A game of two halves

There’s many people that would agree that football on the radio provides listeners with an unrivalled ninety minutes of a form of pure passion and energy out of their speakers – and never more so when the on air personalities are getting behind their local teams. That passion is amplified at most, particularly on local radio, when the men on the field are fighting for local bragging rights – the local football derby!

This weekend saw the North and South have their go at taking home the glory in Merseyside against Liverpool v Everton and in North London with Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur – both vying for the honour.

Have a listen to some of the coverage from this weekend on Bauer’s Radio City as they broadcast the 216th Merseyside Derby with Alan Irwin, Graham Stuart, Steve Hothersall and John Aldridge.

Meanwhile, Arsenal legend Ian Wright brings his passion for the game alive in a candid video interview as part of his Rock N Roll Football Show on Absolute Radio where he projects a bit of personality for his beloved team.

The 2011 Sony Awards saw Real Radio North East pick up the station imaging award for their Real Radio Sports coverage, in particular focus to the Tyne-Wear (Sunderland v Newcastle) derby in October 2010. With such a strong sporting heritage already at the station, it was only right that the GMG station brought the life and soul of the Derby day to light through creative and cut through imaging.

The campaign scooped Gold at this year’s Arqiva and rightly so too. Real Radio North East’s Station Sound Producer – Craig Steward said “To be nominated for the award in the first place is a fantastic achievement, as there are a lot of excellent producers producing some fantastic imaging in the UK right now. But to win it is just wonderful and really makes us incredibly proud. We put a real emphasis on trying to show that we, as a station, have the same passion for football as the man on the street, and to see it work so successfully, is obviously very pleasing.”

Nothing Else Matters!

Have a listen for yourself ….

Football derbies – they make great radio .. just be careful when you head into town afterwards for that after match pint!