First, iHeart’s Dallas Rock station stole a show from 105.3 The Fan. Now it appears it is stealing play-by-play from ESPN 103.3. The Mavericks are reportedly set to announce that 97.1 The Eagle will be the team’s new radio flagship according to the Dallas Morning News.
The Mavericks were with ESPN 103.3 since 2001. The team was able to terminate its contract with the station when Cumulus let its local market agreement expire and fully control of the station reverted back to ESPN.
Ben and Skin left sports radio for The Eagle in February of 2020. Jeff “Skin” Wade is a part of the Mavericks’ television crew. Whether that played a role in the team’s radio deal remains to be seen.
Losing the Mavericks means that the last bit of local identity is gone from 103.3 FM. What that means for the future of the station remains to be seen.
ESPN doesn’t seem keen to stay in the local radio ownership game. Andrew Marchand recently reported that Good Karma Brands was in talks to take over the ESPN-owned and operated stations in Los Angeles and New York City. Dallas was not mentioned in his report.
