The NBA’s Miami Heat will move their broadcasts from Audacy’s “790 The Ticket” WAXY South Miami to co-owned 560 WQAM Miami.
The Heat will join the NFL’s Dolphins and University of Miami Hurricanes on WQAM as Audacy consolidates their local sports content on the station. WAXY will air games that conflict with WQAM as well as additional pre-season games. WAXY had served as the flagship for Heat broadcasts since the 2011-12 season. WQAM previously carried the Heat from its inaugural season in 1988-89 to 1992-93.
YOUR Miami HEAT announced today that it has extended its partnership with Audacy. The new agreement will result in the majority of Miami HEAT regular season and all postseason games moving to AM 560 Sports WQAM (WQAM-AM) beginning with the 2022-23 season. With the exception of select Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes football games to which the station is already committed, AM 560 Sports WQAM will become the new radio home for Miami HEAT Basketball.
“We are thrilled to announce the continuation of our fantastic and long-standing affiliation with the Audacy station groups here in Miami,” said Ted Ballard, Vice President and Executive Director of HEAT Broadcasting. “For more than a decade, they have provided HEAT basketball fans with an unparalleled home and incredible support for our championship-level product. We now look forward to a new era in this relationship where we can take advantage of the programming power of the premiere sports radio presence in South Florida.”
This partnership includes the broadcast of all the preseason, regular season, and postseason games as well as the NBA Draft and all Miami HEAT summer league games from Las Vegas. In addition to its presence on AM 560 Sports WQAM, HEAT broadcasts will also be available on the HD radio channel associated with WQAM- 99.9 FM HD2. HEAT Weekly, and select HEAT games during the preseason and regular season, will continue to be broadcast on 790 the Ticket (WAXY-AM) and its FM HD Radio channel, 104.3 HD2, as needed.
“We’re excited to extend our longstanding broadcasting partnership with the Miami HEAT and bring the team back to WQAM for the first time in nearly three decades,” added Claudia Menegus, Regional President and Market Manager of Audacy South Florida. “The HEAT is one of the premier franchises in the NBA today, and we’re proud to continue to deliver year-long coverage to its loyal fanbase.”
HEAT games were originally broadcast on WQAM-AM during the first five years of the franchise and will be returning to the station for the first time since 1993. The complete programming schedule for all HEAT broadcasts will be included when the official NBA schedule is released tomorrow, Aug. 17.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com