ESPN Radio will return to the Greenville/Spartanburg market on Monday, February 24.
The network will be heard on Entercom’s 950 WORD Spartanburg, 1330 WYRD Greenville, and Ted McCall’s 97.1 W246BU Spartanburg. Greenville hadn’t had an ESPN affiliate since Clear Channel Sports 1440 WGVL transferred to the Fox Sports Radio network in 2012, while Spartanburg’s “ESPN 1400” WSPG lost its tower in January when a tree knocked it over. The 97.1 translator had been rebroadcasting WSPG at that time. WORD/WYRD picked up the broadcasts of USC Upstate basketball when WSPG went dark.
950 WORD and 1330 WYRD are currently part of a trimulcast with sister News/Talk “Word 106.3” WYRD-FM Simpsonville, which will retain that programming when “ESPN Upstate” launches.
Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM) announced today that they will launch their 6th brand, ESPN UPSTATE, this Monday at 12:01am. ESPN UPSTATE brings the biggest brand and the biggest names in sports to the Greenville, SC/Upstate market.
ESPN UPSTATE will broadcast on AM radio, FM radio, HD radio and digital streaming. ESPN UPSTATE will air on 950 WORD-AM, 1330 WYRD-AM, 97.1 FM, WFBC-FM HD-3 and will stream 24/7 at http://www.ESPNUpstate.com.
“ESPN is the biggest name in sports and adding the most powerful brand in sports makes our dominant cluster of radio stations even stronger,” said Entercom VP/Market Manager Steve Sinicropi. “This past year we have had tremendous success in the sports arena with Clemson football play by play, Greg McKinney anchoring our College Football Today pregame show, and Carolina Panthers football with our Carolina Kick Off pre-game show hosted by The Rise Guys. Adding ESPN is another major step as Entercom Upstate becomes THE place for sports radio in the market.”
“Our sports coverage in terms of talent, teams and signal coverage is unmatched in this market and joining forces with ESPN provides our clients with an additional and valuable touch point to connect with a highly sought after consumer,” added Sinicropi. “We are especially excited to add local talent Greg McKinney to our afternoon lineup with a live and local show that will be fast paced and entertaining.”
McKinney, who joined Entercom in 2012, has done play by play for Greenville High School and national high school powerhouses Byrnes and Dorman High Schools. He served on the football and basketball broadcast teams for Wofford College. McKinney was inducted into the WoffordCollege Hall of Fame as recognition for his contributions to their play by play broadcasts. Hecurrently anchors College Football Today, on 93.3 The Planet, prior to each Clemson football game.
Beginning Monday, February 24th the new ESPN UPSTATE lineup will be:
6 a.m. to 10 a.m. “Mike & Mike in the Morning”
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. “Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo”
4 p.m. to 7 p.m. “Afternoon Huddle” with Greg McKinney
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. “Hill and Schlereth” / ESPN Play-by-Play
10 p.m. to 12 a.m. “SportsCenter Tonight”
12 a.m. to 6 a.m. “SportsCenter All Night”
