Marks First Time Football, Men’s Basketball to Air on FM Signal in Milwaukee

MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin Athletics and its exclusive multimedia rights holder, Learfield Sports, announced today that a five-year radio agreement has been reached with Clear Channel Media + Entertainment in Milwaukee and its stations WRIT 95.7 FM, WOKY 920 AM and WISN 1130 AM.

Beginning with the 2014-15 athletic season, WRIT FM (Oldies 95.7 FM) and WOKY AM (The Big 920 AM) both will air live Badger football and men’s basketball games. In addition, The Big 920 AM will air live Badger hockey, women’s basketball and all football and men’s basketball coaches’ shows each week. The Big 920 AM will carry the live Badger Prime Monday and Barry Alvarez Show. Additionally, Wisconsin Athletics’ Badger Daily Show will air on two stations – The Big 920 AM during afternoon drive, and on WISN 1130 AM at 2:50 p.m.

With this move, Oldies 95.7 FM and The Big 920 AM will actively promote their signals as “home for Badger Athletics”. Concurrent with this first-time move in over 80 years, the Clear Channel Media + Entertainment agreement marks the first time football and men’s basketball will be carried on an FM signal in Milwaukee.

“Our partnership with University of Wisconsin and Learfield’s Badger Sports Properties has become a key component for us as local broadcasters, and our team is excited to be the new broadcast home for the Badgers for Milwaukee and all of Southeastern Wisconsin,” said Jeff Tyler, Regional Market Manager for Clear Channel Media + Entertainment-Milwaukee/Madison. “Milwaukee and Madison both rank at or near the top for cities in the country where sports fans listen on radio. The Badgers are one of the finest programs in the country with high engagement for the fans, and a terrific marketing platform for our customers.”

WTMJ 620 AM, owned by Journal Broadcasting, historically has held the radio rights for the Wisconsin Badgers since 1927. “We appreciate the opportunity to move the needle in our history books with Clear Channel, yet at the same time, we’re extremely grateful to Steve Wexler and everyone associated with Journal Broadcasting for building an incredible radio heritage for the Badgers,” said Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez. “We have high expectations for the Clear Channel affiliates and know our fans will continue to enjoy high-quality Badger broadcasts and programming.”

Learfield Sports’ Badger Sports Properties is the local entity representing Wisconsin Athletics and all aspects of the radio network. The company manages the multimedia rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions and associations and titles the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup with award co-founders NACDA and USA Today. Its multimedia rights encompass numerous content distribution platforms to deliver the passion of college athletics across radio, television and digital networks to fans globally. Learfield Sports’ exclusive sports programming today reaches more than 56 million television households nationally and delivers nearly 17,000 hours of radio programming on more than 1,100 radio stations. To learn more about its 40-year history and complete collegiate portfolio, visit learfieldsports.com.