Since 2014, Chris Kroeger has been a mainstay on the Charlotte radio airwaves. The native Charlottean hosted afternoons on WFNZ before moving to middays in April, earning respect and admiration from local fans for his energetic, honest and passionate style and his vested interest in the success of the market’s local teams.
Now, the 31 year old Kroeger is about to take another step forward in his career.
It was announced this morning on WFNZ, that Kroeger has been named the new radio play by play voice of the Charlotte Hornets.
“We are thrilled to have Chris join the Charlotte Hornets on a full-time basis as our new radio play-by-play broadcaster,” said Hornets President & Vice Chairman Fred Whitfield. “Chris is a very talented broadcaster who brings a wide array of skills to our organization, while also being extremely passionate and knowledgeable about both our team and the NBA. He has cultivated a tremendous audience at WFNZ – one that shares his enthusiasm about Hornets basketball – and his joining our team only strengthens our relationship with our flagship station. I know the fans of Charlotte are looking forward to his expanded role as the new ‘voice of the Hornets.’”
“As someone that grew up in Charlotte, my earliest and greatest memories as a sports fan came at the Charlotte Coliseum and watching the Hornets,” said Kroeger. “Steve Martin narrated so many of those memories on radio and television. It truly is the opportunity of a lifetime to be his successor and to broadcast a new era of Hornets basketball for the next generation of fans. I can’t thank WFNZ enough for allowing me to build and connect with Charlotte sports fans over the last few years and I’m excited to continue to grow that relationship with the Hornets.”
Kroeger spent the past three seasons working on the team’s radio broadcasts as the pregame show host and sideline reporter. He steps in for legendary play by play announcer Steve Martin who retired following the 2017-2018 season. Martin spent fifty years in broadcasting, including calling every Hornets game in the franchise’s history.
In addition to serving as the radio play-by-play broadcaster, Kroeger will have an active role across the Hornets digital and social media platforms. He will contribute in various ways to team content, projects and initiatives via hornets.com, the team’s broadcasts and in-arena activations.
“We’re excited to see Chris grow with one of our finest partners,” said Matt Hanlon, Vice President, Market Manager for Entercom Charlotte. “There’s no one more qualified and passionate to represent the Hornets.”
Prior to the 2017-18 season, the Hornets and WFNZ reached a new multi-year agreement for WFNZ to remain the team’s flagship radio station. WFNZ is the official radio home of the Hornets, broadcasting all of the team’s preseason, regular-season and postseason games. All Hornets games are also streamed on WFNZ.com and the Hornets App. Additional Hornets elements on WFNZ include a 30-minute pregame show, a postgame call-in show and a weekly 60-minute coaches’ show.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
