Ohio State Sports Network

The Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield
TypeRadio network
Country
HeadquartersColumbus, Ohio
Broadcast area
OwnerIMG College
Affiliation(s)
Affiliates62, including 2 flagships
Official website
ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sportsnetwork/

The Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield is an American radio network consisting of 62 radio stations which carry coverage of Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball. Co-owned WBNS (1460 AM) and WBNS-FM (97.1 FM), both licensed to Columbus, Ohio, serve as the network's 2 flagship stations. The network also includes 60 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio and West Virginia: 33 AM stations, 22 of which extend their signals with low-power FM translators; 26 full-power FM stations; and one HD Radio digital subchannel which supplements its signal with a low-power FM translator.[1][2][3] Paul Keels has served as play-by-play announcer for both football and men's basketball since 1998; former Ohio State offensive guard Jim Lachey currently serves as color analyst for football; and former Ohio State point guard Ron Stokes currently serves as color analyst for men's basketball.[4][5][6]

History

In 2009, Ohio State announced it had sold its athletic program's media rights to IMG College and RadiOhio, Inc. (member of the Dispatch Broadcasting Group and then-owner of longtime network flagships WBNS and WBNS-FM); the "lucrative multiyear deal" was reportedly worth $110 million, and scheduled to last through 2019. At the time of the announcement, athletic director Gene Smith said Ohio State athletics would be in a better position to confront the then-ongoing economic downturn, referencing an unexpected $1.2 million deficit.[7][8]

On December 31, 2018, Learfield Communications, Inc., and IMG College merged and formed a new company, Learfield IMG College.

Programming

Besides gameday coverage, network programming includes:

  • Buckeye Roundtable, a two-hour weekly discussion on Buckeyes football, airs Monday evenings.[9]
  • The Ryan Day Call-In Show, a weekly season-long update with the football head coach, airs Thursdays at 12pm noon.[10]

Station list

Callsign Frequency Band City State Network status
WBNS 1460 AM Columbus Ohio Flagship
WBNS-FM 97.1 FM Columbus Ohio Flagship
WAKR 1590 AM Akron Ohio Affiliate
W228EL 93.5 FM Akron Ohio WAKR relay
WMTR-FM 96.1 FM Archbold Ohio Football Only
WFUN 970 AM Ashtabula Ohio Affiliate
WREO-FM 97.1 FM Ashtabula Ohio Affiliate
WATH 970 AM Athens Ohio Affiliate
W247DR 97.3 FM Athens Ohio WATH relay
WPKO-FM 98.3 FM Bellefontaine Ohio Football Only
WBCO 1540 AM Bucyrus Ohio Affiliate
W298CC 107.5 FM Bucyrus Ohio WBCO relay
WQEL 92.7 FM Bucyrus Ohio Affiliate
WILE-FM 97.7 FM Cambridge Ohio Affiliate
WHBC 1480 AM Canton Ohio Affiliate
WCSM 1350 AM Celina Ohio Affiliate
W262DC 100.3 FM Celina Ohio WCSM relay
WCSM-FM 96.7 FM Celina Ohio Affiliate
WDJO 1480 AM Cincinnati Ohio Affiliate
W258CI 99.5 FM Cincinnati Ohio WDJO relay
W300CI 107.9 FM Cincinnati Ohio WDJO relay
WKNR 850 AM Cleveland Ohio Affiliate
WTNS-FM 99.3 FM Coshocton Ohio Affiliate
WING 1410 AM Dayton Ohio Affiliate
WGTZ 92.9 FM Dayton Ohio Affiliate
WJER 1450 AM DoverNew Phila. Ohio Affiliate
W265DL 100.9 FM DoverNew Phila. Ohio WJER relay
WEOL 930 AM ElyriaLorain Ohio Affiliate
W262DM 100.3 FM ElyriaLorain Ohio WEOL relay
WFIN 1330 AM Findlay Ohio Affiliate
W238CX 95.5 FM Findlay Ohio WFIN relay
WFOB 1430 AM Fostoria Ohio Affiliate
W289CP 105.7 FM Fostoria Ohio WFOB relay
WMAN-FM 98.3 FM Fredericktown Ohio Affiliate
WOHF 92.1 FM Fremont Ohio Affiliate
WRAC 103.1 FM Georgetown Ohio Affiliate
WVNU 97.5 FM Greenfield Ohio Affiliate
WITO 1230 AM Ironton Ohio Affiliate
WYRO 98.7 FM Jackson Ohio Affiliate
WZWB 1420 AM KenovaHuntington West Virginia Affiliate
WKTN 95.3 FM Kenton Ohio Football Only
WLOH 1320 AM Lancaster Ohio Affiliate
W283BO 104.5 FM Lancaster Ohio WLOH relay
WIMA 1150 AM Lima Ohio Affiliate
W257EQ 99.3 FM Logan Ohio WLOH relay
WMAN 1400 AM Mansfield Ohio Affiliate
WMOA 1490 AM Marietta Ohio Affiliate
W267CQ 101.3 FM Marietta Ohio WMOA relay
WMRN 1490 AM Marion Ohio Affiliate
WDLR 1270 AM Marysville Ohio Football Only
W244DV 96.7 FM Marysville Ohio WDLR relay
WJAW-FM 100.9 FM McConnelsville Ohio Affiliate
WKLM 95.3 FM Millersburg Ohio Football Only
W265DJ 100.9 FM Mount Vernon Ohio WQIO-HD2 relay
WNDH 103.1 FM Napoleon Ohio Affiliate
WXCR 92.3 FM New Martinsville West Virginia Affiliate
WCLT 1430 AM Newark Ohio Affiliate
W254CT 98.7 FM Newark Ohio WCLT relay
WLKR-FM 95.3 FM Norwalk Ohio Affiliate
WKSD 99.7 FM Paulding Ohio Affiliate
WPTW 1570 AM Piqua Ohio Affiliate
W251BC 98.1 FM Piqua Ohio WPTW relay
WNXT 1260 AM Portsmouth Ohio Affiliate
W239CQ 95.7 FM Portsmouth Ohio WNXT relay
WJEH-FM 93.1 FM Racine Ohio Affiliate
WMOV 1360 AM Ravenswood West Virginia Affiliate
W228DJ 93.5 FM Ravenswood West Virginia WMOV relay
W295DM 106.9 FM Point Pleasant West Virginia WMOV relay
WLEC 1450 AM Sandusky Ohio Affiliate
W228EN 93.5 FM Sandusky Ohio WLEC relay
WMVR-FM 105.5 FM Sidney Ohio Affiliate
W275CT 102.9 FM Somerset Ohio WLOH relay
WCDK 106.3 FM Steubenville Ohio Football Only
WQQO-HD2* 105.5-2 FM Sylvania Ohio Affiliate
W264AK 100.7 FM Toledo Ohio WQQO-HD2 relay
WBTC 1540 AM Uhrichsville Ohio Affiliate
W270CI 101.9 FM Uhrichsville Ohio WBTC relay
WYNT 95.9 FM Upper Sandusky Ohio Affiliate
WERT 1220 AM Van Wert Ohio Affiliate
W282CF 104.3 FM Van Wert Ohio WERT relay
WXIZ 100.9 FM Waverly Ohio Football Only
WVLY 1370 AM Wheeling West Virginia Affiliate
W249DU 97.7 FM Wheeling West Virginia WVLY relay
WKVX 960 AM Wooster Ohio Affiliate
WQKT 104.5 FM Wooster Ohio Affiliate
WNIO 1390 AM Youngstown Ohio Affiliate
WHIZ 1240 AM Zanesville Ohio Affiliate
W272EE 102.3 FM Zanesville Ohio WHIZ relay
  • Asterisk (*) indicates HD Radio broadcast.
  • Blue background indicates low-power FM translator.

Network map(s)

  • Network stations in Ohio and West Virginia.
  • Flagship stations
  • Affiliates (not including translators)

References

  1. ^ Ohio State Buckeyes football (September 13, 2014). "Gameday Program - Kent State: Ohio State Sports Radio Network" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  2. ^ Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball (2014). "2014-15 Men's Basketball Team Guide: Media Information" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Finnan, Bob (September 24, 2013). "Cleveland Indians announcer Tom Hamilton recovering from knee surgery, will return Friday". The Morning Journal. Lorain, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Kiesewetter, John (December 8, 2009). "Paul Keels Joins Reds TV Team". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Livingston, Bill (November 29, 2013). "Ohio State's Ryan Shazier displays the fierce qualities of college football's greatest rivalry, plus stunning speed". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  6. ^ Blade staff (April 4, 2010). "10 questions with Ron Stokes". The Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Price, Rita (March 30, 2009). "College athletics: OSU getting richest multimedia contract". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  8. ^ Pramik, Mike (March 31, 2009). "OSU athletics deal is future-focused; Marketing pact won't fix this year's shortfall, officials say". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. p. 10C - Business. Once money starts flowing from the university's $110 million deal with IMG College and RadiOhio, the athletic department will be better positioned to weather the economic downturn, OSU athletics director Gene Smith said. ... 'At the time we started the process five months ago, we were not in the position to know we'd have the $1.2 million (deficit),' Smith said.
  9. ^ "Readers say Price was player of the week". Chillicothe Gazette. Chillicothe, Ohio. September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  10. ^ Gerdeman, Tony (October 16, 2014). "Updates from the Oct. 16 Urban Meyer Call-In Show". TheOZone.net. O-Zone Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.