The Charlotte Hornets and Entercom’s WFNZ (610 AM/102.5 FM) The Fan in Charlotte have inked a new multi-year deal for WFNZ to continue serving as the team’s flagship radio station. The announcement was made Monday morning.
“The Hornets are an outstanding organization in a great sports town,” said Matthew R. Hanlon, VP/GM Entercom/Charlotte. “It makes so much sense for WFNZ to be the flagship station for the Hornets’ radio network. We’re very proud to be a part of the growth and success of the Charlotte Hornets.”
“We are excited to have WFNZ once again serve as the ‘radio home of the Charlotte Hornets’ with this multi-year partnership,” said Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield. “In addition to broadcasting all Hornets games, our fans will benefit from the increased hours of additional Hornets programming, including extended pregame and postgame shows. We look forward to working with all of the talented people at WFNZ for many years to come.”
The extended partnership between the Hornets and WFNZ will feature more Hornets programming than ever before on the radio station. All of the team’s preseason, regular-season and postseason games will be carried by WFNZ and each game broadcast will also be available to fans on the Hornets app. The new agreement includes an expanded 30-minute pregame show and a 20-minute postgame wrap-up show. Following the wrap-up show, WFNZ will provide an additional 30-minute call-in postgame show.
In addition, WFNZ is adding a weekly 60-minute Hornets show to its lineup. The new show will air Thursday nights at 6pm ET. Daily Hornets features will also air on both WFNZ and its sister station WBT (1110 AM) during the NBA season.
The two parties have confirmed the return of Steve Martin as the radio play-by-play voice. Martin has served as a radio or television broadcaster for NBA basketball in Charlotte since the team arrived in 1988. He’s expected to call all of the action at home and on the road. Former NBA player Matt Carroll joins Martin as the Hornets radio analyst for all home games.
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.
