ESPN 980 WTEM in Washington D.C has announced changes to its weekday lineup. These are the first moves under the leadership of new Program Director Chris Johnson, and Red Zebra management, and they put the radio station in position to offer seventeen hours of local programming per day. The changes will go into effect May 2nd.
Here is the brand new lineup.
- 5-7 a.m. “The Morning Blitz” with Al Galdi
- 7-11 a.m. “Cooley and Kevin” with Chris Cooley and Kevin Sheehan
- 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The Tony Kornheiser Show
- 1-4 p.m. “Inside the Locker Room” with Doc Walker, Brian Mitchell and Scott Jackson
- 4-7 p.m. “The Sports Reporters” with Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin
- 7-10 p.m. “DMV Game Time” with Tim Murray and Nick Ashooh
“We are very excited about the new lineup at ESPN 980, including the debut of ‘Cooley and Kevin’ in the morning,” said Terry Bateman, Chairman of Red Zebra Broadcasting. “We have an extremely talented group of hosts that will provide our listeners with the best sports talk in the Washington, D.C. market.”
The most noticeable moves are in drive time where ESPN 980 is once again dropping ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” in favor of a local program, this time moving Cooley out of afternoons, and Sheehan from middays, to form a new show. They’re hoping a locally focused program with a heavy dose of sports conversation will give the radio station a bigger lift in mornings.
Another key move includes Galdi leaving afternoons to serve as an early morning drive show lead-in. The departure of Cooley and Galdi from the afternoon show opens the door for a reunion of Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin. The two men hosted “The Sports Reporters” on the station for over a decade, and have excellent on-air chemistry. They’ve kept their friendship and on-air relationship intact by hosting a podcast together. Pollin has also served as a regular contributor, and fill-in host on the radio station.
The one name not included in the new lineup is Thom Loverro. He’d been co-hosting “The Sports Fix” with Sheehan. It appears that his time with the radio station has come to an end.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
