Learfield IMG’s Tiger Sports Properties has announced it has signed a five-year agreement with Cumulus Media to place University of Memphis sports on 98.9 WKIM Munford/Memphis.
WKIM will become home to all University of Memphis football and men’s and women’s basketball games as well as weekly coaches shows with football coach Ryan Silverfield and men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway starting this fall.
With the deal, Cumulus will flip WKIM from Soft AC “98.9 The Bridge” to Conservative Talk “News Talk 98.9” positioned as “The Roar of Memphis. No date is listed for the upcoming change, however the Dan Bongino Show’s affiliate list currently shows the program debuting on Monday, June 28.
The University of Memphis play-by-play moves to WKIM from iHeartMedia News/Talk 600 WREC/92.1 W221CR and “Rock 103” 102.7 WEGR.
WKIM previously was “News Talk 98.9” from April 2011 until February 2015.
Memphis Athletics and its multimedia rightsholder, Tiger Sports Properties, announced today that Cumulus-owned WKIM-FM, News Talk 98.9 “THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS,” will be the Tigers’ new radio home for the next five years.
Starting in August, fans can tune to THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS to hear every football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball game. The new flagship agreement with the 100,000-watt station also includes the weekly one-hour football and men’s basketball coaches shows with Ryan Silverfield and Penny Hardaway, respectively.
“We are very much looking forward to our radio partnership with THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS,” Memphis Director of Athletics Laird Veatch said. “It is committed to providing a great outlet throughout the region for our fans to hear the action, and we are especially pleased Tiger Nation will be able to listen to women’s basketball games as we head into Katrina Merriweather’s first season as head coach. Cumulus will be a great ambassador of our Tiger brand and bring great local support for our events and overall community presence.”
“At Cumulus, we believe strongly that ‘what’s good for Memphis is good for us,’ and that commitment to our community drives all that we do,” VP/Market Manager of Cumulus Media Memphis Morgan Bohannon said. “One of our most important priorities and responsibilities as a local broadcaster is to help make Memphis a better place. Becoming the flagship radio partner of Memphis Tiger Athletics, an entity that is so beloved by our city and its residents, is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Cumulus Memphis has the largest live, local and homegrown team in the radio industry – all of whom are incredibly excited about becoming the radio home of the Memphis Tigers. We are thrilled to put the full power of four 100,000-watt stations behind the partnership. KIX-106, 98.1 The Max, 103.5 WRBO and the all-new News Talk 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS will work in concert to raise the level of awareness and celebrate all that is Memphis Tiger Athletics.
“Rebranding 98.9 The Bridge and changing the format of the station is just one more step to showcase Tiger Athletics and all that it means to Memphis. We are excited and eager to begin a new and long-lasting partnership with the University of Memphis, Learfield IMG College and Tiger Sports Properties.”
“There’s a different energy heading into this upcoming year’s athletic seasons,” said Todd Kucinski, general manager for Tiger Sports Properties, the University’s athletics multimedia rightsholder. “We’re pleased to complement that renewed in-person gameday excitement with THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS, as the station will bring complete football and men’s and women’s basketball action and much more to fans.”
The multi-year agreement with Cumulus was overseen by Learfield IMG College and its locally based Tiger Sports Properties team as part of the university’s comprehensive athletics rights relationship.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com