Sky sponsors football coverage on radio

Sky has reportedly agreed a deal with Absolute Radio and TalkSport to sponsor both station's Premier League coverage for the 2010/11 season.

According to The Guardian, the satellite broadcaster has agreed separate deals with the two stations to run its new ad campaign, which promotes the availability of all five high definition Sky Sports channels only on the Sky platform.

TalkSport has secured radio commentary rights to 64 Premier League games for the new season, with Absolute Radio acquiring a batch of 32. BBC Radio 5 Live has rights to all the remaining live matches.

Sky will launch its advertising and sponsorship campaign on TalkSport and Absolute tomorrow, ahead of the start of the new Premier League season on August 14.

The satellite broadcaster will also use the campaign to promote the launch of its Sky 3D channel to residential subscribers on October 1.

"The campaign will focus on reaching sports fans in a way which is creatively engaging and which harnesses Sky's trusted reputation for delivering the most comprehensive and innovative sports coverage around," said Sky's director of media strategy and planning Andrew Mortimer.

Last month, Sky launched a television, press and outdoor ad campaign for the Sky Sports channels, starring former Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona.