Sky Bet seals talkSPORT 2 partnership deal

Operator becomes official betting sponsor of new digital radio station launching on the first day of Cheltenham

Sky Bet has signed a deal to become the exclusive betting partner of talkSPORT’s soon-to-be-launched 24-hour sports radio station.

TalkSPORT 2 is to be aired for the first time on 15 March, live from the Leeds-headquartered operator’s box on the opening day of The Cheltenham Festival and will be available nationally on DAB digital radio and online.

Other operators will be able to advertise on the station, however Sky Bet’s deal secures its status as the sole official betting partner.

“We feel this relationship is a natural synergy between two innovators in their sector,” Sky Bet’s head of PR, Sandro Di Michele, said just weeks after the operator secured sponsorship of England’s Football League until 2019.

“Live sport is extremely important to our business and the deal matches our ambitions and continued growth,” Di Michele added.

UTV Media’s new sports radio station will follow a similar format to its flagship talkSPORT station however will focus purely on live sports coverage rather than call-ins and chat shows, covering a wide array of sports including football, horseracing, cricket, tennis and golf.

“TalkSPORT 2 is going to bring sports fans across the UK a much wider choice of sports coverage than they have ever had before,” Liam Fisher, national radio controller for UTV Media, said.

“This is going to include live coverage from some of the world’s greatest sporting events, some of which we’ll be bringing to British commercial radio for the very first time.”