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Cleveland Browns Radio Network
Regional play-by-play radio network From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 24 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL). Andrew Siciliano is the team's lead announcer, Nathan Zegura serves as commentator and Je'Rod Cherry is the sideline analyst/reporter.[3] Jim Donovan served as lead announcer following the team's return in 1999 until his retirement prior to the 2024 season.[4][5]
Since 2013, Cleveland market stations WKNR (850 AM), WKRK-FM (92.3 FM), and WNCX (98.5 FM) have served as the network's three flagships, an arrangement noted for competing ownership among the stations: WKNR is owned by Good Karma Brands, while WKRK-FM and WNCX are owned by Audacy, Inc. (formerly CBS Radio).[6] The network also includes 22 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York: ten AM stations, seven of which supplement their signals with a low-power FM translator, and twelve full-power FM stations.[7] Additionally, Spanish-language coverage originates over Cleveland station WJMO (1300 AM) and three affiliates on the FM dial, all in Ohio.
In addition to traditional over-the-air AM and FM broadcasts, network programming airs on satellite radio via Sirius XM and is available online via Sirius XM, TuneIn and NFL+.[8] The University Hospitals Health System of Cleveland, Ohio, has owned the naming rights to the network since the 2017 season.[9]
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History
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Original franchise (1946–1995)
Radio broadcasts for the Cleveland Browns date back to the team's inaugural 1946 season in the All-America Football Conference, with WGAR (1220 AM) as the initial flagship station; WGAR sportscaster Bob Neal and Stan Gee were the team's first announcers.[1] Bill Mayer took over as Neal's color commentator in 1947 in addition to his duties as WGAR's morning drive host.[10] WGAR also carried a weekly 15-minute show during the football season by head coach Paul Brown, the Browns' co-founder and namesake.[11][12] A five-station network was assembled for the 1948 season consisting of WGAR, WATG in Ashland, WBNS in Columbus, WHIO in Dayton, WFRO-FM in Fremont, WJEL in Springfield and WTRF in Bellaire;[2] stations in Lima, Toledo, Zanesville, Marion and Cincinnati were added the following year.[13] By 1952, the network spanned 16 stations in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.[14]
WGAR served as the flagship until the 1950 season, the team's first with the National Football League, when WERE (1300 AM) took over; Neal also moved to WERE[15] but was replaced due to his announcing for Cleveland Indians telecasts being sponsored by Pfeiffer Brewing Co., rival to the Brewing Corp. of America which sponsored the Browns network.[14][16] WTAM carried the games in 1952 and 1953 with Ken Coleman as announcer,[17] WGAR reclaimed the flagship rights the following year.[18] Through all but one year of WGAR's second stint as flagship, Bill McColgan handled play-by-play;[1] while Bill Kelly returned in 1954,[18] Jim Graner replaced him as color commentator the following year.[19] Gib Shanley took over as the team's sole announcer 1961 in addition to becoming WGAR's sports director and announcer for Ohio State football.[20]
The games moved back to WERE in 1962, with the network consisting of over 50 radio stations.[21] WHK took over as flagship in 1968 when WERE signed up with the Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network (the Bengals were also founded by Paul Brown).[22] By the 1974 season, the network consisted of WHK and 34 affiliates, including three stations in Pennsylvania; all but five stations broadcast on the AM band.[23] Shanley was paired with Graner beginning in 1963[1] and continued in their roles until the start of the 1975 season, when Graner retired after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.[24] Jim Mueller took over for Graner as color commentator.[25]
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WHK's role as flagship ended when team owner Art Modell tried unsuccessfully to move the broadcast rights onto WJW (850 AM), a station he had owned since 1977 but consistently lost money on.[26] Robert Gries, a minority owner, sued Modell on charges of anti-competitive practices on December 15, 1983,[27] while WHK exercised an option to carry the team through the 1984 season[28] which was also Gib Shanley's last as lead announcer.[29] Modell's syndicate, Lake Erie Broadcasting signed a multi-year deal with the team on February 18, 1985,[30] sold WJW and purchased WWWE[a] and WDOK, transferring the broadcast rights to the latter two stations.[31]
Doug Dieken, who recently retired after 14 seasons as left tackle for the team,[32] expressed a desire to become one of the announcers[33] and joined Mueller and Nev Chandler as color commentator beginning in 1985;[1][34] Mueller left after the 1986 season.[35] Lake Erie sold both stations in 1987[36] but WWWE carried the games until 1991, while WLTF took over as FM flagship in 1990.[37][b] WHK and WMMS signed a three-year contract in 1991,[41] prevailing in a bidding war over WKNR (1220 AM)[c] and WWWE/WLTF.[42] WKNR subsequently teamed up with WDOK for a two-year contract in 1994 with game coverage produced by a third party on behalf of the team.[43]
Prior to the 1994 season, Nev Chandler died from colon cancer on August 7,[44] with Casey Coleman (son of Ken Coleman and a water boy for the team during Ken's tenure as announcer) taking over as lead announcer alongside Dieken.[45] Coleman's tenure as announcer was complicated by his public support of then-head coach Bill Belichick, whom the fan base disapproved of, along with Chandler's substantial popularity and acclaim.[46] The 1995 season became overshadowed by the team's announced relocation to Baltimore by Modell mid-season.[47] WKNR and WDOK continued to carry the games for the remainder of the season, but with public service announcements airing after the majority of advertisers cancelled their sponsorships.[48] For the team's last two seasons, the Browns radio network had 40 affiliates in 1994[49] and 49 in 1995.[50]
During the 1997 and 1998 NFL seasons, WKNR originated Countdown to '99, a weekly hour-long program co-hosted by Dieken and Marc Kestecher over many former Browns radio network affiliates.[51] WKNR produced the show on behalf of an intellectual property trust established by the NFL during the franchise's interregnum.[52]
Expansion franchise (1999–present)
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Following reactivation of the Cleveland Browns franchise in 1999, flagship rights were awarded to Jacor (with a pending merger into Clear Channel)[53] with WMJI as the flagship and WTAM simulcasting the majority of games which did not conflict with the station's Indians and Cavaliers commitments.[54] Jim Donovan was named as the team's lead announcer, joining Dieken and Coleman, who was now the team's sideline reporter. Secondary programming, including a weekly show featuring the Browns head coach, aired exclusively on WTAM.[55] The flagship rights were transferred to WMMS for the 2002 season in a bid to boost that station's low ratings.[56]
Coleman, who was also a co-host on WTAM's morning-drive program, remained as sideline reporter until his death on November 28, 2006, after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.[57] The team honored Coleman the previous month by renaming the field house at their Berea, Ohio, indoor practice facility after him.[58] WTAM sportscaster/team beat reporter Andre Knott[59] filled in for Coleman during the 2006 season and took over the role on a full-time basis the following season.[60] The Browns replaced Knott with team employee Jamir Howerton at the start of the 2010 season[59] and again with Nathan Zegura in 2014.[61] During the 2011 season, Donovan missed two regular season games following his treatment for leukemia earlier in the year; WTAM sports director Mike Snyder filled in both times.[62]
On March 28, 2013, the Cleveland Browns announced a new long-term deal with Good Karma Broadcasting and CBS Radio, awarding the flagship rights to Good Karma's WKNR (850 AM)[d] and CBS Radio's WKRK-FM and WNCX.[63] WKNR had already been airing Cleveland Browns Daily, an hour-long program produced year-round by the team, since July 2011 via a cooperative agreement;[64] under this contract, the show expanded to two hours as a centerpiece of over 1,000 annual hours of ancillary team-produced programming.[63] Craig Karmazin, founder of Good Karma, proposed the deal with CBS, likening it to the existing CBS–Turner Sports co-op for NCAA men's basketball tournament coverage and saw the Browns being such a strong community asset that it could be workable.[65] This arrangement between Good Karma and Entercom (succeeding owners of WKRK-FM and WNCX; now named Audacy, Inc.) was renewed effective with the 2020 season.[66][67]
During Baker Mayfield's rookie season as Cleveland Browns quarterback, KREF in Norman, Oklahoma, joined the network on October 5, 2018, for the remainder of the 2018 season.[68] KREF owner Randy Laffoon made the arrangement to provide Oklahoma Sooners fans a chance to follow Mayfield, having previously carried St. Louis Rams games after that team drafted former Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford.[69] KAKC in Tulsa, Oklahoma, signed a three-year affiliation deal prior to the 2019 season after discovering the Mayfield-led Browns drew higher television ratings that the Dallas Cowboys in Oklahoma City.[70] Both stations dropped their affiliations after Mayfield's 2022 departure from the team.
Doug Dieken announced his retirement as color commentator at the conclusion of the 2021 season, concluding a 37-year run in broadcasting and 51 years of involvement with the team; the radio broadcast booth at FirstEnergy Stadium was renamed in his honor.[32][71] Nathan Zegura was subsequently named as Dieken's replacement in the booth, while former NFL player and WKNR afternoon host Je'Rod Cherry was named the team's new sideline reporter.[3] Donovan went on medical leave following the 2023 season opener to undergo treatment for leukemia, which had relapsed; various broadcasters, including Chris Rose, Andrew Siciliano and Paul Keels served as interim play-by-play announcers in his absence.[72]
Prior to the start of the 2024 season, Donovan announced his retirement, stating that his cancer "has returned and very aggressively".[5] Andrew Sciliano was officially named as the team's lead announcer days later; a longtime fan of the Browns, Siciliano said, "I'm honored for the opportunity, but wish the circumstances were different... I know I have big shoes to fill."[73] On October 26, 2024, Donovan died from chronic lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 68.[74]
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Programming
Network programming includes a four-hour pregame show and a two-hour postgame show, in addition to all games being called live on-site; WKNR originates the pregame show while WKRK-FM originates the postgame show.[63] WKNR and WKRK-FM simulcast some ancillary team-produced programming for the network including a Wednesday night preview show and a Thursday night program with the team's head coach (Kevin Stefanski), while weekday afternoon program Cleveland Browns Daily originates over WKNR on a year-round basis.[67]
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Timelines
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Spanish-language stations
Blue background indicates low-power FM translator.
Network map
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000E2-QINU`"'
- Cleveland Browns Radio Network stations. Click on each marker to reveal details.
- '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000DD-QINU`"''"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000E1-QINU`"'
- '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000DE-QINU`"'Flagship stations
- '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000DF-QINU`"'Affiliates (including translators)
- '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000E0-QINU`"'Spanish-language stations
- '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-000000DE-QINU`"'
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Notes
- In December 1989, Booth American, owner of WRMR and WLTF, purchased WWWE from Independent Group, Inc., then sold WRMR back to Independent Group in an asset swap.[38][39] Booth American also purchased the production rights to the Browns broadcasts.[40]
- Renamed from WRMR in 2001 and is the successor to the original WKNR; see 2001 in radio.
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References
External links
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