Anil Kandola – guest booker TalkSport
Works as guest booker Monday to Wednesday – allocates guests across all shows, a fluid
role across different shows and topics
Always looking for a good sports-related angle but doesn’t have to be someone directly
related to sport. Ie comedian Paul Smith – from Liverpool but not a football fan = a good
talking point.
Booking cross all shows from Breakfast thorough afternoon and Hawksbee and Baker Show
to evenings. Late evening show can often have more flexibility for different topics.
Listenership – 4 million a week with shows also broadcast on YouTube and Talk Sport App/.
Largely male audience with female listeners growing.
Lead times – working on June / July now but also has flexibility to drop the right guest into
the schedule with much shorter notice.
Proofs – always welcome and go a long way towards grabbing a presenter’s attention. Will
always request a copy in advance of an interview.
Will always read an email and consider which show would work best for the guest. Happy to
go for coffees / be invited to events – enjoys building networks.
Jade Lauriston – Sport and culture on Radio 4 Today Programme
R4 Today – the most listened to Sports bulletin in the country.
Audience – catering for a 35+ audience (majority are 50+) Largest listenership in the country
only surpassed by R2.
Lead times – likes to hear about major names as soon as possible, happy to start
conversations early. Can squeeze things in with shorter notice.
Needs to be first interview or on the same morning as appearances on BBC Breakfast etc
Interested in different angles as well as straight sports biographies / auto biographies –
geopolitics in sport / sport and the environment. Even if its not right as a sports bulletin guest
it could fit somewhere in the rest of the programme.
Sits with the World Service so can share pitches more widely if right for a different team
Proofs – email first to check as post can go astray at the BBC. Can send home address if
interested in receiving a copy.
In person meetings – enjoys author showcase events and can send another member of the
team if not available.
Tuesdays and Fridays are often best for giving more space to guests (Monday always busy
with news from the weekend / and mid week often taken up with European football etc)
Always on the look out for more female authors – need a female cricket writer!