All you music fans, the fateful day is August 29th. 92.3 will no longer be pumping out rock tunes on that day as it gives way to the first FM sports station in Cleveland. We’ve been talking about this lately here and here and now it is officially happening. We had reported that CBS loves to get NFL rights when they launch, and it appears that for now this new station will not become the home of the Cleveland Browns. That will presumably stay on 100.7 WMMS and WTAM – both Clear Channel properties. 92.3 The Fan will have the other NFL games from Westwood One including national broadcasts on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights.
Here’s some info from the CBS press release.
Beginning on Monday, Aug. 29, Cleveland sports fans will have a bold new choice for news and information about their favorite sports teams. Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM) will feature locally produced programs hosted by familiar Cleveland voices, along with headline updates every 20 minutes and a full lineup of NFL and college football play-by-play coverage. The station will be available on-air, on-line at www.923TheFan.com and via the Radio.com application for a variety of mobile devices.
Additionally, Andy Roth has been named as Program Director of the CBS RADIO station. He joins 92.3 The Fan from Buffalo’s WGR, and also has experience at legendary sports properties WFAN in New York and WIP in Philadelphia.
Roth said, “What we are launching is literally a radio station for ‘The Fan.’ For Clevelanders who live and breathe sports 24/7 this will be the place to get the best insight, most in-depth coverage and a well-rounded balance of listener participation all presented in an entertaining forum.”
Nationally-known talent Kevin Kiley will team up with Cleveland’s own Chuck Booms weekday mornings from 6:00-10:00AM for the area’s only local morning drive sports-talk show. Kiley & Booms previously co-hosted a national show on the Fox Sports Radio Network. Adam “The Bull”, formerly of WFAN in New York, will fill the afternoon drive time slot from 3:00-7:00PM. The remainder of The Fan lineup will be announced at a later date.
So, there you have it. Go ahead and react. Are you excited? Yesterday on The Really Big Show on WKNR, I heard Rizzo make reference to some consultant’s presence at their station by the orders of Craig Karmazin. Who knows if that is a direct reaction to new competition entering the marketplace or not. Love it or hate it, things are about to get interesting in the media marketplace in Cleveland.
(h/t to @JoelHammond from Crain’s)
