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Buffalo Possible movement on the Bills' new home

C

ckg279

Tim Grahan(he of Buffalo News fame)just posted to Twitter that the Bills are nearing a deal to bring the radio rights to....Cumulus Media; specifically, 97 Rock and 103.3 the Edge.

The crew in the booth won't change(Chris Brown & Eric Wood), but Steve Tasker would be the new sideline reporter.

No comment from the Bills
 
ckg279 said:
Tim Grahan(he of Buffalo News fame)just posted to Twitter that the Bills are nearing a deal to bring the radio rights to....Cumulus Media; specifically, 97 Rock and 103.3 the Edge.

The crew in the booth won't change(Chris Brown & Eric Wood), but Steve Tasker would be the new sideline reporter.

No comment from the Bills
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I was hoping there'd be an upgrade at pxp. Brown screams like a girl in a horror film and uses the kinds of expressions you would've expected from Rick Jeanrette. Just sounds odd coming from him. To bad about John Murphy. He was excellent.
 
mets18 said:
Given this tweet from a couple of days ago you might have a clue which station will flip Link
Click to expand...

Its neither. I already saw which station it may be, but I won't ruin it. I pay for these insights, so you should too.
 
Good Karma Brands also owns ESPN Radio. There is no ESPN radio in Buffalo, however, they want it here. It will make total sense if they put ESPN Buffalo on WBBF-AM, along with its FM translator. I am sure they would also simulcast Bills there as well.
 
Buddy Shula said:
Good Karma Brands also owns ESPN Radio. There is no ESPN radio in Buffalo, however, they want it here. It will make total sense if they put ESPN Buffalo on WBBF-AM, along with its FM translator. I am sure they would also simulcast Bills there as well.
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ESPN Radio is owned by The Walt Disney Company (which holds a controlling 72% stake), Hearst Communications (18%), and the National Football League (10%).
 
Good Karma manages the ESPN radio brand on a day to day basis, and has done so since 2023. They also manage the national advertising sales for ESPN Radio. ESPN Radio is owned by Disney. ESPN, owned by Disney, provides all content in this arrangement.

It is kind of interesting how they portray ESPN Radio on their website...they don't say they own it, and they don't say they don't own it, either. 🤷‍♂️
 
That, and Good Karma owns what had been the ESPN Radio O&O stations in LA, Chicago and NYC (and they LMA WHSQ from Audacy), plus major affiliates in Cleveland and Milwaukee.

It's a pretty good bet that without GKB's involvement, ESPN Radio wouldn't still exist in its current form.
 
Other than 97 Rock, the stations shown in the lineup are mostly weak “pea shooters” on the AM dial. There is no reason for Palm Beach Florida except that Terry Pegula’s cabin boys can tune in on his mega yacht while plying the Intercoastal. No one in NYC listens to that Good Karma station. The network of stations are “meh”. WGR had a blockbuster network and they were kicked to the curb. Audacy will dominate with pre and postgame in Buffalo and Rochester…that is where the huge audience is. In game is all TV, so WGR has the best part of what advertisers will want.

Quote Reply
 
Oldbloodandguts said:
Other than 97 Rock, the stations shown in the lineup are mostly weak “pea shooters” on the AM dial.
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The five closest markets surrounding Buffalo - Erie, Jamestown, Olean, Rochester and Hornell - are all full-market Bs, except for the B1 in Erie. WKLL in Utica and WIII in Ithaca are also full B FMs.
 
TheBigA said:
The Buffalo Bills have announced their radio network for 2026, and it includes WEPN-AM in NYC:

www.buffalobills.com

Buffalo Bills Radio Network announces 23 network affiliates beginning 2026 season

Former Bills Pro Bowl center Mitch Morse to join pregame and postgame coverage
www.buffalobills.com www.buffalobills.com

Good Karma Brands owns WEPN, and also handles radio strategy for the Bills.
Click to expand...

Its even going to WPB because of the Good Karma connection... 106.3 WESP Jupiter/WPB will get the rights there, and yes, the Dolphins are in that market. Doesn't stop them.
 
Oldbloodandguts said:
Other than 97 Rock, the stations shown in the lineup are mostly weak “pea shooters” on the AM dial. There is no reason for Palm Beach Florida except that Terry Pegula’s cabin boys can tune in on his mega yacht while plying the Intercoastal. No one in NYC listens to that Good Karma station. The network of stations are “meh”. WGR had a blockbuster network and they were kicked to the curb. Audacy will dominate with pre and postgame in Buffalo and Rochester…that is where the huge audience is. In game is all TV, so WGR has the best part of what advertisers will want.

Quote Reply
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Reality is that nearly 40% of listening these days is online. What the array of stations offers is the ability to geofence (as WGR did) and sell airtime to a lot of different markets, whether it's local spots or national buys. How they listen is becoming a lot less important than what app or website they use to listen. In reality, online listening gives buyers a lot more data than OTA now.
 
That still means the majority of listening, or approximately 60% is still OTA. OTA remains relevant, especially for in car listening due to ease of use. Football is largely consumed on TV at home--yes there are those who turn down the network audio and replace it with the local broadcast--and that could be online or radio. In car, if you want to hear the game, it's easier to just hit the preset and listen OTA,
 


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