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Cleveland Browns Radio Network

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Cleveland Browns Radio Network
TypeRadio network
Country
HeadquartersCleveland, Ohio
Broadcast area
Ohio
Pennsylvania (limited)
West Virginia (limited)
OwnerCleveland Browns
Established1940s[1]
Affiliation(s)NFL
Affiliates25 (including 3 flagships)
Official website
Browns Radio Network

The Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 25 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL). Cleveland market stations WKNR (850 AM), WKRK-FM (92.3 FM), and WNCX (98.5 FM) serve as the network's three flagships. The network also includes 22 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia: 10 AM stations, two of which supplement their signals with a low-power FM translators; and 12 full-power FM stations. Jim Donovan is the current play-by-play announcer, while Doug Dieken serves as color commentator.[2][3][4] In addition to traditional over-the-air AM and FM broadcasts, network programming airs on SiriusXM satellite radio; and streams online via SiriusXM Internet Radio, TuneIn Premium, and NFL Game Pass.[5][6][7]

History

The Cleveland Browns Radio Network dates back to the 1940s[1] when team founder and namesake Paul Brown served as coach, and the team itself played in the now-defunct All-America Football Conference; at the time, the team's radio network reached at least as far as Houston, Texas. As of the 1974 Browns season, WHK/Cleveland served as the flagship station for a network of 34 total affiliates, including three stations in Pennsylvania; all but five stations broadcast on the AM band.[1][8]

Following reactivation of the Cleveland Browns franchise in 1999, flagship rights were awarded to Cleveland oldies station WMJI, then owned by Jacor Communications (later absorbed by Clear Channel); "secondary programming", including a weekly show featuring the Browns head coach, aired on AM sister station WTAM. By 2002, FM coverage had shifted from WMJI to rock station WMMS. Most games were also simulcast on WTAM during this period. In March 2013, WKNR owner Good Karma Broadcasting (now Good Karma Brands), together with WKRK-FM/WNCX owner CBS Radio, announced a new "long-term deal" with the team.[9][10][11]

Jim Donovan (left) and Doug Dieken (right)

Station list

Network stations as of the 2016 Browns season
Callsign Frequency Band City State Network status
WKNR 850 AM Cleveland Ohio Flagship
WKRK-FM 92.3 FM Cleveland Ohio Flagship
WNCX 98.5 FM Cleveland Ohio Flagship
WAKR 1590 AM Akron Ohio Affiliate
WONE-FM 97.5 FM Akron Ohio Affiliate
WHBC 1480 AM Canton Ohio Affiliate
WHBC-FM 94.1 FM Canton Ohio Affiliate
WKKI 94.3 FM Celina Ohio Affiliate
WTOH 98.9 FM Columbus Ohio Affiliate
WHIO 1290 AM Dayton Ohio Affiliate
WHIO-FM 95.7 FM Dayton Ohio Affiliate
WJER 1450 AM Dover-New Philadelphia Ohio Affiliate
WRIE 1260 AM Erie Pennsylvania Affiliate
WFOB 1430 AM Fostoria Ohio Affiliate
WKKY 104.7 FM Geneva Ohio Affiliate
WKTN 95.3 FM Kenton Ohio Affiliate
WWSR 93.1 FM Lima Ohio Affiliate
WRGM 1440 AM Mansfield Ohio Affiliate
W247BL 97.3 FM Mansfield Ohio n/a (WRGM simulcast)
WJAW-FM 100.9 FM Marietta Ohio Affiliate
WPFX-FM 107.7 FM Toledo Ohio Affiliate
WBTC 1540 AM Uhrichsville Ohio Affiliate
W270CI 101.9 FM Uhrichsville Ohio n/a (WBTC simulcast)
WKKX 1600 AM Wheeling West Virginia Affiliate
WQKT 104.5 FM Wooster Ohio Affiliate
WBBW 1240 AM Youngstown Ohio Affiliate
WYFM 102.9 FM Youngstown Ohio Affiliate

Gray background indicates low-power translator

Network map

Network stations in Ohio and surrounding states

References

  1. ^ a b c Huler, Scott (October 8, 1989). "A Howling Success". The Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 24 - The Plain Dealer Magazine. Mason has never lived in Cleveland. But as a child living in Houston in the 1940s, Manson heard the Browns on Paul Brown's Browns radio network...
  2. ^ Kleps, Kevin (March 27, 2013). "Get ready for saturation radio coverage of the Cleveland Browns this year". CrainsCleveland.com. Crain Communications. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2014. Multiple sources have confirmed what The News-Herald first reported Tuesday night: WKNR-AM, 850; WKRK-FM, 92.3; and WNCX-FM, 98.5 will split the rights to broadcast Browns games this season.
  3. ^ Finnan, Bob (September 6, 2011). "Jim Donovan discusses returning to Browns' radio booth". News-Herald.com. The News-Herald. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014. He'll join color analyst Doug Dieken behind the microphone for the Browns-Bengals game on the Browns radio network... Donovan is starting his 13th year of doing the Browns on the radio.
  4. ^ "Cleveland Browns gain radio voice in Columbus". CrainsCleveland.com. Crain Communications. May 22, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2014. Columbus radio station WZOH-FM, 95.5, will join the Cleveland Browns Radio Network starting in 2013.
  5. ^ Press release (September 3, 2014). "SiriusXM Announces Programming for 2014 NFL Season". Investor.SiriusXM.com. SiriusXM. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014. Throughout the season every NFL game is available on all Sirius radios, and on XM radios with either a Premier or All Access package.
  6. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/10/12/nfl-teams-up-tunein-radio-broadcasts/73811658/
  7. ^ https://www.nfl.com/gamepass
  8. ^ "Where to hear the Browns' games". The Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. September 7, 1974. p. 5E. The following are the stations on the Cleveland Browns' radio network, headed by flagship WHK-1420 in Cleveland...
  9. ^ Brown, Roger (January 26, 1999). "WMJI to Carry Browns Games: Oldies Station Signs 3-Year Deal". The Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 1A - National. The Browns and Jacor Communications, the Kentucky company that owns WMJI, agreed yesterday on a three-year deal for the station to air the games. ... Most of that secondary programming... will be on WTAM, Meltzer said yesterday.
  10. ^ O'Connor, Clint (September 22, 2002). "At the Controls: Clear Channel Programmer Rules Radio in Cleveland". The Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. J1 – Sunday Arts. ... Clear Channel moved the Browns games there this season from WMJI. Revenue goes to the Browns Radio Network... Meltzer first brought Metheny to Cleveland in June 1998 as operations director at WTAM when they both worked for Jacor, later absorbed into Clear Channel. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. ^ Reed, Tom (March 27, 2013). "Browns Switch Radio Stations, Get Wider Game-day Coverage". The Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. D3 – Sports. ... the Browns are entering into a long-term deal to have their games broadcast on WKNR AM/850, WKRK FM/92.3, and WNCX FM/98.5. ... The new deal allows the Browns to be aired on AM and FM stations without worries of a conflict with Indians games. That occasionally was a problem on WTAM. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)