Sports radio

History

In 1955, WHN New York launched the first regular sports talk program featuring a broadcaster/journalist roundtable that aired before and after Brooklyn Dodgers games. By the early 1960s, sports talk content, ranging from individual commentary to roundtable discussions, began appearing in major US markets, initially tied to play-by-play broadcasts but gradually developing unique styles and characters. Art Rust Jr. launched New York’s first interactive call-in show (WMCA) in 1960 to limited initial success. Nonetheless, the interactive format spread in the 1960s with Bill Mazer, launching the first successful show in March 1964 at WNBC (AM) in New York. 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.

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 is considered to be the first all-sports radio station, with Philadelphia's WIP a close second. However, that designation is imprecise according to research by Rowan University media scholar Emil Steiner since both stations relied on non-sports content during their initial years in order to survive: It wasn't until WFAN hired Don Imus—a shock jock "who by all accounts despised sports," that the station became financially viable. The prevailing narrative across news coverage was that sports talk radio works when it focuses on entertainment first and information second. This was the model espoused by WIP’s manager of programming Tom Bigby: "'If you do sports talk, it won’t survive,' Bigby says. 'If you do sports entertainment, the possibilities are endless.'" Following The success of the WIP and WFAN in the early 1990s, with hit programs such as Mike and the Mad Dog, drove other stations in United States to try the all-sports talk format. By 1991 there were around 20 stations broadcasting across the country and by 2000 there were over 600. 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.

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, while Philadelphia's WDAS flipped to a sports format featuring local programs involving sports betting. 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. 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), BetR including programming from co-owner SportsMap on its lineup, and BetQL being often carried alongside CBS Sports Radio on its owned-and-operated stations.

Sports talk stations

Terrestrial

Argentina

• DSports Radio

Australia

• RSN Racing & Sport - Melbourne, Victoria
• 1116 SEN - Melbourne, Victoria
• 91.3 SportFM - Fremantle, Western Australia
• Sky Sports Radio - Sydney
• ABC Radio Grandstand - national, via DAB+ digital radio

Belgium

• VivaSport - national, via DAB+ digital radio; simulcast of VivaCité

Brazil

• Rádio Grenal FM - 95.9 MHz - Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul - Regional sports news and talk radio in Rio Grande do Sul. Its owned by Rede Pampa de Comunicação.

Canada

China

• Beijing Tiyu Guangbo

Colombia

• Antena 2

Czech Republic

• ČRo Radiožurnál Sport - national, via DAB+ digital radio

France

• RMC - national, broadcast area in France and Monaco; combination of news/talk/sport format

Greece

• ERA Sport
• Bwin Sport FM 94.6
• Ellada Sports

Italy

• Rai Radio 1 Sport - national, via DAB+ digital radio

Mexico

• W Deportes
• RG La Deportiva

Netherlands

• NPO Radio 1 - national; combination of news/talk/sport format

New Zealand

• Radio Sport
• TAB Trackside
• SENZ

Nigeria

88.9 Brila FM: Sports Radio 88.9 Brila FM, owned by Brila Broadcasting Services, is Nigeria's first sports radio station and was launched in 2002.

Norway

• NRK Sport - national, via DAB+ digital radio

Philippines

DZSR Sports Radio 918 kHz is the first and only sports radio station owned by the Philippine Broadcasting Service.

Spain

• Radio Marca

Turkey

• a Spor Radyo
• HT Spor Radyo
• Lig Radyo
• Radyospor
• Radyo Gol

United States

In 2009, Detroit's "97.1 The Ticket" WXYT-FM, thanks to the surprising time slot dominance of shows like Valenti and Foster, in addition to holding the play-by-play rights for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Lions and the Detroit Pistons, became the United States' only sports talk radio station to be the highest rated station in their market, according to Portable People Meter rankings. The station relocated to the FM dial in October 2007 after existing on the AM dial for seven years prior, replacing a Free FM "hot talk" station, WKRK. This ratings success has led to WXYT-FM billing itself as the country's best sports station.

WXYT-FM's recent influence has led to CBS Radio installing sports radio stations on the FM dial in Dallas (105.3 The Fan), Boston (98.5 The Sports Hub), Pittsburgh (93.7 The Fan), Washington, DC (106.7 The Fan), Baltimore (105.7 The Fan) and Cleveland (92.3 The Fan), in addition to simulcasting Philadelphia's heritage 610 WIP onto the former WYSP. Other non-CBS stations have also migrated to the FM dial, most notably Clear Channel's KFAN in Minneapolis, Greater Media's WPEN in Pennsylvania and Dispatch Media's WBNS-FM in Columbus, just to name a few.

K

W

Uruguay

• Carve Deportiva
• Sport 890

Satellite

Sirius XM

• Sirius XM 80 - ESPN Radio
• Sirius XM 81 - ESPN Xtra
• Sirius XM 82 - Mad Dog Sports Radio
• Sirius XM 83 - Fox Sports Radio
• Sirius XM 84 - ESPNU Radio
• Sirius XM 86 - Sirius XM NBA Radio
• Sirius XM 87 - Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio
• Sirius XM 88 - Sirius XM NFL Radio
• Sirius XM 89 - MLB Network Radio
• Sirius XM 90 - Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
• Sirius XM 91 - Sirius XM NHL Network Radio
• Sirius XM 92 - Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio
• Sirius XM 156 - Sirius XM Fight Nation
• Sirius XM 157 - Sirius XM FC
• Sirius XM 206 - Infinity Sports Network
• Sirius XM 211 - Dan Patrick Radio
• Sirius XM 371 - Sirius XM ACC Radio
• Sirius XM 372 - Sirius XM Big Ten Radio
• Sirius XM 373 - Sirius XM Pac-12 Radio
• Sirius XM 374 - Sirius XM SEC Radio
• Sirius XM 375 - Sirius XM Big 12 Radio

Internet sports radio

• RIVAL Radio 809 - sports programming all day long, with a little something special at night.
• Sports Radio America - home to the next generation of independent sports radio talk show producers from around America.
• Victory Lane Radio - racing on Monday nights and Football Frenzy on Wednesday nights.
• National Sports Network - The only independent sports play-by-play radio network airing NCAA College Basketball games.

Networks

Canada

• Sportsnet Radio
• TSN Radio

United Kingdom

• BBC Radio 5 Live - national public service broadcasting non-commercial network; combination of news/talk/sport format
• BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra - supplementary station to the above; exclusive live sports format
• Talksport - national commercial network; features sports talk and live sports coverage
• Talksport 2 - supplementary station to the above; exclusive live sports format

United States

• ESPN Radio
• Fox Sports Radio
• Fútbol de Primera
• Infinity Sports Network
• Motor Racing Network
• Performance Racing Network
• Sports Byline USA
• TUDN Radio

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
• 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
• NTV Spor Radyo (Turkey)

Notable syndicated programs

Canada

• Don Cherry's Grapeline
• Prime Time Sports

United States

• 2 Live Stews
• The Ben Maller Show
• Boomer and Gio
• The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
• The Dan Patrick Show
• The Doug Gottlieb Show
• The Herd with Colin Cowherd
• J. T. the Brick
• The Jim Rome Show
• The Michael Kay Show
• Mike and Mike in the Morning
• Mike and the Mad Dog
• Mike's On
• The Ryen Russillo Show
• The Tony Kornheiser Show
• The Toucher and Rich Show

References

References

1. (2011). "What About Sports-Talk Radio? How's That Doing?". Radio InSights.
2. Rosen, Joel. (2001–2002). "All-Sports Radio: The Development of an Industry Niche". [[Media History Monographs]].
3. Dempsey, Jack. (2006). "Sign On," in Sports-Talk Radio in America: Its Context and Culture".
4. Best, Neil. (June 16, 2011). "First time, long time for Bill Mazer". [[Newsday]].
5. "WSOU Celebrates 50 Years of 'Hall Line' on the Air".
6. Steiner, Emil. (2025). "Hot Take Origin Story: How Journalists Shaped the "Authentic" (And Lucrative) Identity of Sports Talk Radio, and How It Reshaped Media". [[Journalism History]].
7. Craig, Jack. (1991-05-10). "All-Sports Banks on Show Biz". [[Boston Globe]].
8. Nick Paumgarten. (2004-08-30). "The boys: what Mike and the Mad Dog talk about when they talk about sports".
9. Careless, James. (2020-01-27). "Radio Gambles on Sports Betting".
10. (2019-07-24). "The BetR Network To Debut August 5 On KBAD Las Vegas & WBSS Atlantic City".
11. (21 June 2021). "Audacy Flips Seven Stations To BetQL Network".
12. (2020-07-09). "MLS Names Philly Broadcast Partner".
13. Obodo, Kate. (March 30, 2012). "Nigeria: As a Child, My Swimming Pool Was the Murky Waters of the Village - Izamoje". allafrica.com.
14. [http://www.RIVALRadio809.com/ RIVAL Radio 809]
15. [http://www.SportsRadioAmerica.com Sports Radio America]
16. [http://www.victorylaneradio.com/ Victory Lane Radio]
17. "Home".
18. 2013 Termination info from [[KRAE]] wiki article.