BADDIEL & SKINNER are to reunite on Absolute Radio this summer, resuming their position as the unofficial voice of football, supported by Sony Ericsson, Official Mobile Handset of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The duo, who launched the tournament’s first-ever podcasts in 2006 with their Sony Radio Academy Award-nominated series, are partnering up to record a brand new series of 20 free-of-charge podcasts. The first podcast will launch at 6am on Monday 24th May and listeners will then be able to subscribe to receive all of the subsequent episodes.
Users can subscribe via:
• www.absoluteradio.co.uk
• www.facebook.com/sonyericssonuk
• Baddiel and Skinner’s Football Kit, with Absolute Radio, available at all major App stores. (Free for Sony Ericsson handsets or £2.99 for all other users.)
• Or listen to the podcast on Absolute Radio, at 6pm on the day of each new download (105.8FM in London, 1215AM and digital nationwide, or online at www.absoluteradio.co.uk/www.facebook.com/sonyericssonuk)
Baddiel & Skinner's Absolute Radio Podcasts, with Sony Ericsson, Official Mobile Handset of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, will cover every single step of our team’s journey, giving listeners DAVID and FRANK’S take on the tournament. Each new podcast will be available at 6am and packed with their familiar mix of on-the-ground reports, off-the-cuff banter and football fanaticism.
The duo will also be presenting weekly, hour-long specials for Absolute Radio live from South Africa and they’ll also be calling in to The Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show.
Prior to BADDIEL & SKINNER’S critically acclaimed football podcast from 2006, which was the number one in the iTunes charts, downloaded by over 1 million listeners, the duo worked together on Fantasy Football and five series of the BAFTA, Broadcast Award and Rose D’Or-nominated Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned, which attracted over 4 million viewers a night in its 10.30pm slot. In 1996, with IAN BROUDIE (The Lightning Seeds), they created the triple-number one anthem, Three Lions.
Richard Dorman, Senior Marketing Manager, Sony Ericsson UK & Ireland said: “Sony Ericsson is proud to be the Official Mobile Handset of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and the partnership with Absolute Radio and football icons Baddiel and Skinner significantly reinforces our association with football.”
ends
For more information on the podcasts, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner contact:
Jo Cross or Dan Lloyd at Avalon on: 020 7598 7222 / joc@avalonuk.com or danl@avalonuk.com
For Sony Ericsson enquiries contact:
Brando Team on: 020 3423 5040 / sepressoffice@brando-world.com
For Absolute Radio enquiries contact:
Cat Macdonald or Rhiannon Clarke on: 020 7432 3317/3418 Cat.Macdonald@absoluteradio.co.uk or Rhiannon.Clarke@absoluteradio.co.uk
PODCAST & LIVE SHOW SCHEDULE
PODCASTS
Subscribe to the Baddiel & Skinner's Absolute Radio Podcasts on 24th May 2010 via
• www.absoluteradio.co.uk/football/baddielandskinner
• www.facebook.com/sonyericssonuk
• Baddiel and Skinner’s Football Kit, with Absolute Radio (available at all major App stores)
(Download at www.apple.com/uk/iphone/apps-for-iphone , www.playnow-arena.com, store.ovi.com or www.android.com/market .
and you will receive all 20 podcasts on the following dates:
1 - 6am, Monday 24th May
2 - 6am, Wednesday 2nd June
3 - 6am, Wednesday 9th June
4 - 6am, Thursday 10th June
5 - 6am, Friday 11th June
6 - 6am, Saturday 12th June
7 - 6am, Sunday 13th June
8 - 6am, Tuesday 15th June
9 - 6am, Friday 18th June
10 - 6am, Saturday 19th June
11 - 6am, Wednesday 23rd June
12 - 6am, Thursday 24th June
13 - 6am, Saturday 26th June
14 - 6am, Sunday 27th / Monday 28th June [1]
15 - 6am, Wed 30th June
16 - 6am, Saturday 3rd / Sunday 4th July [1]
17 - 6am, Wed 7th July
18 - 6am, Thurs 8th July
19 - 6am, Sun 11th July
20 - 6am, Mon 12th July
[1] date dependent on Round of 16 results
LIVE SHOWS
The following hour-long specials are all broadcast live at 6pm on Absolute Radio (105.8FM in London, 1215AM and digital nationwide, or online at www.absoluteradio.co.uk / www.facebook.com/sonyericssonuk )
1 - 6pm, Wednesday 16th June
2 - 6pm, Monday 21st June
3 - 6pm, Thursday 1st July
4 - 6pm, Friday 9th July
DAVID BADDIEL AND FRANK SKINNER
Back in 1994 DAVID BADDIEL first teamed up with FRANK SKINNER to create and star in Fantasy Football League, which ran for 54 episodes on BBC TWO, before transferring in 1998 to ITV for Fantasy Word Cup Live and Fantasy Football: Euro 2004. The show was transmitted live every other day for the duration of the tournaments. In 1996, DAVID, FRANK and IAN BROUDIE (The Lightning Seeds) created the enduring football anthem Three Lions, which was written as the official song of the Euro 96 championship. The single achieved platinum status, selling more than one million copies and when re-released in 1998 it stayed at the number one position for five consecutive weeks. In addition to this success, the duo also created the BAFTA and Golden Rose nominated Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned which broadcast its fifth series in the summer of 2005. DAVID and FRANK launched the World Cup’s first ever podcasts in 2006 which were downloaded by over 1 million listeners and nominated for a Sony Radio Academy Award.
DAVID BADDIEL
DAVID BADDIEL formed The Mary Whitehouse Experience in 1991, which ran for four series on BBC Radio 1 and two series on BBC TWO. In 1993 he partnered ROB NEWMAN in the BBC TV series Newman and Baddiel In Pieces and went on to perform Britain’s biggest ever comedy gig at Wembley Arena. DAVID BADDIEL has had three novels published, Time For Bed, Whatever Love Means and most recently The Secret Purposes which was published in 2005. His debut novel Time For Bed remained in the bestseller list for nine consecutive weeks, with sales exceeding 500,000 copies. DAVID BADDIEL also wrote and starred in his own sitcom Baddiel’s Syndrome in 2001, which ran for 13 episodes on Sky One; hosted two series of his topical Radio 4 show Heresy, which saw DAVID and a team of three highly opinionated guests use their wit, wisdom and verbal dexterity to argue against popular prejudice and overthrow received opinion; and in November 2007, screened his documentary Baddiel and the Missing Millions on BBC ONE.
April 2010 saw the release of his long-awaited film, the critically acclaimed feel-good comedy The Infidel. Starring OMID DJALILI, RICHARD SCHIFF, MATT LUCAS and MIRANDA HART, The Infidel follows Mahmud Nasir, loving husband, doting father and something of a “relaxed” Muslim who’s world is turned upside down when his birth certificate which reveals that not only was he adopted at birth…but he’s Jewish, and his real name is Solly Shimshillewitz. The film has received a glut of four star reviews and is predicted to be “the Summer’s funniest film” (Andrew O’Hagan, The Evening Standard).
FRANK SKINNER
FRANK SKINNER performed his first stand-up gig in December 1987 and, only four years later, went on to win the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival. During the mid 90s FRANK sold-out two massive UK tours, the second of which, in 1997, closed to a world record breaking packed house at London’s Battersea Power Station. He currently hosts BBC TWO’S brand new topical comedy series, Frank Skinner’s Opinionated; writes a weekly column for The Times; hosts the Sony Academy Silver Award-winning Saturday morning breakfast show, whose spin-off podcasts were the station’s most downloaded of 2009 with over 1.6 million downloads; and is filming a documentary for BBC FOUR investigating the largely unknown life of GEORGE FORMBY. Recently FRANK completed the triple-extended, sell-out Credit Crunch Cabaret in London’s West End, offering recession-hit Londoners the chance to see some of the biggest names in live entertainment including MICHAEL McINTYRE, AL MURRAY - THE PUB LANDLORD, CONNIE FISHER, HUGH CORNWELL (THE STRANGLERS) and IAN BROUDIE (LIGHTNING SEEDS) for just £10 a ticket; and authored a Panorama special on taste and decency as well as hosting Have I Got News For You? and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
FRANK’S previous TV shows include The Frank Skinner Show, which is widely credited as setting the tone for the modern comedic chat show and ran for nine years, attracting 11 million viewers at its peak. It was responsible for some of the most talked about entertainment exclusives in chat show history including BRITNEY SPEARS’ revelation that she was stood up by PRINCE WILLIAM, MYLENNE KLASS’ tearful recollection of the public backlash following Hear’Say’s break-up, and TARA PALMER TOMKINSON’S infamous interview which directly led to her drug rehabilitation. He has written two books, the first of which was Frank Skinner, the top selling autobiography of 2002, spending 46 weeks in The Sunday Times Bestseller List. His second book, the Richard & Judy Book Club Award-winning Frank Skinner On The Road chronicled his 2007, sell-out, return to stand-up a decade after his then record-breaking 6,000-seater gig at Battersea Power Station.
AVALON TELEVISION
Avalon Television is one of the leading producers of award-winning comedy and light entertainment programmes in the UK. Founded in 1993, the independent production house supplies television programming to all the British terrestrial channels and the leading cable and satellite stations, in addition to content for radio broadcasters.
Recent television productions include: BBC TWO’S brand new topical comedy series Frank Skinner’s Opinionated; the quadruple-BAFTA and triple British Comedy Award-winning Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV1); Russell Howard’s Good News, BBC THREE’s highest ever rating entertainment series, written and presented by the multi-award-winning comic and Mock The Week star; Al Murray’s Happy Hour (ITV1) - the British Comedy Award winning peak-time entertainment show; and three series of the Royal Television Society and Rose D’Or award-winning sitcom Not Going Out (BBC ONE).
Avalon Television also produces radio shows, with recent projects including: BBC Radio 5 Live’s 7 Day Sunday hosted by CHRIS ADDISON with regular guests SARAH MILLICAN and ANDY ZALTZMAN; Yes it’s the Ashes, ANDY ZALTZMAN’s topical look at the ashes series; Dave Gorman’s Sunday morning show for Absolute Radio; and The Frank Skinner Show, Absolute Radio’s Saturday morning’s flagship show, whose spin-off podcasts were the station’s most downloaded of 2009 with over 1.6 million downloads.
ABSOLUTE RADIO
Absolute Radio was unleashed on the airwaves on Monday 29th September 2008 with a mission to help listeners around the UK to discover real music.
Formerly known as another name, the station stays true to its rock roots - and its original frequency of 105.8FM (London) - by playing the very best music from the last 40 years which means we don’t do manufactured pop or R&B. Absolute Radio is about The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Police and Joy Division, Oasis and Blur as well as the latest releases from the likes of Kings Of Leon, The Killers and Kasabian.
We’re a radio station for real fans of real music and comedy and it’s all wrapped up with lashings of personality and mischief from DJs like Christian, O’Connell, Geoff Lloyd, Frank Skinner, Dave Gorman and Iain Lee who have the freedom to say what they think and tell it like it is.
In under two years Absolute Radio has hosted more than 100 live music sessions, closed Regent St for our 1st Birthday Party and hosted a Biffy Clyro concert at the Houses of Parliament. We have a record-breaking 12 Sony Award and 7 Arqiva nominations and we’re already the first radio group to reach the 50% digital listening target set out in the Digital Britain report.
This summer look out for us at festivals including Isle of Wight, Hard Rock Calling, Lattitude and V Festival and Absolute Radio is also reuniting Baddiel and Skinner for a series of podcasts and live shows from the World Cup in South Africa.
For more information log on to www.absoluteradio.co.uk or tune in on 105.8FM in London and the South-East, nationally on DAB or 1215AM as well as on Sky, Freeview and Freesat
SONY ERICSSON
Sony Ericsson
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