Entercom is shuffling the programming on its two Sports stations in the Miami market to take 560 WQAM in a more national direction rebranded as “560 The Joe” and making “790 The Ticket” WAXY more locally focused starting Monday, August 5.
The new all-local “790 The Ticket” will move current 1-4pm hosts Brendan Tobin, Brian ‘The Beast’ London and Leroy Hoard into mornings from 6-10am. Former morning hosts Jonathan Zaslow and Amber Wilson move to middays from 10am-2pm. WQAM afternoon hosts Marc Hochman and Channing Crowder will move to WAXY from 2-6pm, but also simulcast on WQAM from 3-6pm. Zach Duarte adds the 6pm hour to his former 7-10pm show on nights with no Miami Heat game and CBS Sports Radio’s Scott Ferrall and Amy Lawrence will run in late nights.
The “560 The Joe” lineup will feature current morning hosts Joe Rose and Zach Krantz remaining in that slot. ESPN Radio’s Dan Le Batard will move from his former homebase at 790 to WQAM for 10am to 1pm and eliminating the local only hour show his team did on WAXY. ESPN’s Stephen A Smith will be added from 1-3pm. Best of programming will air from 6-7pm and ESPN Radio in nights and overnights around Miami Dolphins, University of Miami and Florida Panthers play-by-play.
The moves result in two departures from the cluster: WAXY morning co-host Brett Romberg and WQAM midday co-host Josh Friedman. Friedman’s co-host Alex Donno will remain with the company to work on University of Miami broadcasts and hosting Fight Night, while former WAXY afternoon host Curtis Stevenson will remain in an off-air capacity.
Entercom ended up with two Miami sports talkers following its 2017 purchase of CBS Radio. WAXY held a 0.9 share in the June 2019 Nielsen Audio ratings while WQAM had a 0.5 share. iHeartMedia’s 940 WINZ had a 0.3 share.
Right now the plan is for us to do the final local hour (as presently constituted) on 790 The Ticket on Monday morning. Entercom is giving us the opportunity to say goodbye to that frequency and we’re going to take them up on that offer. – An obviously disappointed Mike Ryan
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 2, 2019
Sorry to tweet that I am no longer doing the afternoon show on 790…Thanks to everyone who supported us and @Lauzin and @chrisperk it was a blast
Keep an eye and ear out for me….— Curtis J. Stevenson (@CapCurtis) August 2, 2019
Sad to say our midday show is no more. I’m still with 560 WQAM for Canes broadcasts, Fight Night and other things. We were having an amazing time and it was a blessing to work with @560Friedo, @DanDayRadio, @AlexMSolana and hearing from every1 who made our show part of their day.
— Alex Donno (@AlexDonno) August 2, 2019
I'm very sorry to say that due to cost cutting, I'm no longer with @560WQAM. I want to especially thank @AlexDonno, @DanDayRadio, @AlexMSolana, @ZachKrantz, @JoeRoseShow, @MarcHochman and @OfficialCrowder. I'm going to miss this job terribly and don't know what the future holds.
— Josh Friedman (@FriedoJosh) August 2, 2019
Entercom, a leading media and entertainment company and the unrivaled leader in sports radio, announced an enhanced local programming lineup on AM 790 The Ticket (WAXY-AM), home of the Miami Heat. Subsequently, sister station WQAM, home of the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers, will be rebranded as 560 The Joe WQAM. All changes are effective August 5.
“Our stations are the home of sports in Miami. These strategic enhancements to our programming allow us to better serve fans and increase opportunities for our partners,” said Keriann Worley, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom South Florida. “We are committed to maximizing fan engagement and look forward to bringing them more coverage of their favorite local sports teams.”
AM 790 The Ticket weekday lineup is as follows:
6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.: “Tobin, Leroy & Beast”
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: “Zaslow & Amber”
2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: “Hoch and Crowder”
6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.: “Zack Duarte” or game
10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.: “Scott Ferrall”
2:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.: “Amy Lawrence”560 The Joe WQAM weekday lineup is as follows:
6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.: “The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz”
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: “Dan Le Batard with Stugotz”
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: “Stephen A. Smith Show”
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: “Hoch and Crowder”
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: “Best of 560 The Joe”
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: “Spain & Company”
9:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.: “Freddie & Fitzsimmons”
1:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.: “SportsCenter All Night”
5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.: “First & Last with Jason Fitz”
Why wouldn’t they move the Dolphins, Florida Panthers and U of Miami onto 790, with 560 as an overflow station, and clear Golic and Wingo on 560? That new arrangement looks very haphazard… also looks like 790 never recovered from losing their FM simulcast, and 560 never recovered from losing Neil Rogers a decade ago.
Because the NHL team and The U overlap the Miami Heat? Or because 560 The Joe has the better signal?
Then put the local shows on the stronger signal. It’s not rocket surgery.
And with all due respect, Charles, you missed that part about “560 as an overflow station.” Or did you forget about how that works?
WQAM with its lower dial position and less directional pattern is the stronger signal. However there likely are contractual reasons why the teams cannot be moved off their current stations.
It was redundant for Entercom to have two local Sports stations competing with one another. Only other real option would be to move 560 to general er Conservative Talk and go after WIOD.
Conservative talk? With WIOD having all of the remaining relevant shows out there, plus the overall audience being way too old for any salability, that would have been a terrible option.