Sports Radio

Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both and callers. Many sports talk stations also carry play-by-play of local sports teams as part of their regular programming. Hosted by Bill Mazer, the first sports talk radio show in history launched in March 1964 on New York's WNBC (AM).

Soon after WNBC launched its program, in 1965 Seton Hall University's radio station, WSOU, started "Hall Line," a call-in sports radio talk show that focuses on Seton Hall Basketball. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary on air during the 2015-2016 season, "Hall Line," which broadcasts to central and northern New Jersey as well as all five boroughs of New York, is the oldest and longest running sports talk call-in show in the NY-NJ Metropolitan area—and is believed to be the oldest in the nation.

Enterprise Radio Network became the first national all-sports network, operating out of Avon, Connecticut, from New Year's Day 1981 through late September of that year before going out of business. ER had two channels, one for talk and a second for updates and play-by-play. ER's talk lineup included current New York Yankees voice John Sterling, New York Mets radio host Ed Coleman and former big-league pitcher Bill Denehy.

Sports talk is available in local, network and syndicated forms, is available in multiple languages, and is carried in multiple forms on both major North American satellite radio networks. In the United States, most sports talk formatted radio stations air syndicated programming from ESPN Radio, SB Nation Radio, Sports Byline USA, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, or NBC Sports Radio, while in the Spanish language, ESPN Deportes Radio is the largest current network. In contrast, Canadian sports talk stations may carry a national brand (such as TSN Radio or Sportsnet Radio) but carry mostly local programming, with American-based shows filling in gaps. Compared to other formats, sports radio is not as popular on Internet radio; as a live and interactive format, it does not lend itself well to voice-tracking (thus raising the cost and required labor to keep a station running 24/7), and most sports leagues place their radio broadcasts behind a paywall or provide their broadcasts directly to the consumer, though sports podcasting is a popular alternative to address this problem.

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