Knoxville Smokies Announce 92.5 WKCE as the Official Radio Home of the Smokies

[Team_SR]

Knoxville Smokies Announce 92.5 WKCE as the Official Radio Home of the Smokies

KNOXVILLE, TN - The Knoxville Smokies have announced that 92.5 WKCE will serve as the flagship station of the Knoxville Smokies. The station will air the majority of Smokies games and potential playoff games for the 2025 season on 92.5 FM and/or on the WKCE stream/app.

WKCE is a radio station owned by Loud Media, a locally owned company that is focused on serving Knoxville area listeners and advertisers with unique radio broadcast and digital platforms.

“We are so very excited to partner with the Knoxville Smokies and for WKCE to become the official radio home of this phenomenal team” said Loud Media owner Aaron Ishmael, “Being able to deliver broadcasts of all the Smokies games via our station, website, and app is a dream come true.”

Mick Gillispie will handle the play-by-play duties for broadcasts as the “Voice of the Smokies.” Gillispie has been the lead announcer for Smokies Baseball since 2007. He will be joined by Richie Juliano, in his third season with the Smokies. Broadcasts will begin 15 minutes before the scheduled first pitch with a pre-game show and conclude with a 15-minute post-game show.

In addition to the 92.5 WKCE airwaves, all game broadcasts will be heard on www.smokiesbaseball.com, the Bally Sports app. In the event of a schedule conflict with a Knoxville Ice Bears hockey game, the Smokies will be heard on one of Loud Media’s other local radio stations with updated information to be posted at wkceradio.com.

“We are thrilled to partner with WKCE as the official radio home of the Knoxville Smokies,” said Boyd Sports President Chris Allen. “This is another great way to provide Smokies Baseball to our passionate fans, and keep them connected to their favorite team throughout the year.”

For questions about Knoxville Smokies 2025 season tickets, promotions, and individual game tickets call the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.

ABOUT THE KNOXVILLE SMOKIES

The Knoxville Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the eight-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America’s national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Knoxville Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.

ABOUT LOUD MEDIA

Loud Media is a local radio company with its main office and studios in the Sunsphere in downtown Knoxville. In addition to WKCE, Loud Media owns 104.9 KVL, Atomic 106, 93.7 WVLZ, and Fun 105.9. To learn more, visit www.loudmedia.com.

 

[CTListener]

The Southern League season is about three weeks old. Has the deal with WKCE been in effect from the start, or has the team had no radio outlet until now?

 

[lanceventa]

The Southern League season is about three weeks old. Has the deal with WKCE been in effect from the start, or has the team had no radio outlet until now?

Follow the link in the original post.It was dated April 7 at the start of the season.

 

[gr8oldies]

The Southern League season is about three weeks old. Has the deal with WKCE been in effect from the start, or has the team had no radio outlet until now?

The first game was Tuesday. The team just moved into this new downtown stadium, and as the Kodak (I-40 exit 407 leading to Sevierville/Pigeon Forge)-based Tennessee Smokies, were broadcast on WNML The Sports Animal 990/99.1.

 

[CTListener]

Tuesday was April 15. The first game of the season was April 4. April 7 is neither of those dates. So did the team switch radio stations from WNML to WKCE while the season was underway (Tuesday)?

 

[Delete My Account]

WKCE is an AM station with an FM translator, the FM is W223DM and appears to not even have signal in Knoxville.

Nice press for them, but somewhat deceptive.

 

[gr8oldies]

WKCE is an AM station with an FM translator, the FM is W223DM and appears to not even have signal in Knoxville.

Nice press for them, but somewhat deceptive.

Translator is licensed to Sevierville, though I can get it at home in South Knoxville, the signal doesn't even reach the new stadium. The AM is a daytimer. couldn't tell you if the away games were broadcast at all; the first home game at the new stadium was Tuesday, April 15.

 

[CTListener]

Translator is licensed to Sevierville, though I can get it at home in South Knoxville, the signal doesn't even reach the new stadium. The AM is a daytimer. couldn't tell you if the away games were broadcast at all; the first home game at the new stadium was Tuesday, April 15.

Ah, that's a possibility I didn't consider -- that the team puts only home games on radio. That's likely what happened here.

 

[KilowattKat]

WKCE plays Oldies from the 50's/60's,. The baseball games give it much needed revenue.

 

[gr8oldies]

WKCE plays Oldies from the 50's/60's,. The baseball games give it much needed revenue.

They also carried the Knoxville Ice Bears hockey.

 

[gr8oldies]

Ah, that's a possibility I didn't consider -- that the team puts only home games on radio. That's likely what happened here.

Possible but I couldn't tell you. There's been so much hype about the new stadium the actual team seemed to get lost in the shuffle. WNML is tied up with University of Tennessee baseball, which has been pretty popular the last few years, and that might be why they didn't pick up the Smokies.

 

[Ktownradioman]

Jacob from Loud Media here. We are signed to carry every game this season from this point on. Due to Ice Bears playoffs conflicts, we have had to use Fun 105.9 as an overflow channel for a few select games.

 

[Ktownradioman]

Possible but I couldn't tell you. There's been so much hype about the new stadium the actual team seemed to get lost in the shuffle. WNML is tied up with University of Tennessee baseball, which has been pretty popular the last few years, and that might be why they didn't pick up the Smokies.

That's the main reason they moved to us.

 

[BRice16]

Possible but I couldn't tell you. There's been so much hype about the new stadium the actual team seemed to get lost in the shuffle. WNML is tied up with University of Tennessee baseball, which has been pretty popular the last few years, and that might be why they didn't pick up the Smokies.

We haven't carried the Smokies on The Sports Animal full time since 2021. We have Tennessee Baseball and Softball on weekends through June, then Tennessee football midweek shows and high school football begin the second week of August. Also couldn't interrupt weekday programing for the midday games on getaway days. Just became too many conflicts to give the Smokies a consistent schedule so moving on was best for everyone. We're still involved with a couple of weekly promotions across our three stations.

Certainly wish Loud Media all the luck with the package, glad to see it back on a full-time FM home. WKCE does a great job with the IceBears, featuring SPHL Broadcaster of the Year Joel Silverberg.