The battle for the sports market on the airwaves took another turn yesterday when Today FM announced its most recent weapon in the increasingly competitive arena: live Premiership football - what else?
Under a deal with the Premier League, the station will broadcast coverage of a Premiership match every Saturday afternoon, starting tomorrow. The contract runs to 2001. The station has paid in the region of £100,000 for the three-year deal.
The new programme, which will begin at 2.0 p.m., will have Dave Kelly and Damien Richardson providing the build-up to the match, with a variety of other pundits, such as Johnny Giles, adding to the overall weight.
Eamon Dunphy, though he presents The Last Word each weekday evening, will not be in studio, but, according to the station's head of sport, Tim Tuomey, "his expertise and experience on the production side is where his value comes in".
Various UK-based reporters and analysts will provide the commentary, with bulletins from all of the other games bringing the package together. Because of rules set down by the Premier League, the station is not permitted to announce which game it is covering before 8.0 on Saturday morning.
This weekend, Gordon Hill will be the analyst, with a British commentator covering the run of play. Hill is a former Manchester United player. United, as it happens, play Derby County tomorrow.
