TalkSport lands ad deal with History Channel

by Emma Barnett, Media Week 02-Jul-08, 09:55

LONDON - Speech radio station TalkSport has secured a cross-platform ad deal with The History Channel's Ax Men programme, running for two weeks this month.

TalkSport claims the deal is the first it has struck that includes its on-air, online and magazine offerings. Talksport Magazine launches tomorrow (July 3). Ax Men features stories from the logging and forestry industries.

The deal will include on-air promotion, online spot advertising and a full-page ad in Talksport Magazine.

Matt Wilson, sponsorship and promotions director, said: "This deal for us shows that we're no longer just a radio station. Now we are a sports brand that's available on air, online and in magazine."

Charlotte Pilkington, sponsorship sales executive, Matt Davis, web manager and Ashwin Saddul, magazine account director at TalkSport and Richard Huglin, director at The Media Shop, on behalf of the History Channel, negotiated the five-figure deal.

In May, TalkSport owner UTV said the station recorded an annual revenue boost of almost 20%, outperforming the industry and its sister radio stations.

Between January and the end of April, TalkSport revenues rose 19% year on year. This compares with UTV's 16 local radio stations in the UK, which between them saw earnings in the same period fall 3%.