WBBM Newsradio 105.9, 104.3 The Score join SiriusXM’s lineup
Audacy to have 41 local stations on its platform
In a sign of changing times in radio, SiriusXM is adding Audacy’s news and sports talk stations to its platforms, including NewsRadio 105.9 FM (WBBM-AM 780/WCFS-FM 105.9) and 104.3 The Score (WSCR-AM/FM.)
Audacy is adding the sports talk stations first, meaning you will hear 104.3 The Score on SiriusXM beginning September 1, just in time for the new NFL season. WSCR, WFAN New York City, and six others will be made available to satellite subscribers and on the streaming platform. Fifteen other sports talk stations will be made available on the SiriusXM app and through SiriusXM’s 360L platform in vehicles. SiriusXM is paying Audacy to carry the stations, and can insert national advertising in the feeds in lieu of local commercials.
Eighteen news and talk stations will debut on SiriusXM later this year; it isn’t known if KMOX St. Louis would be one of them as it and five other Audacy stations in the area are being sold to Winnetka-based The Hoffmann Group. KMOX carries St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
“Audacy’s sports brands are deeply connected to the cities, teams and fan communities they serve, and being able to extend our reach nationally through SiriusXM is a natural fit”, said Audacy President and CEO Kelli Turner. “We look forward to working together with SiriusXM to bring our outstanding talent and content to sports fans and news and talk listeners wherever they are, providing our audiences with more ways to stay connected to the conversations that matter most to them.”
SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein focused more on the sports talk stations coming to the platform:
“SiriusXM is the essential audio home for sports fans, offering access to every team and game alongside an unmatched lineup of national sports talk, expert analysis, and the biggest voices in sports”, he said. “We also recognize the unique role local personalities play in connecting fans with their teams every day. By adding Audacy’s extensive lineup of sports stations, we’re making those trusted hometown voices available to fans wherever they are across North America. Together, we’re delivering an even more complete audio experience – bringing live games, premier national sports talk, and hometown conversations together in one place.”
SiriusXM had a terrestrial radio deal with iHeartMedia’s KIIS-FM Los Angeles until 2022, a leftover from a previous deal with XM before it merged with Sirius and XM, as it hosted the company’s Top 40 stations (then known as Clear Channel.)
This latest turning point for SiriusXM is interesting, as one of its biggest attractions announced recently he was reducing his output of new shows to only per week as his contract expires in 2028. Howard Stern made waves in 2006, signing with Sirius Satellite Radio and poaching him away from terrestrial broadcaster Infinity Radio – the same Infinity (under former Viacom/CBS ownership) that’s now known as Audacy. SiriusXM had been bleeding subscribers for years, as listeners aren’t ponying up $35 per month for an entire suite of channels.
Recently, SiriusXM and iHeartMedia were in merger discussions, but nothing came out of it.
SiriusXM is now one of several platforms Audacy’s content is available. All of Audacy’s stations – including those who have music formats, are available on iHeartRadio app, Stingray’s TuneIn, and of course, Audacy’s own app.