Days after the NFL trade deadline quietly passed, the radio industry announced an interesting swap of stations owned by Entercom and Urban One, including sports brands in Washington D.C and Charlotte.
Entercom will acquire three stations from Urban One, WPHI-FM in Philadelphia, Hot 104.1 (WHHL-FM) in St. Louis and The Team 980 (WTEM-AM) in Washington D.C. In exchange, Urban One will receive three stations from Entercom, 107.9 The Link (WLNK-FM), News Talk 1100 & 99.3 WBT (WBT-AM/FM) and WFNZ (WFNZ-AM).
For sports radio specifically, Entercom has picked up The Team 980 which serves as the flagship station of the Washington Football Team, while Urban One acquires WFNZ, a proven sports brand in Charlotte and the flagship of the Hornets.
The exchange creates an odd dynamic for Entercom in Washington D.C. where it will now control two competing sports stations within the same market, having already owned the city’s sports leader 106.7 The Fan. A unique set up, but not completely without precedent as Entercom owns two sports stations in South Florida, Miami’s 790 The Ticket and 560 WQAM, a dynamic that was created after the company merged with CBS Radio in 2017.
The acquisition of WTEM, means Entercom will increase their play-by-play offering in D.C., taking over broadcast rights for the Washington Football Team, after already owning 106.7 The Fan which serves as the Nationals and Capitals flagship. 106.7 The Fan has traditionally been the heritage sports brand in the D.C. market, but the addition of The Washington Football Team is a strong get for Entercom through the procurement of WTEM.
“For years, WTEM has established itself as the go-to home for everything surrounding the Washington Football Team, and we’re proud to enhance our position as unrivaled leaders in sports radio by adding the station to our portfolio,” said Ivy Savoy-Smith, SVP and Market Manager, Entercom Washington D.C. “The Washington Football Team is a pillar in the D.C. sports community, and we look forward to providing our listeners a home to tune in to all the action on game days and stay up-to-date throughout the year.”
Urban One and Entercom stated they will begin programming their acquired stations on Nov. 23, 2020 under a Local Marketing Agreement.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
