recent launch<\/a> of sports talk station \u201c97.1 The Fan\u201d KNX-FM in Los Angeles as part of the company\u2019s broader investment in sports programming. The move gives Audacy sports brands in each of the nation\u2019s 10 largest markets and more than 30 sports stations nationwide.<\/p>\nShe also noted the historical significance of sports broadcasting, referencing KDKA Pittsburgh\u2019s 1921 airing of a Pirates-Phillies game widely recognized as the first major league baseball broadcast. KDKA remains the Pirates\u2019 flagship station more than a century later.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging the explosion of sports content across streaming video, YouTube, TikTok, sports betting apps and podcasts, Turner argued that audio remains uniquely positioned because of its accessibility and ability to fit into listeners\u2019 daily routines.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s media landscape, attention is hard to get and even harder to keep,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSports listeners are highly engaged, whether they are glued to the game itself or listening to a heated debate over a trade rumor in the off-season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turner also cited research suggesting sports audio listeners demonstrate particularly strong fan loyalty, including higher likelihoods of attending tailgates, wearing team merchandise and actively participating in fan culture.<\/p>\n
The article emphasized Audacy\u2019s broader transition from a traditional radio operator into a multiplatform audio company, with Turner noting that nearly one-third of company revenue now comes from digital distribution, including streaming, podcasting, YouTube clips and the Audacy app.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say \u2018audio\u2019 because we\u2019ve extended our distribution and evolved our content to make sure we are everywhere the fans are,\u201d Turner wrote, noting that Audacy now produces roughly 600 sports podcasts.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Turner argued that the core appeal of sports radio has remained largely unchanged despite shifts in delivery platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basic idea of the audience\u2019s tribal relationship with their familiar local personalities doesn\u2019t change,\u201d she wrote. \u201cLocal voices with national scale is our mantra.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turner also pushed back against the idea that radio\u2019s continued relevance is simply driven by nostalgia, arguing instead that sports audio succeeds because it creates shared experiences and real-time community engagement that are increasingly rare in modern media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a world increasingly shaped by isolation and algorithms, sports and audio together deliver a rare, real-time communal bond that extends far beyond the stadium,\u201d Turner wrote.<\/p>\n
She closed by noting one additional advantage sports radio continues to hold over many other media platforms: accessibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s worth pointing out that the cost of listening to your local sports radio doesn\u2019t go up,\u201d Turner wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s the same price today that it was for that Pirates game in 1921: free.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audacy CEO Kelli Turner says the rise of streaming platforms, podcasts, social media and AI-driven personalization has done…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,7056,216,3],"class_list":["post-668107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-free","tag-music","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}