Sports radio

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Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, ^[1] sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and callers. Many sports talk stations also carry play-by-play (live commentary) of local sports teams as part of their regular programming

Contents

• History
• Programming
• Sports talk stations
• Terrestrial
• Satellite
• Internet sports radio
• Networks
• Canada 2
• United Kingdom
• United States 2
• Defunct networks
• Notable syndicated programs
• Canada 3
• United States 3
• See also
• References

History

Hosted by Bill Mazer, the first sports talk radio show in history launched in March 1964 on New York's WNBC (AM). ^[2] Soon after WNBC launched its program, in 1965 Seton Hall University's radio station, WSOU, started Hall Line, a call-in sports radio talk show focusing on the team's basketball program. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary on air during the 2015–2016 season, Hall Line, which broadcasts to central and northern New Jersey as well as all five boroughs of New York, is the oldest and longest running sports talk call-in show in the NY-NJ Metropolitan area, and is believed to be the oldest in the nation. ^[3]

Enterprise Radio Network became the first national all-sports network, operating out of Avon, Connecticut, from New Year's Day 1981 through late September of that year before going out of business. ER had two channels, one for talk and a second for updates and play-by-play. ER's talk lineup included current New York Yankees voice John Sterling, New York Mets radio host Ed Coleman and former big-league pitcher Bill Denehy.

Emmis Broadcasting's WFAN in New York in 1987 was the first all-sports radio station. The success of the station and its programs, such as Mike and the Mad Dog , caused many to appear around the United States; while only one other radio show besides Mike and the Mad Dog attended the 1990 Super Bowl, about 100 attended the 2004 Super Bowl's radio row. ^[4]

Programming

Sports talk is available in local, network and syndicated forms, is available in multiple languages, and is carried in multiple forms on both major North American satellite radio networks. In the United States, most sports talk-formatted radio stations air syndicated programming from ESPN Radio, SportsMap, Sports Byline USA, Fox Sports Radio, Infinity Sports Network, or NBC Sports Radio, while in the Spanish language, ESPN Deportes Radio is the largest current network. In contrast, Canadian sports talk stations may carry a national brand (such as TSN Radio or Sportsnet Radio) but carry mostly local programming, with American-based shows filling in gaps. Compared to other formats, interactive "talkback" sports radio poses difficulties for Internet radio, since as a live format it is difficult to automate; most prominent sports leagues also place their radio broadcasts behind a paywall or provide their broadcasts directly to the consumer, depriving standalone Internet stations of potential programming. Pre-recorded sports talk programs (usually interview-centered) can be syndicated as podcasts with relative ease, and sports teams have also launched their own online digital networks with sports talk centered around their own properties.

As with most other radio formats, sports radio uses dayparting. ESPN Radio, for instance, insisted that its affiliates carry Mike and Mike in the Morning during morning drive time to provide as much national clearance as possible; in contrast, it carries less prominent programming in the afternoon drive to accommodate local sports talk, as well as in the evening (for its first two decades, rolling score updates aired under the banner of GameNight ) to allow stations to break away for local sporting events. Somewhat unusually for radio, the late-night and overnight hosts have more prominence on a sports talk network, due to a near-complete lack of local preemption.

Sports radio stations typically depend on drawing an audience that fits advertiser-friendly key demographics, particularly young men with the disposable income to invest in sports fandom, since the format does not have the broad appeal to reach a critical mass in the general public. Prominent sports radio stations typically get their greatest listenership from live play-by-play of local major professional sports league or college sports franchises; less prominent stations (especially on the AM dial) may not have this option because of poorer (or for daytime-only stations, non-existent) nighttime signals and smaller budgets for rights fees.

Following the 2018 repeal of the United States' Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, a variant of the format focusing upon sports betting began to emerge. In August 2019, SportsMap (then SB Nation Radio) and Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) launched the BetR Network with affiliates in Las Vegas and Atlantic City at launch, ^{[5] [6]} while Philadelphia's WDAS flipped to a sports format featuring local programs involving sports betting. ^[5] Broadcaster Audacy began to deploy its BetQL Network to more of its stations in June 2021 (using the on-air brand The Bet), alongside an expansion of their daily schedule. ^[7] Stations with such formats may still affiliate with a mainstream sports radio network to fill the remainder of their schedule, with the aforementioned WDAS otherwise carrying Fox Sports Radio (as well as Philadelphia Union soccer), ^{[8] [5]} BetR including programming from co-owner SportsMap on its lineup, ^{[5] [6]} and BetQL being often carried alongside CBS Sports Radio on its owned-and-operated stations. ^[7]

Sports talk stations

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2024)

Networks

Defunct networks

• Champions Soccer Radio Network (United States)
• Enterprise Radio Network (United States)
• KRAE (Cheyenne's ESPN sports radio) (USA, Wyoming) - contract ended 2013, now oldies radio ^[14]
• NBC Sports Radio
• Réseau Sport Radio Network via Digital Radio Oceane (New Caledonia/Wallis & Futuna)
• Sports Fan Radio Network (United States)
• ESPN Deportes Radio (United States)
• The Team (Canada)
• Bradesco Esportes FM (Brazil)
• Macquarie Sports Radio - National, via DAB+ Perth, Sydney 954, Melbourne 1278 & Brisbane 882
• SportsMap

Notable syndicated programs

See also

• Broadcasting of sports events
• Radio personality
• Major League Baseball on the radio
• College football on radio
• National Football League on the radio

Related Research Articles

WFAN is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, with a sports radio format, branded "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area, while its 50,000-watt clear channel signal can be heard at night throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada. WFAN's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan and its transmitter is located on High Island in the Bronx.

ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The network is based at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut, with multiple studio facilities nationwide, along with home studios. The network airs a regular schedule of daily and weekly programming as well as live radio play-by-play of sporting events.

All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.

Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, instead of requiring a subscription fee like satellite radio services. Launched on October 25, 2005, Free FM was phased out over the course of 2007, with the final station using it, KLSX, dropping the brand in November 2008.

WDFN is a commercial AM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an all-news radio format under iHeartRadio's Black Information Network (BIN), targeting Detroit's African-American community. Its studios and offices are on Halsted Road in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills.

WXYT-FM is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, serving Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located in the nearby suburb of Southfield.

WXYT is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It airs a betting-oriented sports radio format known as "The Bet Detroit". Most programming comes from the BetQL Network and Infinity Sports Network. During College football season, WXYT airs live play-by-play from the Central Michigan University Chippewas football team. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. The studios and offices are on American Drive off 11 Mile Road in Southfield.

KIKK is a daytime-only station, licensed to Pasadena, Texas, which broadcasts a sports gambling format under ownership of Audacy, Inc. Its studios are located in the Greenway Plaza district of Houston, and its transmitter is located in Pasadena. While it only broadcasts during daytime hours at 250 watts, KIKK's low frequency gives the station a large coverage area, stretching from Flatonia, Texas to the west, and past Lake Charles, Louisiana to the east.

WMC is a commercial AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, broadcasting a sports gambling format. It is one of the city's oldest radio stations, and still uses its original three-letter call sign. WMC maintains studios in the Audacy, Inc. complex in Southeast Memphis, and has its transmitter towers in Northeast Memphis.

WSSP is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format known as "1250 AM The Fan". Most of its programs are from Infinity Sports Network and the BetQL Network.

WAUK is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to the Washington County community of Jackson, Wisconsin, and serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It is known on-air as The Sha 101 FM in reference to the station's Waukesha based FM translator. The station's studios and offices are in downtown Waukesha.

The Sports Fan Radio Network was a national sports talk radio network that existed from 1993 through 2001, when it abruptly folded.

WCAR is a commercial radio station licensed to Livonia, Michigan, and serving the Metro Detroit radio market. It airs a Spanish language format as a simulcast of WSDS in Salem Township and is owned by the Birach Broadcasting Corporation.

WJRW – branded as The Ticket – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Owned by Cumulus Media, WJRW is the Grand Rapids affiliate for the BetQL Network, CBS Sports Radio, and Fox Sports Radio. The WJRW studios and transmitter both reside in Grand Rapids. In addition to a standard analog transmission, the station also simulcasts over low-power FM translator W291DJ and is available online.

WROC, currently branded as 95.7 The Fan, is an AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New York, airing a sports radio format. The format is closely affiliated with Buffalo sister station WGR, and carries content from Infinity Sports Network, the BetQL Network, and local shows, along with play-by-play from teams owned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The station's studios are located at High Falls Studios downtown, and its transmitter tower is on Rochester's southside near the I-390/I-590 freeway interchange.

Several events occurred in radio in 2008.

WGAM and WGHM are simulcasting radio stations in southern New Hampshire, United States, broadcasting an oldies format named "Oldies Radio WGAM". WGAM is licensed to serve Manchester, and WGHM is licensed to serve Nashua. The stations are locally owned by Absolute Broadcasting, LLC. The stations are also available via FM translators at 103.5 in Manchester and 99.9 in Nashua.

The Detroit Lions Radio Network is a radio network in Michigan and Toledo, Ohio that broadcasts all of the NFL's Detroit Lions games and related programming. All preseason, regular season, and postseason games are aired live throughout the network. The announcers are WJBK sports director Dan Miller with play-by-play, former Lions offensive tackle Lomas Brown with color commentary, and former Lions guard T. J. Lang serving as sideline reporter. Network coverage begins two hours before game time and ends one hour after the game's conclusion. Games are also aired on Sirius XM Radio and online with a subscription to NFL Game Pass or TuneIn Premium. The Lions' flagship station returned to WXYT-FM starting with the 2021 season, after a five-year stint at WJR. As of the 2023 season, the network consists of 50 stations in 40 markets in Michigan and one in Ohio.

BYU Radio is a podcast network and former talk radio station run by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013.

References