In less than a year, ESPN Radio will be leaving the FM dial in New York City. Good Karma Brands has announced that it will abandon the 98.7 FM signal at the end of August and focus its operations on 1050 AM and its digital channels.
“We’re committed to serving the New York sports fan and with the combination of our AM signal, the ESPN New York App, podcasts, smart speakers, YES and other additional audio and video distribution, investing in an FM signal was not relevant in the way it was a decade ago,” Good Karma Brands CEO and founder Craig Karmazin told Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
The FM signal is leased to the radio station by Emmis Communications. The deal, which was made more than a decade ago, currently sees ESPN New York pay around $12.5 million per year for use of the signal, a fee that has raised 3.5% annually since April 2012. Sources tell Marchand that Emmis wants closer to $50 million to sell the signal outright.
For Karmazin, it is an easy decision. He says Good Karma Brands’ data shows that more than half of ESPN New York’s audience is not listening on a terrestrial radio signal. Moreover, the company affirms that 80% of the radio audience will be able to find the station when it moves exclusively to 1050 AM.
The set up would not be new to Good Karma. The company currently runs ESPN Radio stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cleveland that operate exclusively on an AM signal and through digital platforms.
Losing an FM signal could complicate ESPN New York’s play-by-play relationships. A contract with The Madison Square Garden Company to carry the New York Knicks and New York Rangers has a clause regarding what will happen if the station loses an FM signal. The two entities agreed to a new broadcast deal ahead of their 2022-23 regular season. ESPN New York has carried New York Islanders games since 2019 as a market affiliate; however, no plans have been announced for the upcoming season.
Emmis has not indicated any future plans for the station. At the end of August, the company will be free to lease the signal to another company or sell it outright.
