Peacocks Radio will be back on the airwaves on Saturday covering Taunton Town as they begin their 2025/26 Pitching In Southern League Premier South campaign with a trip to Havant & Waterlooville.
Launched in 2022/23, the club’s first season in The National League South, it has gone from strength-to-strength since then as a well-respected means through which to follow the fortunes of the club for those supporters unable to make it along to games.
“We started it on a ‘trial’ basis,” commentators, Rich Smith and Jon Reed, told us. “The first game we did was against Dartford. We started by broadcasting using ‘Twitter Spaces’ through the club’s Twitter account, as some other clubs had used this process to great success.
“After the trial I [Rich] decided to take the lead and commentate on my own. It was done very much on an as-and-when basis at that time.
“This was initially done by simply using my phone and some headphones in a basic set up, but towards the end of that first season, I really wanted some help, so that’s when I invited Jon along to assist me for the following campaign.
“This led to Peacocks Radio expanding to using Mixlr, which is an online streaming service that allows a better experience and listening quality.
“With Jon on board, we have managed to get new equipment, including laptops and microphones, and over the past two seasons, we have managed to get over 45,000 listeners.
“We have listeners from all around the world and we love to see that. From Dubai, New Zealand, Chile and Peru, we like to joke about this and claim we are Peacocks Worldwide!
“As for this season, we have already invested in new equipment that should enhance the listener experience and we have a few things that we’re going to be trialling during the early games, which we will be looking to get feedback on.
“All we want to do is continue to improve not only the quality, but the content as well. We want to make it feel as if the fans are actually at the ground with us, with friends.
“We are currently sponsored by the Taunton Town Independent Supporters Association, but we’re always on the look-out for any other sponsors who want to be involved.”
We asked the duo how much they are looking forward to the new season.
"We honestly can’t wait,” they said with a cheeky smile that would put Ant and Dec to shame. “We have had a very long pre-season with ten friendlies played and an unbeaten record. We know that friendlies don’t compare to League games, but as confidence is high on and off the pitch, this weekend can’t come soon enough.
“When it comes to who we think will be on top this season, that is a very hard question. Myself and Jon have discussed this and we feel as though there aren’t any clear favourites, just a large number of teams who are strong and will be fighting for the ultimate dream of promotion to National League football.
“Dorchester Town, Gloucester City and Walton & Hersham will be looking to avenge their play-off defeats last season, Weymouth will be looking for quick return and Saturday’s opponents, Havant & Waterlooville, will feel they have a good chance. And also look out for Farnham Town, we expect them to make an impact in their first season at this level.
“The aim for the team this season has to be the play-offs as a minimum. A lot of fans feel as though we can make it this season, but things won’t be easy in what is a very tough and demanding League.
“That said, the team appears to be shaping up nicely. The recruitment that manager, Richard Luffman, has done over the summer has been superb and we look very strong. The addition of Ben Seymour and Kane Simpson up top really adds firepower and now gives Luffers a headache when it comes to selection.
“For us at Peacocks Radio, we just want to keep improving. We would like more listeners and more engagements with all fans, not just Taunton Town fans, but those of the opposition too.
“With our live chat feature, supporters are able to get in touch during the match and we will always look at messages and interact with them. We aim, like always, to give an honest view of the game and we aren’t biased. A lot of fans from clubs we have played over the past few seasons have really appreciated our coverage and we appreciate them tuning in too.”
“If you want to catch our coverage, we go live 10 minutes before each game.”
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