The Kansas City sports radio market has undergone significant change in 2024. At the beginning of the year, the two main sports stations aired on 610 AM and 810 AM and neither station had presence on the FM dial. As of this week, both stations now have that presence on the FM side. This week, Union Broadcasting-owned 810 WHB added a simulcast on 103.7, an FM translator owned by Cumulus Media. This summer, Audacy-owned 610 Sports moved to 96.5 FM.
Cumulus had been using 103.7 to simulcast its News Talk station 710 KCMO, however that station also airs on 95.7 FM in the market. After having discussions about a possible partnership since late last year, Union Broadcasting’s Chad Boeger and Sandy Cohen were able to get a deal done with Cumulus and Kansas City Market Manager Donna Baker.
“For us, this is a brand extension of what we’re doing on the AM dial with a giant destination AM signal, so it’s just another way for people to access us if they haven’t already done it on the AM dial or done it through streaming, they have that option to have Sports Radio 810 at 103.7 FM,” said Union Broadcasting Vice President, Director of Sales Sandy Cohen.
When the announcement of the move was made, Boeger, who serves as President, General Manager for the brand which has been in the market for over 25 years said, “Sports Radio 810 WHB is an iconic Kansas City brand. It’s bigger than an FM or AM radio station. We are locally owned and operated, dedicated to promoting sports throughout the Midwest. The addition of 103.7 FM is a strategic extension of Sports Radio 810 WHB. This move provides yet another way for our dedicated listeners to connect with the biggest games, breaking news, and the hosts and teams they love, from national headlines to local favorites, all from Kansas City’s sports media destination.”
What made the partnership possible was a long-standing relationship between the two companies. For about a decade, the two worked together covering the Kansas City Chiefs. While the games aired on Cumulus-owned Classic Rock station 101.1 The Fox, much of the ancillary programming aired on 810 WHB.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Cumulus since the days they had the rights to the Chiefs radio broadcasts on game day and we carried the shoulder programming as a partner with them,” Cohen said. “So, we’ve always enjoyed a great relationship with Donna Baker and her team, and we felt like we had a need to extend our brand and so we thought of them immediately because they’ve been such a great partner in the history of our relationship. It took over a year to get this done.”
All of 810 WHB’s programming will simulcast on the translator which covers the city well, with the rare exception of when play-by-play might force the need to have different sports programming running on each of the signals.
About 103.7 and what it means for the listeners, Cohen said, “It’s a real nice city grade translator that covers the city really well. It’s a quality signal we’re really excited. If people prefer to listen on the FM dial, they can, but people are creatures of habit so some people will want to still listen on AM. They can also stream the programming or watch it on video, and now this is just one more place someone can get Sports Radio 810 content.”
As for the benefit to the partners who advertise with the station, Cohen expects some people to choose to listen on FM who previously would have tuned in on AM as well as new people who might be regular FM radio listeners who will tune in now that the programming is offered on that side of the dial as well. Either way, it provides more value to station partners.
Cohen added, “There’s a lot of places to get the content, including the advertising, so it really is a win for everyone.”
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Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
