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Tune in your radio to long-wave 252 and you can listen to the nation's new sports radio station. That is unless you live in London or the South-east.
Teamtalk 252, the station that replaces Atlantic 252, was launched this week, with Paul Gascoigne delivering the kick-off. Billed as a national station, it has a slight problem in that its transmitter range does not stretch as far as London and the South- east because it is stationed in Ireland.
But that could be just the start of the station's troubles. Teamtalk 252 has no plans to buy live rights to major sports events, but it has made a commitment to transmit sports programming "100 per cent" of the time. That's a big undertaking considering Teamtalk's two rivals. TalkSport and BBC Five Live devote only 54 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, of their output to sport.
One thing will play in Teamtalk's favour - owner Teamtalk Media Group supplies sports news content through various media for third parties such as Ladbrokes. So the station will have the support of a team of journalists who have a track record in providing a stream of sports news.
In order to fill air time, the station says it will explore sport in more depth, reporting the results of lower league football matches and featuring minority sports. On Saturdays, for example, the station will transmit live match coverage of the British Basketball League, which is allowing Teamtalk to cover the game free to boost the sport's profile. Mixed in with sports...