Following the exit of ‘Coach’ John Kentera last month, Audacy Sports “97.3 The Fan” KWFN San Diego has announced it will debut “Annie & Elsten” hosted by Annie Heilbrunn and Craig Elsten on Thursday, January 4.
The duo takes Kentera’s former 10am to 2pm timeslot. Heilbrunn has served as a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune since 2009 and was with Fox Sports San Diego from 2012 until its shutdown last year serving as host of multiple programs including “Padres Social Hour”, “Football Night in San Diego”, and “Overtime With Annie” as well as field reporter for San Diego Padres game broadcasts. Elsten previously worked at “Xtra Sports 690” XETRA Tijuana and successors 1150 KXTA Los Angeles and 1360 KLSD San Diego from 1996 to 2009, “Mighty 1090” XEPRS from 2012 to 2018, has held multiple roles covering the Padres, San Diego State University, the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, and MASL’s San Diego Sockers including management positions with the Sockers.
Audacy’s 97.3 The Fan (KWFN-FM) in San Diego welcomes local sports broadcast veterans Annie Heilbrunn and Craig Elsten as midday show co-hosts. “Annie & Elsten” will air weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT beginning January 4.
“We’re excited to kick off the next era of our station’s midday programming with the additions of two seasoned broadcasters in Annie and Craig,” said Michael Valenzuela, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy San Diego. “We have no doubt their vast knowledge of this city’s sports scene will add extraordinary value to our local content offering, and can’t wait to see them get the ball rolling.”
“I’m so excited for this opportunity and eager to contribute to the impressive lineup already established at 97.3 The Fan,” said Heilbrunn. “San Diego is an amazing city with smart, loyal sports fans, and I look forward to earning a place in their daily routine and connecting over our shared passion for sports and this community. And hopefully, we’ll laugh a lot, too.”
A San Diego native and an Emmy Award-winning host, reporter and multimedia journalist, Heilbrunn launched her career at The San Diego Union-Tribune as a news journalist in 2005 before transitioning to covering the San Diego Padres and Chargers in 2009, work she has continued throughout her career. In 2012, she joined Fox Sports San Diego as the host of “Padres Social Hour” and a host/contributor to “Padres POV.” By 2017, she had risen to the role of sideline/field reporter on Padres broadcasts, a position she held with Bally Sports San Diego for the subsequent seven seasons. Previous roles include on-air anchor, post-game contributor and analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in San Diego,” as well as Chargers reporter and creator of “Overtime With Annie,” Chargers beat reporter at Scout, Manager of Community Relations and Content for the Padres, multimedia journalist for the Broadcast Company of the Americas and Channel 4 San Diego’s on-air “Padres Pregame Show” reporter. She is also part of the San Diego Sports Association, a nonprofit that supports and celebrates local athletics.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be partnered with someone as talented and respected as Annie,” said Elsten. “To do so on 97.3 The Fan is the perfect pairing. I know we will work hard to make middays a fun place to hang out every day and a great place to talk Padres.”
Elsten began his San Diego sports broadcasting career in 1996 at XTRA Sports 690/1150-AM and has spent the last 27 years in the market in television, radio and podcasting. After a full-time career in radio from 1996 to 2009 at XTRA, KLSD-AM and KOGO-AM, Elsten teamed with Chris Ello to create 619Sports.net, a multi-media website that advanced the concepts of podcasting and embedded video storytelling in the market. Elsten also served as the San Diego Sockers’ Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting from 2009 to 2015, before transitioning to the San Diego Gulls from 2015 to 2018 as the club’s play-by-play voice on radio and TV. Elsten returned to the Sockers in 2018 as the club’s Chief Marketing Officer, while reprising his roles as Director of Communications and broadcast voice. From 2012 to 2018, he worked at The Mighty 1090-AM as a Padres host, covered San Diego State football and basketball and hosted multiple weekend programs. Since 2015, Elsten has co-hosted the “Padres Hot Tub” podcast (formerly titled “Make the Padres Great Again”) in addition to hosting “Sockers Overtime” and the “Crossing Streams”streaming TV review podcast. He has also done play-by-play for Major League Baseball, the Gulls, Time Warner Cable, World Championship Sports Network and UC San Diego. He has worked as the PA voice of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, DirectTV Holiday Bowl, and continues as the PA voice of San Diego Wave FC.
