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FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Johnny Vegas <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Johnny+Vegas' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 11:10 am

RadioInsight says "A major market is finally getting an FM Sports signal. Announcement may be imminent."

I'd be amazed if it wasn't Chicago's 104.3....

I wonder if they'd bother to move the callsigns around if this happened (104.3 WSCR-FM, 96.3 WBMX, 105.9 WBBM-FM).

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:02 pm, in reply to "FM Sports coming to town?"

Many years ago, there was an FM sports station in Chicago called 87.7 FM The Game, but it didn’t last. I think part of the problem was the weak signal.

As a sports talk radio consumer as much as I am classic rock, I think for Chicago to bring the format back to the FM side, it all depends on a frequency that’s much stronger & easier to tune in. Whether that means an expansion or simulcast of 670 AM The SCORE and/or ESPN 1000 isn’t clear.

I think sports talk radio isn’t nearly on borrowed time as some seem to suggest outside Chicago, but I think if it’s done right, it can succeed here as much as in other cities.

I did try to find this Radio Insight link you referenced. Please post the link if possible. Thank you.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Johnny Vegas <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Johnny+Vegas' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:06 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

It was on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/radioinsightcom

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:26 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Sports radio is the highest billing format in the US. Americans, hands down, live and die for sports and to discuss it.

87.7 The Game, the #1 issue was they were paying rent to the owners of the station so there was little room to profit. #2 The signal did not help. #3 It is not cheap to run sports radio even if it bills. You have to carry some teams and promote the crap out of them. The Game, as I recall, did not have that and relied on just "sports talk".

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:39 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

and/or ESPN 1000 isn’t clear.

This is very possible. If so, you will most likely see them on a translator. They do not have enough money to purchase a full signal FM. They are on 100.3 HD2 so they can tell national ads they have an FM presence on the dial and get more money.

If this was to happen, it would definitely push Audacy to move their Sports on to an FM signal too.

What FM translators are available in Chicago to give decent at the least, city coverage? Could they be purchasing the 102.3 combo from Matt DuBiel and build out the CP from Trump tower? What major signal could be for sale? 107.9? Cumulus is broke again could they be shedding 101.1, 94.7 or both to get some liquid capital and shore up their bottom line? This is not a far fetched idea. They exited out of Market #1 and have no presence in Market #2. Selling the larger market stations will garner them more money.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Jeremy Andrews <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Jeremy+Andrews' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 1:12 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Craig Karmazin believes digital is more the future for Sports radio, not as much AM and FM. That is one of the reasons they do not subscribe to Nielsen. They see digital traffic as more of a way for ad dollars.

This is understandable. Younger men, particularly Gen-Z are more into Youtube and live streaming of Podcasts and other ways to watch their Sports content. The main radio listening part of the Sports demo either already has or will be aging out of the 25-54 demographic.

For now, it's profitable in many cases typically as long as the station has an association with a team.

Even that was not enough for the Packers flagship however....

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 1:26 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

That is one of the reasons they do not subscribe to Nielsen.

It all came down to $$$. That was from their lips to my ears, someone that works for Good Karma. They feed advertisers they have "internal data and statistics which are more accurate than Nielsen".

But I do not disagree with you, they are smart, they see the future is digital and this medium is dying. They are just riding it out until it is no longer profitable to run and be in terrestrial. The 18 - 34 numbers have fallen off a cliff in terrestrial radio and they are not coming back.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:16 pm, in reply to "FM Sports coming to town?"

Chicago and Houston are the only 2 n the Top30 that do not have Sports on FM. With the Bears current streak, no better time to promote and do it.

Classic Hip Hop has run its course in Chicago and the US overall. It is also eating majorly into B96 numbers. They will keep B96 as it is heritage and bills more. Musically they can port over some of the JAMS titles not on B96 and hopefully people will migrate over. They really need to shore up B96. A 44 year old heritage brand where it is at, is shameful.

Assuming they end up on 104.3, WSCR-FM is on deck and WBMX will be parked somewhere else. 96.3 WBMX - highly unlikely.

The bigger question is will they need AM 780 if they have WSCR AM & FM where they can broadcast 2 different sporting events at once instead of spilling the sport event over on one of the Newsradio signals? The way they keep modifying and moving 780AM all the time, it will be gone, most likely sold, or clear national programming.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Johnny Vegas <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Johnny+Vegas' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:27 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Hello Z!

I am curious to know why you think the WBMX callsign on 96.3 is highly unlikely. It seems like common sense to move WBBM-FM to 105.9, where it is promoted as part of the branding. Anything with the letter B would work fine for "B96" - most listeners wouldn't even notice.

I'm not holding my breath (ignoring the OCD...) - Audacy obviously does not give a crap that they still use the callsign tied to "Fresh 105.9" from almost a couple of decades ago.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:47 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Johnny!

I am curious to know why you think the WBMX callsign on 96.3 is highly unlikely.

Heritage calls, demand more money from advertisers. WBBM-FM calls have been in use for 50+ years. B96 slogan has been in use for 44 years..... it sells. But, the call signs have almost 0 attachment otherwise as you noted. They have done just fine being "News Radio 105.9". They totally ignore the WBBM-AM or WCFS-FM except for the legal top hour. They do not promote the AM, AM 780 or WBBM-AM anymore, because, the first chance they get to sell the outlet or turn it off to save money, they will. You will see them keep moving the TX on it more and more, even if the signal degrades, to save money in the long run. I have not seen the breakdown between AM & FM recently, but some time ago, the FM had majority of the numbers, not the AM side.

These people working in radio are so stretched, they have no time to wipe their behinds, let alone go through the process to changing call signs as there is no return value on them these days.

Hope you are doing well my friend!

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Jeremy Andrews <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Jeremy+Andrews' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 12:59 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

It's pretty obvious

http://1043thescore.com

Audacy is big on FM Sports these days, and Sports in general.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 1:35 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Jeremy,

Lance uses that service for recently leased domains to predict format changes. There is a good chance this is legit. There is an equally good chance this is smokescreen while flipping another station inside or outside of the market. Happens often where they lease several domains over different markets or in a single market to throw it off, or in case they really need to change their mind on the move!

The irony is this was leased today, but was leased and deleted in the past.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 1:38 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

I think this is how FM sports talk works in other cities such as New York & Boston, just for examples.

WFAN, which started the sports talk format in 1987, originally started at 660 AM in New York. They added an FM simulcast in 2012. They have Yankees' baseball, Giants' football as well as Nets' basketball.

WEEI in Boston, has 2 different sports talk stations. The one at 850 AM used to air Boston-based sports talk in 2012, but shifted its local programming to 93.7 FM and became a full time outlet for ESPN Radio's national programming until 2021. WEEI-FM not only carries Red Sox baseball there, but they have their own radio network on stations throughout New England.

Boston has another sports talk station, WBZ-FM, which is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. They've been at 98.5 FM since 2009 and brands itself as The Sports Hub. That station airs local sports talk, as well as Celtics' basketball, Bruins' hockey & Patriots' football.

Audacy, which owns WEEI & WFAN, dropped ESPN Radio programming in 2021 in favor of sports talk/wagering from BetMGM Network. I think that's now known as Westwood One Sports following a merger of Audacy's sports talk network known recently as Infinity Sports Radio and Cumulus Media, owners of Westwood One.

I know that there are other FM sports stations on Audacy-owned outlets in Cleveland as well as in Detroit & Milwaukee, plus iHeart Media owns KFAN in Minneapolis & WDAE-AM & FM in Tampa just to name a few.

What's not as clear at the moment is whether Audacy would drop one of its struggling FM formats here so that WSCR-AM could simulcast The SCORE's sports talk format in stereo sound as well as 670 AM, its home since 2000.

The other thing I'm not sure about is whether Audacy or Good Karma Brands, who operate ESPN 1000 AM would expand its operation and add a secondary station to carry nothing but national programming, similar to how they've done it in Boston.

Stay tuned.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by JJSPC1372 <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=JJSPC1372' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 1:56 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/01/14/670-the-score-launches-full-fm-simulcast-on-104-3-fm-beginning-february-2/

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 2:14 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

There you have it. It’s long overdue.

Cubs baseball with Pat Hughes, Ron Coomer & Zach Zaidman in FM stereo sound.

Bulls basketball with Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington & Alyssa Bergamini in FM stereo sound.

The SCORE’s signature local sports talk in FM stereo sound.

As a sports media nerd as much as I am a classic rock fan, this is a home run for Chicago sports fans everywhere.

Can’t wait!

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 2:13 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

What's not as clear at the moment is whether Audacy would drop one of its struggling FM formats here so that WSCR-AM could simulcast The SCORE's sports talk format in stereo sound as well as 670 AM, its home since 2000

ABRockNJock, very clear! The "Sports FM" shift is nationwide. More important, JAMS is eating B96 numbers. Massively. They need to get JAMS out of the way, as that is there reasonable shift, but ready is not that reasonable these days. LOL. It is an industry wide discussion not if, but when Audacy will bring Chicago "Score-FM". This has happened many times before when 2 related stations are sharing too much audience. IN this case, Audacy has 0 stomach to launch a new format, costs way too much money. The savings to do "Score FM" is another good reason to do it. WNUA and WVAZ were sharing too many numbers (mainly Black listeners). WEJM-FM and WGCI were in the same demo, when WGCI's parent company bought WEJM-FM, they were gone. WYSY when 70s, ended up being sister station to WCKG and sharing an audience, was swiftly sold to SBS making sure they would not be competition to WCKG.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Jeremy Andrews <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Jeremy+Andrews' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 2:17 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

It's official. Lance mentioned in this article that some of the elements will be put on B96. That makes complete sense. B96 is not a CHR station anymore. It's mostly based on throwbacks.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/334297/domain-insight-1-14-the-next-fm-sports-move-is

104.3's afternoon jock does nights for 103.7 in Milwaukee. They could easily shift him over to B96.

Sunday Night Slow Jams (A national syndicated show they run) could easily transition to B96. The host has several versions of it.

The BMX 4 Mixshow could easily transition to B96.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 2:28 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Rick Party, current midday host at 104.3 JAMS, is also the big voiceover guy at 670 AM The SCORE. Party has also voiced quite a few sports stations across America.

Nice work if one can get it.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 2:50 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/msg/1768414565.html

What I said above was they will adapt some of the music. I do not believe they will take on many of the other elements. If they did B96 would be gone and JAMS would have survived on.

Part of Jams lack appeal was it has been watered down massively past some years. Also the novelty of the Classic Hip Hop faded away. B96 is much more broad in its musical appeal which has a lot of classic hip-hop titles.

If they inject some music on B96 that Jams plays, keep going forward as is, you will see their 18-34 and 18-49 double within 3 months. They will give KISS, The MIX and WLS-FM a run for their money. Enough to shave off some numbers and lower them. If they make this "The new B96 and We are now how JAMS was", they will be in the toilet. If JAMS was this important they would be a threat to KISS< The MIX and WLS-Fm, they are not. The only threat they are is to its sister, B96.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WKDI <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WKDI' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 16, 2026, 12:40 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

The Jams elements mentioned ( the BMX 4, SLOW Jams) are elements that could be added to B96 to enhance their weekend programming experience but aren't major for daytime ratings at Jams nor will they be at B96. The only possible major element would be Rick Party nut. With him you lose some local programming despite his being the voice of the Score.. Bru is already voice tracked. T LEAST the BMX 4 adds an element of local programming on Friday and Saturday nights and doesn't add costs since the program already exists.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 3:57 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

According to Radio Insight, the upcoming expansion & simulcast of 670 AM The SCORE at 104.3 FM comes on the heels of similar moves by Audacy stations in Kansas City, MO, Miami & Portland, OR.

In Kansas City, they started up 96.5 The Fan in August 2024 as the replacement for ALT 96.5 and the Buzz, alternative rock stations there. The Fan also carries Royals' baseball & Chiefs' football.

In Miami, they actually, dare I say, "Jumped the Shark". WQAM, which has aired sports talk at 560 AM down there for many years, replaced the alternative rock format known as "The Shark" last August. They're also at 104.3 FM in Miami by the way.

Finally, Portland, OR started simulcasting The Fan's sports talk format on 105.1 FM there last July in addition to 1080 AM.

As it stands now, Audacy-owned stations in Buffalo, Houston & Sacramento are the only ones with sports talk strictly on AM in the wake of today's news.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Rob Austin <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Rob+Austin' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 7:27 pm, in reply to "FM Sports coming to town?"

You forget to realize that BBM-F is tied with FMT-F, for last place in terms ratings of downtown FM signals. This is a smidge better than suburban VIV-F. I don't know about you, but I'd be embarrassed.

How do you let a multi-million brand such as B go from the 4's to the 1's.

C R A Z Y ! ! !

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by detectivetom <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=detectivetom' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 7:44 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

What is to become of the Score HD2 channel?

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by Rockola <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=Rockola' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 8:12 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

I could see them throwing the Jams format, or something resembling that, on the HD-2. Or...WCKG, Chicago's Classic Rock! That would be a good pairing (IMO) for the sports on the main stick. In reality it would just be a zombie station like 101.1 HD-2, so maybe not!

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 15, 2026, 8:16 am, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

They will most likely shift Jams over to 104.3 HD2 as a jukebox, so they can say the "Jams" format is cleared in Market #3 demanding higher ad rates, as we must remember Jams still remains in Market #1 NYC and other markets, for now.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by ABRockNJock <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=ABRockNJock' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 15, 2026, 4:06 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

So why is now the time for 670 AM The SCORE to add an FM over the air simulcast? Former SCORE producer/part time host John "Rock" Mamola wrote a column for Barrett Media.

Mamola says it's a long overdue move by The SCORE, but also added that it's also an example for others:

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/01/15/670-the-scores-move-to-fm-was-long-overdue-but-an-example-for-others-to-follow/

For longtime SCORE Program Director Mitch Rosen, who has programmed the Audacy-owned sports talker since 2005, he cited other sports talk stations in New York, Philadelphia & Detroit who already have sports talk on the FM side and feels it's time to take The SCORE brand to the next level:

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/01/15/why-mitch-rosen-feels-the-time-was-right-for-670-the-score-to-go-add-104-3-fm/

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WYTZZ95FM <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WYTZZ95FM' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 16, 2026, 7:50 am, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Very simple reply.

Rock, how about stopping the fluff and tell readers how many of the Top30 markets are still only on AM? SMH. After Chicago, it is a few and they might not warrant a shift to FM due to lack of demand or revenue/profit. The rest of that babble was already covered on this board for years.

Rosen, a good PD, is just parroting the corporate voice. Audacy is on the verge of imploding, a lot of this nonsense is to appease investors that one day will deal with worthless paper and major losses to the bad decisions made along the way.

Z

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WBUS999 <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WBUS999' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 16, 2026, 2:25 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Isn't it ironic that after years of fighting for a 24 hour, full-power signal, The Score only has 12.5 hours of local content on a weekday?

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by WKDI <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=WKDI' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 16, 2026, 7:24 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Most of the programming after 6pm is either Cubs Baseball or Bulls Basketball which those broadcasts can't be streamed because of MLB and NBA rules. The same applies for NFL games However the Score does stream their own postgame shows ( Bears) after every Bears game regardless of the say and time.

Re: FM Sports coming to town?

Posted by detectivetom <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=detectivetom' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 16, 2026, 9:31 pm, in reply to "Re: FM Sports coming to town?"

Excellent point.
Les Grobstein is turning in his grave.

Beginning Feb. 2, 104.3 The Score

Posted by PhilJSmith <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/chicagomediachat/info/user=PhilJSmith' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on January 14, 2026, 10:55 pm, in reply to "FM Sports coming to town?"

From the Facebook page “670 The Score”…

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