Today FM, NewsTalk 106 and RTÉ Radio are understood to have expressed an interest in acquiring the rights to broadcast Premier League football on radio.

The three-year contract is currently held by Today FM and the station is anxious to retain the rights. Today FM regularly achieves higher Saturday afternoon ratings than RTÉ Radio One because of its Premiership Live programme, hosted by Mr Michael McMullen.

There are two packages available to Irish stations. The first allows broadcasters access to Saturday matches, while the other allows access to Sunday and Monday night matches.

This is NewsTalk's first bid for such high-profile rights. It is understood it is more interested in the second package. The station already has access to rugby and League of Ireland football as part of its Off the Ball programme.

The station believes neither RTÉ or Today FM has the space in its schedule to broadcast Monday night matches for instance.

RTÉ declined to comment on its interest, but the station is anxious to get greater access to premiership games. At present its access to coverage only extends to reports on games, not live commentary.

While the value of the rights is believed to be relatively small, the cost of a full programme is significant, sources pointed out. A team of reporters located at various grounds in Britain are needed for each programme. The value of the contract this time may be reduced because some Premiership League matches are due to be broadcast on RTÉ television next season for the first time in several years.