Successfully ending what he termed a "very competitive" process, 99.9 The Fan's general manager, Mike Morgan, confirms that the FM sports talk radio station has reached an agreement to carry such ESPN Radio programming as "Mike & Mike In The Morning" from 6-10 a.m. weekdays and "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd at 10 a.m.
The local station expects to begin airing ESPN programming on Jan. 5, says Morgan, adding that 99.9 now will have access to Major League Baseball, NBA and other games broadcast by the national network.
"Our local shows won't disappear," Morgan says. "You'll still see a local show at midday and 'The Insiders' in the afternoon ... and when appropriate, we'll have special programming that focuses on the things that are important to the local market."
Morgan says 99.9 The Fan had been looking to pick up ESPN for some time and has had informal conversations "off and on" with the national radio network for the past eight to 12 months.
McClatchey Broadcasting, which owns 850 The Buzz and 620 The Bull, announced in mid-October that it was ending its relationship with ESPN, in large part so it could go back to airing "Imus In The Morning."
McClatchey Broadcasting is unrelated to the McClatchy Co., which owns The News & Observer.
Comments
Nice....!!
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 23:16 — alfan (not verified)Glad that ESPN will continue in the market at some level. I feared we would have lost some of the national program access to real sports. 850/620 is making a bigtime mistake to blow this programming on both networks.
What will they do make Bomani a 5 hour show.....on...no!! Make jock sniffers Joe and Adam go on longer, boring Morgan Patick can tell us about his golf game and buddies he knows....please.... maybe more Dave Glenn ranting over and over and then be a front runner!!
Without Fox programming and Jim Rhome 850 sucks big time and 620 with Imus you have got to be kidding blowing up the station to put on that Racist!!!
Thanks....99.9....hate to loose Todd Wright but we gain so much more.....poor 850/620.....no longer a player.
Dan Patrick
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 15:48 — bballwallHe is the best show they have. I 'll have to change channels.
Dan Patrick
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 14:35 — rogervdh (author)McClatchey, which owns 850 The Buzz and 620 The Bull, expects to reach a deal to pick up Dan Patrick's show, which has been airing 9 a.m. to noon.
Doubt The Buzz and The Bull will take Tim Brando, though.
Dan Mason made the right
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 13:40 — Anonymous (not verified)Dan Mason made the right move and left 99.9 in the summer. He was the only guy they brought on who got it.
Good, good, good ...
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 12:56 — Anonymous (not verified)... that Mike and Mike is on an FM signal, and that the putrid moring show now on 99.9 The Fan is going away! Those guys are worse than anyone I have ever heard. I am just woried that they will show up somewhere else on the 99.9 programming clock. As far as I care Adam Gold and his crew can listen to Imus until their ears bleed. They never were much more than self-absorbed jock-sniffers anyway.
The good and the bad...
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 11:54 — Steve (not verified)I prefer ESPN Radio to much of 99.9's current programming, but I like being able to go back and forth between the Dan Patrick Show and The Herd. Maybe 850/620 will pick up Dan Patrick to play after that idiot Don Imus and the networks would really just be switching...
Hope they land the Jungle,
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 11:28 — Anonymous (not verified)Hope they land the Jungle, rather listen to Rome on FM than AM round here.
What will happen to Dan
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 11:06 — Anonymous (not verified)What will happen to Dan Patrick?
Dan Patrick was the best
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 12:27 — Anonymous (not verified)Dan Patrick was the best thing 99.9 had going for itself. No contest between DP and the Herd - I'll be leaving 99.9 to follow his show.
What about the Canes coverage?
Now an ex-listener
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 11:04 — Goodbye99.9 (not verified)Congrats 99.9, count me as one who will no longer listen.
Mike and Mike is such a horrible program I refuse to listen to any station who carries them. I just don't understand why ESPN thinks they are good/funny/entertaining. Well, maybe for the same reasons they continue to think Dick Vitale is as well.
Goodbye 99.9, it's been fun listening.
So how with
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:52 — esteban1949this affect the coverage for the Hurricanes ? will it have to compete and could the Canes be dropped...if the cash don't flow in like they think it ought ? Worried fans of the Hurricanes want & need to know...especially us from other parts of NC who depend on free live radio web streaming...
Go Canes !!
More on 99.9
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 13:17 — rogervdh (author)Dave Shore, The Fan's programming head, says not to worry about the Canes.
"This does not affect negatively anything we do in our Hurricanes coverage," Shore says. "If anything, it brings more insight and perspective as we will tap the resources of ESPN’s NHL analysts and my reporters will contribute back to ESPN’s radio and TV content."
Mike Maniscalco, lead host of the morning show "The Fanatics," will host a daily local show noon to 1 p.m., and Dan Patrick and Tim Brando won't be on 99.9 after Jan. 5.
The reason i asked was...
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 15:33 — esteban1949because when in recent history...i was trying to listen to a rats game on wtmm there in AlbANY., and they too had Espn radio...and on a day that did NOT have the world series on...all i got was " that due to contractual agreements the Albany River rats will not be heard tonight..." and again...this was on a night that Rats were scheduled to be "on the Air"...I had to go and do and end around on the AHL media site...as the Rats don't have a live link on thier site...go figure...Thanks for the info...Go Canes !!