How are your local sports talk stations covering given sports now? Here in the Seattle area there are three stations: KIRO 710 is still almost entirely Seahawks, KJR 950 is a football/baseball mix that favors the NFL, while 1090 The Fan is mostly Mariners. There is a little national NBA talk (no Sonics anymore) with virtually no coverage of hockey or college basketball.
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Sports mix in your market
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Detroit has five, yes five, sports talkers, three of which feature local content. 97.1, The Ticket (CBS) is all local. 105.1 has six hours of local talk and carries the NBA's Pistons. 1130 has one local show and the rest the the Fox Sports feed. 1270 is the CBS Radio National Feed and 1090 is Yahoo! Sports Radio National Feed.
There is far too much Sports Talk IMO. There is only so much substantive discussion that can be had regarding sports in any given week, and most of the local shows digress into non-sports topics. Five stations, even in an avid sports market like Detroit are way too many. I have to believe that some of these networks will shake out, with NBC and YSR likely those that will be gone first.
There is far too much Sports Talk IMO. There is only so much substantive discussion that can be had regarding sports in any given week, and most of the local shows digress into non-sports topics. Five stations, even in an avid sports market like Detroit are way too many. I have to believe that some of these networks will shake out, with NBC and YSR likely those that will be gone first.
In Charlotte NC, WFNZ has been around for about 20 years and is mostly local.
WBCN is co-owned and once simulcast WFNZ because it is at 1660. They were news/talk when they first went on their own but it is now CBS Sports.
WZGV has been around a few years and switched from Fox Sports to ESPN.
An HD station can also be heard on a translator at 98.7. It is new and has Fox Sports.
WBCN is co-owned and once simulcast WFNZ because it is at 1660. They were news/talk when they first went on their own but it is now CBS Sports.
WZGV has been around a few years and switched from Fox Sports to ESPN.
An HD station can also be heard on a translator at 98.7. It is new and has Fox Sports.
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Orlando has four sports AMs, and two of them now have FM translators. So that means there are 4 program sources on 6 channels in a town with one pro sports team - The Orlando Magic - and they are terrible. Cox has a huge heritage signal WDBO 580 AM running ESPN with a little local, Clear Channel has 50 KW WYGM 740 running Fox with significant local content, and locals 810 AM carries Rome and NBC I believe, and 1080 has a sister station in Tampa and runs a bunch of local. So lots of sports in a town where most sports fans came from somewhere else or it wouldn't work. One bad pro franchise and UCF isn't enough for four/six. Number 33 market doesn't hurt the situation either.
Charleston has just two sports stations, both owned by the same person. 910 AM and 98.9 FM simulcast ESPN radio, except for College of Charleston basketball/baseball and a few South Carolina games on the AM side. They have one local show during afternoon drive. The other station, 1450 AM has a weird mix of Fox, CBS, and NBC. They cherry pick from those 3 networks. They used to have Yahoo too.
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Boston has two FM sports talkers and an AM station playing ESPN Radio. The Sports Hub is five years old and has the better ratings over WEEI-FM, which is almost 25 years old (it used to be on the AM frequency that ESPN is now on). Both FM stations are local except for overnight and some weekend stuff. The local stuff is Pats, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics, in that order. The last two shift depending on success, but neither station is much different in their mix of topics. The Sports Hub may have a little more Pats and WEEI more Red Sox because of their respective affiliations. The difference between the stations are mostly in style. The Sports Hub morning show is more comedy/bit based (the hosts were rock DJs before The Sports Hub went on air) and the WEEI morning show has more politics/current events. The other shows are pretty similar.
In Dayton, OH we have two sports stations. One on 1410 WING, owned by Alpha Media, is ESPN Radio with a local show called Dayton Sports Scene hosted by Mark Neal from 4-6pm weekdays. They have Ohio State football and basketball and also Cincinnati Reds baseball also. The other is Fox Sports 980 WONE, owned by iHeart Media, and pretty much just plays the lineup from FSR. Until September 2014 they used to have a local show from 3-6pm but never picked a replacement host and now just run FSR 24/7. 980 WONE has coverage of the Dayton Dragons, Westwood One coverage of the NFL and NCAA tournament, Miami Redhawks football, and Notre Dame football.
Jackson has two full-time sports stations: ESPN Radio 105.9 the Zone and Supersport 930, and NBC Sports Radio affiliate. 105.9 carries Mississippi State sports and Madison Central high school football. 930 carries New Orleans Pelicans basketball, Jackson Academy (a local private school), select college football games, the NCAA tournament, NFL football and the Masters. They had been an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, but they haven't carried of their games so far this season, so they may've been dropped.
WJDX-AM 620 carries Fox Sports at night and weekends. They were a full-time sports station until 2011, when they began carrying conservative talk during the day. WJDX carries New Orleans Saints football, Southern Miss sports, and Brandon High School football.
WJDX-AM 620 carries Fox Sports at night and weekends. They were a full-time sports station until 2011, when they began carrying conservative talk during the day. WJDX carries New Orleans Saints football, Southern Miss sports, and Brandon High School football.
Here in Columbus, it's a fairly diverse landscape.
The "heritage" sports station, WBNS-FM (97.1, "The Fan") is the flagship station for Ohio State football and men's basketball. One can imagine, given any familiarity with Columbus and towns like it, how much they emphasize the Buckeyes. It's a lot. I am a fan and it's overkill. They also are the flagship station for the Blue Jackets, but the CBJ decidedly takes a back seat. They never win out in case of conflict.
(I gritted my teeth a few years ago when, before what became the CBJ's final game of the season in the playoffs vs Pittsburgh, The Fan spent the hour before the game on Buckeye recruiting.)
97.1 also is an ESPN radio affiliate and carries MLB and NBA (except the Finals, when it was blocked by the Cavaliers' local affiliate) as well as NFL games from Compass. They lost the Westwood One rights to WZOH (95.5), which is an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio but pretty much ignored the WW1 games until the playoffs last year.
Otherwise in Columbus ...
* WZOH, which became a sports station on April 1, 2013 after many years as country WHOK, carries the Browns and Cavaliers and is the flagship station for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. Three hours of local talk per day.
* WBNS-AM (1460), which was sports for many years until the format moved to 97.1 in 2009, basically is relegated to carrying the national ESPN schedule. For a while after The Fan moved to FM, it simulcasted all the local shows from 97.1.
Nowadays, WBNS-AM simulcasts OSU football and basketball, and also is the flag for OSU women's basketball and baseball. Also an Indians affiliate.
* WYTS-AM (1230) is our Fox Sports Radio affiliate. No local shows. Is Columbus' Reds affiliate, although in parts of the metro at night you can hear the games better on WLW or WQTT-AM (1270) out of Marysville. WYTS also is the area's Ohio University football and men's basketball affiliate.
As far as other local/regional teams ...
- Bengals' local affiliate is alternative WBWR-FM (105.7). Games also can be heard on WLW after baseball season, as well as the WLOH-AM/FM (1320/104.5) combo out of Lancaster depending on where one is in the metro.
- NASCAR airs on WHOK-FM (107.1)
- Steelers games air on standards WMNI-AM (920), which also carries the Columbus Clippers
I think that covers everything.
The "heritage" sports station, WBNS-FM (97.1, "The Fan") is the flagship station for Ohio State football and men's basketball. One can imagine, given any familiarity with Columbus and towns like it, how much they emphasize the Buckeyes. It's a lot. I am a fan and it's overkill. They also are the flagship station for the Blue Jackets, but the CBJ decidedly takes a back seat. They never win out in case of conflict.
(I gritted my teeth a few years ago when, before what became the CBJ's final game of the season in the playoffs vs Pittsburgh, The Fan spent the hour before the game on Buckeye recruiting.)
97.1 also is an ESPN radio affiliate and carries MLB and NBA (except the Finals, when it was blocked by the Cavaliers' local affiliate) as well as NFL games from Compass. They lost the Westwood One rights to WZOH (95.5), which is an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio but pretty much ignored the WW1 games until the playoffs last year.
Otherwise in Columbus ...
* WZOH, which became a sports station on April 1, 2013 after many years as country WHOK, carries the Browns and Cavaliers and is the flagship station for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. Three hours of local talk per day.
* WBNS-AM (1460), which was sports for many years until the format moved to 97.1 in 2009, basically is relegated to carrying the national ESPN schedule. For a while after The Fan moved to FM, it simulcasted all the local shows from 97.1.
Nowadays, WBNS-AM simulcasts OSU football and basketball, and also is the flag for OSU women's basketball and baseball. Also an Indians affiliate.
* WYTS-AM (1230) is our Fox Sports Radio affiliate. No local shows. Is Columbus' Reds affiliate, although in parts of the metro at night you can hear the games better on WLW or WQTT-AM (1270) out of Marysville. WYTS also is the area's Ohio University football and men's basketball affiliate.
As far as other local/regional teams ...
- Bengals' local affiliate is alternative WBWR-FM (105.7). Games also can be heard on WLW after baseball season, as well as the WLOH-AM/FM (1320/104.5) combo out of Lancaster depending on where one is in the metro.
- NASCAR airs on WHOK-FM (107.1)
- Steelers games air on standards WMNI-AM (920), which also carries the Columbus Clippers
I think that covers everything.
In Dallas we have three. 105.3 The Fan (Flagships of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys), 1310/96.7 The Ticket and ESPN 103.3. Seems like lately The Fan has beaten the other two in ratings although I admit I don't listen to 103.3 much.
Hartford is down to one full-time sports signal, ESPN Radio 97.9 WUCS, which carries New York Yankees baseball and New York Giants football. WTIC 1080, which does right-wing talk most of the time, carries UConn basketball and football plus Red Sox baseball and Patriots football. WPOP 1410, another right-wing talker, has Central Connecticut State University sports plus minor league baseball and hockey. Also, WFAN 660 New York blasts in like a local in most of the market and regularly shows up in the Hartford ratings.
Bonneville is the 1000-pound gorilla of sports radio in Phoenix. Not only do they own KTAR 620 (ESPN Radio) and mostly-local KMVP-FM 98.7, but they also control the broadcast rights to almost all local play-by-play. The D'backs, Cards, Suns, Coyotes, and ASU football & men's basketball all are on one of the above, plus their brokered black-gsopel KMVP 860 is used as an overflow, usually for the Coyotes or ASU hoops.
Next is iHateRadio, who owns KGME 910. They're mostly Fox Sports Radio plus local afternoon programming. They also air games from WestwoodOne, notably the NFL. They're also the local outlet for the University of Arizona. They have night signal issues, especially into the far-east valley.
Third is Hubbard's KDUS 1060 in Tempe. They run NBC Sports Radio except between 11 AM and 6 PM M-F, which is local. They also air ASU baseball & women's basketball. Good 5 kW daytime signal, but at 500 watts nights with a pattern that almost completely nulls to the south, they don't even cover their city of license.
Last and least is KPHX 1480, which is a part-time CBS Sports Radio affiliate mixed in with liberal political talk. They air Jim Rome and little else of note. Their signal barely makes it out of south, central, and west Phoenix day or night.
Next is iHateRadio, who owns KGME 910. They're mostly Fox Sports Radio plus local afternoon programming. They also air games from WestwoodOne, notably the NFL. They're also the local outlet for the University of Arizona. They have night signal issues, especially into the far-east valley.
Third is Hubbard's KDUS 1060 in Tempe. They run NBC Sports Radio except between 11 AM and 6 PM M-F, which is local. They also air ASU baseball & women's basketball. Good 5 kW daytime signal, but at 500 watts nights with a pattern that almost completely nulls to the south, they don't even cover their city of license.
Last and least is KPHX 1480, which is a part-time CBS Sports Radio affiliate mixed in with liberal political talk. They air Jim Rome and little else of note. Their signal barely makes it out of south, central, and west Phoenix day or night.
Charlotte lost CBS Sports as its affiliate went back to Beck.
We still have WFNZ with mostly local shows, WZGV with ESPN and Fox Sports on 98.7 which is a low-power station.
We still have WFNZ with mostly local shows, WZGV with ESPN and Fox Sports on 98.7 which is a low-power station.
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