Here’s what we know about sports radio in this area. It’s about to undergo a big facelift.
Red Zebra’s Bennett Zier has secured ESPN radio programming for Dan Snyder’s soon-to-be-launched all-sports stations. They took “Mike and Mike In the Morning” as well as “The Dan Patrick Show” away from WTEM.
But which station Red Zebra will occupy remains the issue. Or will Red Zebra make a programming deal with a local powerhouse? The partner candidates on the AM side are WTEM and WMAL. On the FM dial, the possible partner list is more expansive: WBIG, WGMS, WAVA, and WRBQ.
In a little over a month, “The First Team on Fox,” a national show featuring Steve Czaban and Scott Linn, will take over morning drive (6-9 a.m.) on WTEM. This is a win for the D.C. area. Czaban’s show is better than “Mike and Mike In the Morning” and takes calls, as well.
The afternoons will be covered with the return of the “The Jim Rome Show”. After that, WTEM’s lineup remains status quo, with “The John Thompson Show” followed by “The Sports Reporters.” Fox Sports Radio will fill in the rest, including the overnight.
As for the beloved “Tony Kornheiser Show”, it is not necessarily going away forever, as had been previously reported. A WTEM source said Thursday the show’s future is up to its namesake.
“Tony is leaving his show soon to get ready for his new assignment on [Monday Night Football],” the source said. “We hope that either during the season or after it that Tony returns to WTEM. The door is always wide open for him. He has been part of the family for a long time and we hope to have him back.”
We do know Kornheiser loves doing his local radio show and is likely to return after completing his MNF duties. That means a possible return in January or February of next year when football season is over.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.
