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Football on the radio 2024

V

vjm

It's that time of year already, so let's see what the potpourri of pigskin looks like come fall on the radio airwaves:

NFL
Your Cleveland Browns will air on their longtime flagships WKNR ESPN 850, WKRK 92.3 The Fan, and WNCX 98.5 in Cleveland, along with the usual batch of affiliates such as WAKR 1590/93.5 and WONE 97.5 in Akron, WHBC 1480 in Canton, and WMJK 100.9 in Sandusky

WKRK will also air the national Westwood One NFL package (Sun/Mon/Thur Night Football, playoffs, Super Bowl)

College
THE Ohio State Buckeyes will air on their longtime Cleveland affiliate WKNR, erstwhile Akron home WAKR, venerable Canton outlet WHBC, eternal Elyria/Lorain station WEOL 930/100.3, and loyal Sandusky/Vacationland locale WLEC 1450/93.5

The Akron Zips will air on flagship WHLO 640 in Akron

The Kent State Golden Flashes will air on new flagship WHKW 1220/96.9 in Cleveland

The Toledo Rockets will be on their longtime Cleveland affiliate WJMO 1300/94.5

And the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be on their new Cleveland home WHK 1420/102.5

WKNR will have ESPN's national slate of games (including the major bowls and National Championship Game), and WKRK will have the Westwood One NCAA package.

High School

WHKW airs the Warren G Harding Raiders from Youngstown (they used to simulcast from former Y-Town sister station WHKZ 1440, but 1440 was sold, and 1220 just continued to air the games anyway)

WEOL airs Lorain County based games, and WRQK 106.9 in Canton airs Stark County games of interest.
 
skiwest said:
I don't understand why the Browns games need to air on so many local stations.
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All the local teams have multiple affiliates.

The Cavs and Guards have AM/FM flagships, Spanish outlets, plus affiliates in Akron, Canton, Elyria/Lorain, and Sandusky/Vacationland

The Browns have all that minus Elyria/Lorain, as WEOL doesn't carry the Browns.

The Browns wanted AM and FM flagships (since the 2 other big league teams in town have them), Audacy wanted the Browns on 92.3 The Fan real bad and made a deal with the Good Karma devil to make it happen

The Browns have an extra FM flagship, as WNCX is an insurance policy to cover any of 92.3's deficiencies

Even the Buckeyes have Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Elyria/Lorain, and Sandusky/Vacationland affiliates, and have done so forever.

None of this is anything new...the Browns have had AM and FM flagships since the 80s, plus the myriad of affiliates.

The Cavs and the Tribe/Guards have had AM/FM flagships for a decade plus.
 
Right, I am aware of the affiliates for the various sports teams. It just seems odd to air the Browns games on 3 Cleveland stations.
 
skiwest said:
Right, I am aware of the affiliates for the various sports teams. It just seems odd to air the Browns games on 3 Cleveland stations.
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They've always had an AM and an FM.

WNCX was added as an insurance policy for their stronger signal to cover ground 92.3 The Fan can't.

This isn't an uncommon thing - just as an example, the Bengals also have a radio menage-a-trois, with WCKY 1530, WEBN 102.7, and (if there's no Reds conflicts) WLW 700/94.5
 
skiwest said:
Well, not always. When I first started following the Browns in the late 60s, the only Cleveland station that aired their games was WHK. I guess FM wasn't a thing yet.
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True, in the 60s and even into the 70s, FM was "finding itself", and the main stuff was still on AM.

But FM eventually did catch on, the Browns noticed, and they've had AM/FM combos since 1985, when WWWE 1100 (now WTAM) and then sister station WDOK 102.1 teamed up. When WHK got the rights back in 1991, they teamed up with then sister station WMMS. WKNR (then at 1220) got the rights during the last 2 years of the Modell era (94 and 95) and were teamed up with WDOK (not a sister station at the time, but the Browns insisted on an FM, so a deal was struck).

When the team came back in 1999, the by then reestablished WTAM 1100 was AM flagship, paired up with FM sister stations WMJI (1999-2000), then WMMS (2001-2012).

The current WKNR ESPN 850/92.3 The Fan/WNCX triad has been in place since the 2013 season.

So we're talking nearly 40 years of having AM/FM
 
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