Sporting

Just before we drift off into Olympic overdrive, a few thoughts on the news that Radio Five Live AND Talksport can both cover FA Cup matches, in a new deal with the FA lasting until 2018.

In 2000, the first year of Talksport, boss Kelvin Mackenzie said he'd bid £27m for Premier League rights, and claimed the BBC secured the three-year deal by paying £45m. Kelvin's complaint from then on was that the BBC was over-paying. He concentrated on some London rights, and the European games of big clubs like Manchester United - plus guerilla tactics. Talksport's "unofficial" coverage of Euro 2000 came from The Jolly Hotel, Amsterdam. This continued in the World Cup 2002  -“It’s unauthorised. It’s unofficial. And it’s brilliant.”

In 2004, when the BBC re-secured its "usual" radio rights to FA Cup coverage, Talksport complained to Ofcom - fruitlessly. Meanwhile, Talksport acquired its first "legit" national commentary deal, to cover Euro 2004.  Then it was time to renegotiate on the Premiership; Kelvin claimed the BBC paid £36m for three years - "utterly disgraceful - a tax-payer-funded monopoly".

In 2006, Talksport won one of the 7 Premiership radio packages, and  now have exclusive commentary rights to 32 games a season.

In 2008, the BBC re-secured its "usual" rights to FA Cup coverage, and Talksport, run now by UTV, complained to the BBC Trust. The Trust duly yellow-carded BBC Sport - The Trust said management "must note that achieving value for money does not necessarily mean securing exclusive sports rights" and that the BBC had failed to conduct a competitive impact assessment when bidding for the rights which was a "breach of the executive's duty to endeavour to minimise the BBC's negative competitive impact on the wider market".

So it was hardly a shock that sharing was the order of the day this time. What would be useful to know is the price both parties paid.