Cavaliers AudioVerse

The Cavaliers AudioVerse is an American radio network composed of 19 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Cleveland sister stations WTAM (1100 AM) and WMMS (100.7 FM) serve as the network's two flagships; WTAM also relays its signal over a low-power FM translator. The network also includes seventeen affiliates in the U.S. state of Ohio: twelve AM stations, nine of which supplement their signals with low-power FM translators and one with an HD Radio subchannel; and six full-power FM stations.

See also: List of Cleveland Cavaliers broadcasters

Cavaliers AudioVerse

Type	Radio network
Country	United States
Headquarters	Cleveland, Ohio
Broadcast area	Ohio
Owner	Cleveland Cavaliers
Affiliation(s)	NBA
Affiliates	19 (including 2 flagships)
Official website	www.nba.com/cavaliers/broadcast

Tim Alcorn is the current play-by-play announcer, while Jim Chones serves as color analyst.^[1][2] In addition to traditional over-the-air AM and FM broadcasts, network programming airs on SiriusXM satellite radio; and streams online via SiriusXM Internet Radio, TuneIn Premium, and NBA League Pass Audio.^[3]

History

In 2008, longtime flagship WTAM signed a five-year contract extension with the Cavaliers through the 2013–14 season; in 2011, a Cavs spokesman stated there were "multiple years" remaining on the team's contract with WTAM, without specifying an end date. In 2014, WTAM owner iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel) announced a new "multi-year" contract with the team; this new arrangement also established simulcasts on WTAM sister station WMMS.^[4][5] Additional affiliates were added in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati markets, coinciding with LeBron James' heavily publicized return to the team.^[6][7]

John Michael took over as the team's lead play-by-play announcer starting in the 2011–12 season following the retirement of longtime radio voice Joe Tait.^[8] After the death of lead TV play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, Michael was reassigned to that position, with Tim Alcorn—lead sports announcer and station manager at Cavaliers radio affiliate WEOL in Elyria—being hired as Michael's successor.^[1][2]

The radio network was rebranded as the "Cavaliers AudioVerse" beginning with the 2022–23 season.^[9]

Announcers

Play-by-play	Commentary	Pregame/Postgame
Tim Alcorn	Jim Chones	Mike Snyder, Brad Sellers

Station list

Network stations as of the 2022–23 Cavaliers season

Callsign	Frequency	Band	City	State	Network status
WTAM	1100	AM	Cleveland	Ohio	Flagship
WMMS	100.7	FM	Cleveland	Ohio	Flagship
W295DE	106.9	FM	Cleveland	Ohio	WTAM relay
WAKR	1590	AM	Akron	Ohio	Affiliate
W228EL	93.5	FM	Akron	Ohio	WAKR relay
WZOO-FM	102.5	FM	Ashtabula	Ohio	Affiliate
WHBC	1480	AM	Canton	Ohio	Affiliate
WCSM	1350	AM	Celina	Ohio	Affiliate
W262DC	100.3	FM	Celina	Ohio	WCSM relay
WCSM-FM	96.7	FM	Celina	Ohio	Affiliate
WJYD	107.1	FM	Circleville–Columbus	Ohio	Affiliate
WJER	1450	AM	Dover–New Phila.	Ohio	Affiliate
W265DL	100.9	FM	Dover–New Phila.	Ohio	WJER relay
WEOL	930	AM	Elyria–Lorain	Ohio	Affiliate
W262DM	100.3	FM	Elyria–Lorain	Ohio	WEOL relay
WFOB	1430	AM	Fostoria	Ohio	Affiliate
W289CP	105.7	FM	Fostoria	Ohio	WFOB relay
WCHD-HD3*	99.9-3	FM	Kettering	Ohio	WIZE relay
WRGM	1440	AM	Mansfield	Ohio	Affiliate
W294CK	106.7	FM	Mansfield	Ohio	WRGM relay
WMOA	1490	AM	Marietta	Ohio	Affiliate
W267CQ	101.3	FM	Marietta	Ohio	WMOA relay
WJAW-FM	100.9	FM	McConnelsville	Ohio	Affiliate
WLKR-FM	95.3	FM	Norwalk	Ohio	Affiliate
WABQ	1460	AM	Painesville	Ohio	Affiliate
W234DO	94.7	FM	Painesville	Ohio	WABQ relay
WLEC	1450	AM	Sandusky	Ohio	Affiliate
W228EN	93.5	FM	Sandusky	Ohio	WLEC relay
WIZE	1340	AM	Springfield	Ohio	Affiliate
WQKT	104.5	FM	Wooster	Ohio	Affiliate
WNIO	1390	AM	Youngstown	Ohio	Affiliate

• Asterisk (*) indicates HD Radio broadcast.
• Blue background indicates low-power FM translator.

Network map

Cleveland

Columbus

Cincinnati

Toledo

Mansfield

Akron

Canton

Sandusky

Coshocton

Dayton

Ashtabula

Huntington, WV

Lima

Marietta

Youngstown

Wheeling, WV

Detroit, MI

WTAM

WMMS

WABQ

WAKR

WCSM

WCSM-FM

WEOL

WFOB

WHBC

WIZE

WJAW-FM

WJER

WLEC

WLKR-FM

WMOA

WNIO

WQKT

WRGM

WZOO-FM

WJYD

• Network stations in Ohio.
• Flagship stations
• Affiliates (not including translators)

References

1. Fedor, Chris (September 23, 2019). "Cleveland Cavaliers, Fox Sports Ohio tab John Michael as play-by-play announcer; Tim Alcorn named team's radio broadcaster". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
2. Schudel, Jeff (September 23, 2019). "Tim Alcorn from WEOL in Lorain named Cavs new radio play-by-play announcer". The News-Herald. Painesville, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
3. • Press release (December 5, 2013). "SiriusXM and NBA to Launch Exclusive 24/7 NBA Channel on Dec. 9 with David Stern, Adam Silver, NBA All-Stars, Legends and Owners". Investor.SiriusXM.com. SiriusXM. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
   • "Radio Broadcast Info". NBA.com/Cavaliers. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
   • "TuneIn Partners with National Basketball Association to Broadcast Live Audio of NBA Games to Fans Worldwide". Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
4. "Cleveland Cavaliers Games To Be Simulcast On WMMS, WTAM". AllAccess.com. All Access Media Group. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
5. "WTAM, Cavaliers Ink New Deal". AllAccess.com. All Access Media Group. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
6. Kleps, Kevin (September 28, 2014). "Full court press: How local media is preparing for a Cavs season like no other". Crain's Cleveland Business. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
7. • Dyer, Mike (September 3, 2014). "Ticket info announced for LeBron's Cavs game in Cincinnati". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
   • "iHeart Media Cincinnati Joins Cavaliers Radio Network". NBA.com/Cavaliers (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
8. Reed, Tom (December 24, 2011). "Cleveland Cavaliers' new radio voice made right decision to leave law career, judging from results". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
9. "WJYD 107.1 FM Joins Cleveland Cavaliers AudioVerse as Columbus Affiliate for 2022-23 Season" (Press release). Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cavaliers. October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.

External links

• Cavaliers Radio Network
• SiriusXM.com: Cleveland Cavaliers
• TuneIn.com: Cleveland Cavaliers
• NBA League Pass Audio