The New York Islanders have created a winning situation for their radio broadcasts in the big apple. The team announced that 30 of its games this season will be carried by WFAN-AM/FM, starting with the team’s home opener on Oct. 16. The remaining 52 games will be broadcast on AM 970 The Answer, starting with the team’s 2016-17 season opener against the New York Rangers on October 13th.
The two stations will alternate broadcasting Stanley Cup Playoff games. In addition, the Islanders will be heavily promoted on each station through commercial spots, email marketing and social media.
Veteran broadcaster Chris King will return for his 24th season on Islanders radio broadcasts, serving as play-by-play announcer. Greg Picker returns for his 2nd season as the team’s color analyst.
Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, popular hosts of WFAN’s Boomer & Carton Show, will call the Islanders’ November 30th game against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins from Barclays Center.
“We are thrilled to welcome WFAN-AM/FM and AM 970 The Answer to the New York Islanders Radio Network and to greatly expand the reach of Islanders games throughout the tri-state area,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment.
“The Islanders are delighted for our fans that we will have such excellent radio coverage this season,” said Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky.
“We are pleased to partner with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment to add New York Islanders games to our already expansive roster of NY team coverage,” said Mark Chernoff, VP of Programming, WFAN. “As the #1 sports station in the country, WFAN is uniquely poised to capture and share the excitement around hockey season with its legions of fans.”
“Everyone here at Salem Media of New York/WNYM AM 970 The Answer is excited about being a home of one of New York’s iconic sports franchises,” said Jerry Crowley, Vice President and General Manager of Salem Media of New York. “To add the Islanders with their great tradition of excellence is a tremendous complement to our outstanding talk, news, information, sports programming format.”
The broadcasts will also be available for streaming on the Islanders’ mobile app and on http://islanders.nhl.com. For the full broadcast schedule, fans should check http://islanders.nhl.com and follow @NYIslanders on Twitter.
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.
