With the recent news of ESPN Radio making its return to the Tampa/St. Petersburg market coming to a new arrangement with Neal Ardman of NIA Broadcasting, there has been speculation locally that other additions with local ties could be joining the station for added local programming as well. Former WDAE host Ian Beckles hinted at the notion on the most recent episode of his podcast Beckles & Recher with co-host and also former WDAE host Jay Recher.
“I had a young man approach me. I’m not going to say his name right now because maybe he doesn’t want me to say his name,” explained Beckles on his podcast with Recher. “He contacted me about a month ago saying he was trying to purchase ESPN Radio. He hit me up yesterday and said everything is done. I’ll be contacting the next week or so, trying to do some local radio within two weeks.”
Beckles, a former NFL offensive lineman who played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for six of his eight-year NFL career, hosted numerous programs in his two stints on Tampa Bay’s Sports Radio WDAE. Beckles was released from the station’s weekday lineup in October of 2022 while Recher was retained to form a new mid-day show w/Zac Blobner. Recher was released as part of iHeartMedia’s recent reduction in force this past November along with Blobner, producer James Donlon, and Program Director John Mamola.
“Am I itching to get back in the radio?” Beckles questioned. “I’m not itching to not to get back in the radio. Does that make sense?”
WTMP, now rebranded as ESPN Tampa Bay, broadcasts on 1150AM WTMP Egypt Lake signal and translators 92.9 W225CQ Tampa and 102.1 W271DL Egypt Lake/St. Petersburg FL. It had previously aired Rhythmic Oldies but switched to ESPN Radio on February 7. While recalling how the conversation went with the unnamed individual, there was one word for Beckles that stood out among the rest of the conversation.
“The big thing he said was local. He wants local,” recalled Beckles of his conversation with the unnamed individual. “He said that that 100 times. He said to me, ‘You think that’s something you’d like to be involved with?’ Not only will I like to be involved with it, but I can put a team together right now that would smash anybody else in this. I’ll put a team together right now. And I’m pretty confident in that.”
Beckles’ former radio home, WDAE, is the lone all-sports talk station in the market but has gone through various changes in the past several years. The station subtracted a local daypart in November with the cuts made by iHeart and replaced the 12-3 p.m. slot with The Herd with Colin Cowherd of Premiere Radio Networks. WDAE currently airs local programming in drive time from 6-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. weekdays and hasn’t had a local all-sports competitor since the former 98.7 The Fan folded in December of 2014.
Beckles stated on his podcast he’s open to the idea of returning to the Tampa Bay airwaves, and noted there is opportunity to be had.
“There’s so many talented people out there,” said Beckles. “I’m not saying that the other station is not doing a great job, but I think it’s going through a kind of a metamorphosis a little bit. There’s been a lot of changes, and maybe we need some new blood.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
