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ESPN 98.7 FM to be no more come August 31, 2024

It's been a long process but here's one story.


This was obviously before the sale to Good Karma in 2021.
So why would they close up shop after building a new building.

Is Katie Nolan even with ESPN anymore?
 
No, they aren't. If you're saying that, then you obviously haven't been following.

They're just giving up the FM signal.


And as I said earlier in this thread, if it was an issue for them, they wouldn't have sold the LMA to GKB. Or they could have assisted GKB in buying 98.7.

The Disney CEO has already said linear broadcasting is dead.
 
As the other thread mentions. AM is dead. If they are dropping the FM what does that say about the future of ESPN radio.

Disney signed a long term deal with Good Karma knowing that they would not be continuing the FM LMA:


The future is not FM. The future is digital. Both Disney and Craig Karmazin understand that.
 
I'd laugh at all the alt rock haters if we end up getting another alt rock station!!!!!!!
The people here who believe it unlikely that the market gets another Alternative station are not "haters".

I'll use my own case as an example. I neither like nor dislike most alternative rock as a genre, although I have found a number of songs to be very enjoyable. But I have decades of radio experience and I look at the changing demographics of New York City and realize that the "core" for that kind of music is shrinking. And there are just not enough people in the ethnic and demographic core for alternative rock to support a radio station.

No hate here: just reality of a market that is now only about 40% non-Hispanic white and shrinking.
 
I'd laugh at all the alt rock haters if we end up getting another alt rock station!!!!!!!

I'd laugh at the new owners if they spent $35-50 million on an NYC signal only to do alternative! Anyone doing that better have a lot of money to burn!

I don’t consider myself an alternative rock hater. I listen to the genre once-in-awhile, though, admittedly, not very often. I just wouldn’t recommend doing the format in NYC because of the demographics.
 
As the other thread mentions. AM is dead. If they are dropping the FM what does that say about the future of ESPN radio.
What you are implying is that ESPN Radio is relinquishing its largest affiliate, which is incorrect. WEPN-FM may be leaving the scene, but WEPN (AM) will remain. Is it a downgrade? Heck yes. But it's still an over-the-air presence. And remember, 1050 was there for a full decade before 98.7 entered the picture.

But yes, the primary focus is now on digital distribution. If that is the direction Good Karma and Disney want to take ESPN Radio in moving forward, then more power to them.
 
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What you are implying is that ESPN Radio is relinquishing its largest affiliate, which is incorrect. WEPN-FM maybe leaving the scene, but WEPN (AM) will remain. Is it a downgrade? Heck yes. But it's still an over the air presence. And remember, 1050 was there for a full decade before 98.7 entered the picture.

But yes, the primary focus is now on digital distribution. If that is the direction Good Karma and Disney want to take ESPN Radio in moving forward, then more power to them.
They lost the Knicks and Jets, what content will they have.
 
Wasn't the original move to 98.7 FM part of an effort to boost ratings, by becoming more competitive with WFAN, which was only on AM at the time? Perhaps the lack of success in that endeavor was a significant factor in management concluding the FM signal was not worth the investment.
 
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