Talksport’s profits fall after acquisition by Murdoch

RUPERT MURDOCH’S attempt to combine his British newspapers with radio stations made a slow start, accounts reveal, as audiences and profits at Talksport declined in its first 18 months as part of News UK.

The publisher of The Sun and The Times bought the broadcaster for £220m as part of the takeover of Wireless Group in 2016. It is also behind Talkradio, home to a show hosted by the former MP George Galloway, and a relaunched Virgin Radio music station, as well as a clutch of local brands across the country.

Accounts filed at Companies House, the first since the deal was completed, show that in the first year and a half under Murdoch ownership profits fell sharply.

Talksport reported a pre-tax profit of £7.5m, compared with £21.2m in the prior 12 months.

The prior year’s figure were flattered by the sale of a group of local stations but excluding even exceptional items cash earnings fell by £4.1m to £9.1m. Revenues were £73.5m, up from £49.2m over the shorter period. The monthly average was flat.

A News UK spokesman said the accounts did not reflect all one-off costs. Advisory fees on the takeover and start-up marketing costs for new stations were recorded as operating costs, the publisher said, which made the drop in profits appear worse.

The takeover of Talksport has been the biggest corporate move by chief executive Rebekah Brooks since her return to lead News UK three years ago following her acquittal on phone hacking charges.

She aimed to diversify News UK’S sources of income by offering combined deals on print, online and radio advertising, as well as cross-promote newspaper brands and radio stations. Talksport was seen by Ms Brooks as a particularly good fit for The Sun, which had been struggling to define a role for itself in an increasingly digital media landscape.

In the first 18 months flagship station Talksport, a rival to the BBC’S 5 Live, lost around 200,000 listeners to reach an average of 2.9m adults per week.

However, it has since rallied, News UK said, to reach a record 3.1m listeners in March this year.

Talksport has been spending on more live sport in an attempt to erode BBC dominance.

It has bought rights to England test matches overseas starting with the series against Sri Lanka from October. Last year it swooped for exclusive rights to English Football League matches.