talkSPORT has won the blue ribbon Network of the Year award against stiff competition from across TV and radio at the Sports Journalism Awards last night.

The judges praised talkSPORT for “making a number of innovative changes in this past year to diversify their audience and enhance their credibility” adding “they demonstrate a huge amount of passion and enthusiasm in the way they present sport, tackling a range of issues from the hard-hitting to the light-hearted. With a commitment to developing young journalists, the future is bright for this radio station.”

The ceremony held at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster recognised broadcasters, print journalists and photographers in the highlight of the sports journalism calendar.

talkSPORT earned a total of eight nominations across the categories, with Jim White and Natalie Sawyer’s mid morning show, White & Sawyer winning Best Radio Show/ Audio of the Year which the judges praised for ‘real opinion and debate.’ The station's Bloodgate documentary was highly commended with a silver accolade for its investigation into the rugby fake blood scandal following talkSPORT's move into specialist documentaries this year.

Head of talkSPORT Lee Clayton said: “The Network of the Year award is huge for us and testament to all the hard work from the team over the past 12 months. talkSPORT has always been the home of the fan and a place for passionate debate and expert analysis. But we are also a place for exclusive news and the best live action from the world of sport. From England Cricket’s overseas tours to the biggest boxing clashes and more live Premier League coverage than ever before through our new GameDay programming, we are building a roster of unmissable live action and content for fans.”

Wireless CEO Scott Taunton added: “These are exciting times for talkSPORT and being named Network of the Year is just reward for the hard work of Lee and the team. As we continue to invest in new programming and sports rights to grow the station’s three million-strong on air audience we’re also developing a booming online offering for fans.”

For The Times, Owen Slot (best rugby writer), Mike Atherton (cricket) and Alyson Rudd (sport features) were victorious.