The competitive battle for sports radio supremacy in Milwaukee is heating up. Following Good Karma’s decision to move their sports talk programming to the FM dial earlier this month, iHeart is making a similar choice.
Announced today, iHeart will shift its sports talk programming from The BIG 920 to 97.3 FM and adopt the moniker 97.3 The Game. The 97.3 FM signal was previously occupied by Top 40 station WRNW and branded as 97.3 NOW.
Entercom was first to deliver sports on FM in Milwaukee with 105.7 The Fan, but the increased presence of Good Karma and iHeart on the FM band, coupled with Good Karma’s acquisition of 620 WTMJ, which holds most of the play by play rights to the market’s local teams should make 2019 an even more challenging race.
“Sports talk in Milwaukee is about to change,” said iHeart PD Tim Scott. “Milwaukee is more than just a great sports town and 97.3 The Game will reflect that.”
iHeart has confirmed that the local shows which had previously aired on 920 will move to the FM signal. Those programs include Drew Olson with Kevin Brandt, “The Crossover” with Dan Needles and Ted Davis, “The Double Team” with Dario Melendez and Bob Brainerd, and Mike Heller. The AM signal will feature local programming from The BIG 1070 in Madison and FOX Sports Radio’s shows.
Additionally, The Game will carry Westwood One NFL playoffs and Super Bowl coverage, and share University of Wisconsin play by play with the AM brand. The Milwaukee Admirals, NASCAR, high school sports, and Westwood One’s NFL regular season contests and NCAA men’s basketball tournament coverage will be exclusively offered on AM.
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.
