2, see same reasons as Talksport.
The Difference
21-10-2016
Originally Posted by samburrows:
“Was it covered anywhere at all?”

I imagine MUTV may have provided an audio commentary on their TV channel as the match was taking place, as I understand they usually do for domestic games.

I think a big part of the reason why Manchester United v Fenerbahce - and other European games played at Old Trafford - wasn't the subject of a UK radio commentary will have been down to Manchester United themselves. Unlike with their domestic games, the Red Devils have control over selling both the national and local radio rights to their home fixtures in European competitions, as opposed to their domestic fixtures where the clubs sell the rights locally but the competition organisers (Premier League, Football League and The FA) sell the national rights.

As such, both talkSPORT and Radio 5 Live have found themselves "locked out" of Old Trafford on European nights on numerous occasions over the past decade, as Manchester United have wanted what both stations deemed to be an excessive cost to gain access to provide updates-only coverage of these matches. Last season, Radio 5 Live struck a deal to cover all of United's home European games throughout the season, as talkSPORT did (when still Talk Radio) around the turn of the century. But national radio coverage of the Red Devils in Europe has been pretty patchy in the interim period. This does not surprise me when you consider that BBC Radio Manchester has not been in a position to do commentary on United (certain away games and local derbies excepted) for around 20 years, with two commercial stations in Century 105.4 and Key 103 having held local rights to the team for a period before exiting the sports commentary market altogether. I imagine Radio Manchester will have provided updates on last night's game, but nothing more than that as is usually the case with their live coverage of the team.

While Steve is not entirely correct to suggest that talkSPORT do not ever provide commentary on British clubs playing at home in Europe - in previous seasons (going back a few years now, but within this decade) the station has signed deals with clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool to provide commentary on the entirety of their European campaigns - it's clear that they have a policy of primarily broadcasting games the UK clubs are playing in continental Europe. I imagine acquiring rights from overseas clubs who do not usually receive much interest in audio access to their games from foreign radio stations works out as being considerably cheaper than picking up rights to individual games hosted by the bigger English teams does for British broadcasters.

It seems likely that talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 will broadcast most/all of Manchester United's remaining away games in the Europa League, as they did with their opener at Feyenoord, barring any difficulty in gaining commentary rights as appears to have been the case with Inter v Southampton last night.

With Radio 5 Live prioritising sports other than football on Thursdays and so not providing that much coverage of the Europa League until the business end of the competition, it's not really surprising that they've opted against reprising the deal they had with Manchester United for European games last season.
The Difference
21-10-2016
Friday 21st October - talkSPORT

Matt Holland presenting Kick Off: The Player's Lounge alongside Danny Gabbidon

Championship
Burton Albion v Birmingham City - Dave Rowe

Rugby Union: European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3
Sale Sharks v Toulon - Russell Hargreaves

Cricket: First Test Match
Bangladesh v England - Jon Norman

Tomorrow, Alex Crook and Alvin Martin will commentate on West Ham United v Sunderland for talkSPORT 2, with Sam Matterface and Stuart Pearce doing Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion on talkSPORT at 5.30pm.


talkSPORT Live and Bundesliga.com

Bundesliga
Hamburger SV v Eintracht Frankfurt - James Fielden


BBC Radio Derby

Ed Dawes presenting Sportscene from the Pirelli Stadium

Championship
Burton Albion v Birmingham City - Joe Shennan and Tony Bentley (7.45pm commentary, also on Brewers Player)


BBC WM 95.6

Richard Wilford presenting BBC WM 95.6 Sport from the Pirelli Stadium

Championship
Burton Albion v Birmingham City - Richard Wilford and Paul Devlin (7.45pm commentary)

Chris Coles and Kevan Broadhurst are commentating on this game for Blues Player. I imagine Chris will be conducting post-match interviews on behalf of BBC WM, as he did after Birmingham's game at Nottingham Forest last Friday.

This time last week, I mentioned that WM's Mike Taylor was interviewed talking about radio commentary as part of Walsall FC magazine show Saddlers TV. Since then, local channel Big Centre TV have uploaded the programme to their website - Mike's bit is around 14 minutes into episode 7 "On the Road", which can be found through this link: http://www.bigcentre.tv/saddlers-tv
bwfcol
22-10-2016
5Live this weekend:

B'mouth vs Spurs: Alistair Bruce-Ball and John Hartson
Arsenal vs 'Boro: Conor McManara & David Pleat

Man City vs Soton: Alan Green & Robbie Savage
Chelsea vs Utd: John Murray & Danny Mills

Unsurprisingly, 5Live have gone for the 2 TV games in the EFL Cup next week. Sports Extra has Arsenal vs Reading on Tuesday and West Ham vs Chelsea on Wednesday.

Next weekend they have WBA vs Man City as their 3pm KO, 5:30 also sees Palace/Liverpool on 5Live and not TS. On the Sunday, 5Live have commentary on the Birmingham derby.
The Difference
22-10-2016
Saturday 22nd October - talkSPORT

Adrian Durham presenting Matchday Live from the Emirates Stadium with Danny Gabbidon at the Liberty Stadium, followed by The Full Time Phone-In hosted by Danny Kelly with Stuart Pearce at Anfield

Premier League
AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur - Dave Rowe
Arsenal v Middlesbrough - Ian Abrahams and Adrian Durham
Burnley v Everton - Dom McGuinness
Hull City v Stoke City - Graham Courtney
Leicester City v Crystal Palace - Geoff Peters
Swansea City v Watford - Laurence Mora and Danny Gabbidon
West Ham United v Sunderland - Ian Danter
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion - Sam Matterface and Stuart Pearce (5.30pm commentary), with Graham Beecroft at pitchside and James Dodd producing

Championship
Aston Villa v Fulham - Tom Ross
Brentford v Barnsley - Olly Wilson
Huddersfield Town v Derby County - Derm Tanner
Newcastle United v Ipswich Town - Simon Humphreys
Wigan Athletic v Brighton & Hove Albion - Alan Biggs
Nottingham Forest v Cardiff City - Tony Incenzo

Cricket: First Test Match
Bangladesh v England - Jon Norman


talkSPORT 2

Ian Danter presenting Matchday Live 2 and The Full Time Phone-In from the London Stadium alongside Alvin Martin

Premier League
West Ham United v Sunderland - Alex Crook and Alvin Martin (3pm commentary)

Interestingly, talkSPORT 2 shared talkSPORT's Matchday Live build-up for at least part of their 2-3pm hour, allowing Dants to provide the pre-match team news on both stations. Usually talkSPORT 2 does their own thing from 2pm. This might have had something to do with a problem with Ian's line at the London Stadium, as he made his pre-match contributions via phone.


talkSPORT Live

Premier League
AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur - Toby Gilles and Paul McVeigh
Arsenal v Middlesbrough - Adam Bridge and Clive Walker (featured 3pm commentary on international radio stations)
Burnley v Everton - Barry Swain
Hull City v Stoke City - Will Gavin
Leicester City v Crystal Palace - Matt Davies
Swansea City v Watford - Jon Norman
West Ham United v Sunderland - Arthur Wilson
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion - TBA

Bundesliga
Hertha BSC Berlin v FC Koln - James Fielden
Bayern Munchen v Borrusia Monchengladbach - TBA


BBC WM 95.6

BBC WM 95.6 Sport presented by Paul Franks from Molineux (2-5.15pm) and Daz Hale from Anfield (5.15-8pm)

Premier League
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion - Rob Gurney and Tony Brown (5.30pm commentary)

Championship
Aston Villa v Fulham - Richard Wilford and Tony Morley (3pm commentary on DAB in Birmingham and Freeview channel 722)
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United - Mike Taylor and Paul Franks (3pm commentary on 95.6FM)

League One
Swindon Town v Walsall - Tom Marlow
Grahamjoanne
22-10-2016
BBC Radio Manchester presented by Jimmy Wagg from Oldham

Wigan Athletic v Brighton and Hove Albion - Paul Rowley - reports
Coventry City v Rochdale - Ian Cheeseman and Fred Eyre - FM commentary
Oldham Athletic v Bristol Rovers - Jack Dearden and Steve Eyre - DAB commentary
wns_195
22-10-2016
Fixtures
Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Leeds United
Huddersfield Town versus Derby County
Bradford City versus Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday versus Queens Park Rangers
Rotherham United versus Reading

BBC Radio Leeds
Leeds United - FM - Katherine Hannah, Adam Pope and Noel Whelan
Huddersfield Town - digital and the official Huddersfield Town website - Gareth Jones, Paul Ogden and Matt Glennon
Bradford City - AM - Dave Fletcher, Tim Steere and Wayne Jacobs

Pulse 2 and the official Bradford City website
Bradford City - Chris Cooper, Jason Thornton and Tony McMahon

Radio Yorkshire
Leeds United - Mark Wilson, Neil Redfearn and Andrew Dalton
Horse racing from Doncaster - Gary Capewell
Sheffield Wednesday - Derek Clark*
Rotherham United - Liam Williams
Bradford City versus Shefffield United - Danny Parkinson
Mark.
22-10-2016
BBC Radio Scotland Sportsound, 22/10/16

Presented by Richard Gordon from Hampden Park, with Richard Wilson.

Scottish League Cup Semi-Final
Morton v Aberdeen (12.15pm) - Rob Maclean, Andy Ritchie and Willie Miller (810MW commentary) with Chris McLaughlin pitchside

Scottish Premiership
Inverness CT v Kilmarnock - Barry Wilson (Martin Dowden conducting post-match interviews)
Partick Thistle v Ross County - Derek Ferguson (Alasdair Lamont)

Scottish Championship
Ayr Utd v Queen of the South - Chick Young (Connie McLaughlin)
Dundee Utd v Dumbarton - Allan Preston (Paul Mitchell)
Dunfermline Athletic v Hibernian - Tam McManus (Scott Davie)
Falkirk v Raith Rovers - Charlie Mann (John Barnes)

Scottish Cup 2nd Round
Bonnyrigg Rose v Cove Rangers - Kenny Crawford

European Champions Cup Rugby Union
Munster v Glasgow Warriors (1pm) - Tom English

European Challenge Cup Rugby Union
Edinburgh v Harlequins (3.15pm) - Andy Burke
IanFergus
22-10-2016
BBC Radio Five Live
Bournemouth v Tottenham Alistair Bruce-Ball and John Hartson (lunchtime commentary)
Arsenal v Middlesbrough Conor McNamara and David Pleat (commentary)
Burnley v Everton Peter Slater
Hull v Stoke Juliette Ferrington
Leicester v Palace Pat Murphy
Swansea v Watford Will Perry
West Ham v Sunderland John Southall
Liverpool v WBA Ian Brown
Bradford v Sheffield United Gary Flintoff (shared with BBCtv Final Score)
Huddersfield v Derby Naz Premji (shared with BBCtv Final Score)
Newcastle v Ipswich Alistair Yeomans
Norwich v Preston Mike Sewell

IRN
Bournemouth v Tottenham ? (guessing at Adam Lindsay)
Arsenal v Middlesbrough Andrew Cheal
Burnley v Everton Adam Dury (not sure who this is but he is a regular in the NW)
Hull v Stoke Al Ross (who I assume is the overnight sports reporter on BBC R5L)
Leicester v Palace Clive Edwards
Swansea v Watford Sam Fleet
West Ham v Sunderland Guy Swindells
Liverpool v WBA Shane Pinnington

BBC 3CR
Host Geoff Doyle at Swansea
Swansea v Watford Jon Marks and Derek Payne (98.0 and 103.8FM commentary)
MK Dons v Southend Luke Ashmead and Simon Oxley (104.5FM commentary)
Luton v Mansfield Paul Dixon and ? (AM commentary)
Stevenage v Carlisle Steve Watkins and Dean Thomson (95.5FM and Freeview commentary)
Wycombe v Barnet Phil Catchpole

BBC Essex
MK Dons v Southend Mark Babbage and ? (95.3FM and 765AM commentary)
Nick Alliker (normal Southend commentator) is on holiday in the US
Colchester v Morecambe Glen Speller (also host), Neil Kelly and David Gregory (103.5FM and Freeview commentary)
Chelmsford v Hemel Hempstead Matt Barker
Dover v Braintree Stuart Smith

BBC Radio Kent
Gillingham v Charlton Matt Davison and Peter Lloyd (774AM and DAB commentary)
Welling v Whitehawk Matt Cole (also host) and Charles Webster (96.7 and 104.2FM commentary)
Dover v Braintree Matt Gerrard
Maidstone v Gateshead Chris Gray

BBC Radio London
Arsenal v Middlesbrough Jamie Hill
Bournemouth v Tottenham Emma Jones and Steve Brown (lunchtime commentary)
Leicester v Palace Andy Rowley (also host) and Steve Froggatt (FM commentary)
Swansea v Watford Mike Williams (shared with BBCtv Final Score)
West Ham v Sunderland Nick Godwin and Bradley Allen (DAB commentary)
Aston Villa v Fulham Joe Shennan (first time on BBC London to my knowledge. He was commentating last night on Burton as usual for BBC Derby)
Brentford v Barnsley Phil Parry
Sheffield Wednesday v QPR Murray Burnell and Rob Scott (online commentary)
Gillingham v Charlton Louis Mendez
Millwall v Fleetwood Deano Standing
Peterborough v AFC Wimbledon Alan Seabrook
Hartlepool v Leyton Orient Dave Victor
Wycombe v Barnet Jonathan Blakey

BBC Radio Berkshire
Rotherham v Reading Tim Dellor and Mick Gooding (commentary)
Corrie_Fan2
22-10-2016
Mick Lowe absent from BBC Radio Newcastle again, anyone know what the crack with that is?
IanFergus
22-10-2016
Originally Posted by Corrie_Fan2:
“Mick Lowe absent from BBC Radio Newcastle again, anyone know what the crack with that is?”

I am guessing vacation. A few reporters/commentators seem to be on vacation at present. Must be near half-term.
swfcforever
22-10-2016
BBC Radio Sheffield-22/10/16

Andy Giddings hosted Build up to kick-off between 14:00 and 15:00 from Valley Parade.

Main Commentary on FM and Freeview was Bradford City v Sheffield United. Andy Giddings, alongside Keith Edwards
On MW/DAB- was Brentford v Barnsley with Adam Oxley.

Reports:-
Sheffield Wednesday v QPR-Mike Miney
Chesterfield v Scunthorpe-Paul Fisher
Blackpool v Doncaster-James Gray
Rotherham United v Reading-Rob Staton, who also hosted Praise and Grumble after between 17:00 and 18:30 from the New York Stadium.

Olly Constable read out Sports News, Tweets and E-mails during Build up to kick off, plus during Praise and Grumble.
North Easterner
22-10-2016
Originally Posted by Corrie_Fan2:
“Mick Lowe absent from BBC Radio Newcastle again, anyone know what the crack with that is?”

Matthew Raisbeck who was filling in for him said he wasn't well. 3rd game he's missed this season.
samburrows
22-10-2016
Originally Posted by The Difference:
“I imagine MUTV may have provided an audio commentary on their TV channel as the match was taking place, as I understand they usually do for domestic games.

I think a big part of the reason why Manchester United v Fenerbahce - and other European games played at Old Trafford - wasn't the subject of a UK radio commentary will have been down to Manchester United themselves. Unlike with their domestic games, the Red Devils have control over selling both the national and local radio rights to their home fixtures in European competitions, as opposed to their domestic fixtures where the clubs sell the rights locally but the competition organisers (Premier League, Football League and The FA) sell the national rights.

As such, both talkSPORT and Radio 5 Live have found themselves "locked out" of Old Trafford on European nights on numerous occasions over the past decade, as Manchester United have wanted what both stations deemed to be an excessive cost to gain access to provide updates-only coverage of these matches. Last season, Radio 5 Live struck a deal to cover all of United's home European games throughout the season, as talkSPORT did (when still Talk Radio) around the turn of the century. But national radio coverage of the Red Devils in Europe has been pretty patchy in the interim period. This does not surprise me when you consider that BBC Radio Manchester has not been in a position to do commentary on United (certain away games and local derbies excepted) for around 20 years, with two commercial stations in Century 105.4 and Key 103 having held local rights to the team for a period before exiting the sports commentary market altogether. I imagine Radio Manchester will have provided updates on last night's game, but nothing more than that as is usually the case with their live coverage of the team.

While Steve is not entirely correct to suggest that talkSPORT do not ever provide commentary on British clubs playing at home in Europe - in previous seasons (going back a few years now, but within this decade) the station has signed deals with clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool to provide commentary on the entirety of their European campaigns - it's clear that they have a policy of primarily broadcasting games the UK clubs are playing in continental Europe. I imagine acquiring rights from overseas clubs who do not usually receive much interest in audio access to their games from foreign radio stations works out as being considerably cheaper than picking up rights to individual games hosted by the bigger English teams does for British broadcasters.

It seems likely that talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 will broadcast most/all of Manchester United's remaining away games in the Europa League, as they did with their opener at Feyenoord, barring any difficulty in gaining commentary rights as appears to have been the case with Inter v Southampton last night.

With Radio 5 Live prioritising sports other than football on Thursdays and so not providing that much coverage of the Europa League until the business end of the competition, it's not really surprising that they've opted against reprising the deal they had with Manchester United for European games last season.”

Great post, thank you.
North Easterner
22-10-2016
BBC Newcastle - Saturday October 22nd

West Ham v Sunderland - Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett (FM)
Newcastle v Ipswich - Matthew Raisbeck and John Anderson - (DAB + AM)

Newcastle Benfield v Irlam (Updates at HT + FT) - Barry Hindson
Dunston v Morpeth (Updates at HT + FT) - Paul Dixon

Studio - Chris Sykes
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