Chicago Radio: GM de Castro Explains Why The Game Is Over

Jimmy de Castro

The decision to pull the plug on FM sports talk radio station WGWG 87.7 LP-FM/The Game on Thursday after nine months on the air was not an easy one for WGN 720 AM president Jimmy de Castro, reports The Chicago Tribune.

It was even harder on staffers.

But with Chicago radio revenues declining this year b de Castro said WGN Radio needed to cut its losses.

"The market is way off and the economics won't support us," de Castro said. "It's unfortunate that it's that way this year and at this time."

The all-sports station will finish out the year and be off the air as of January 1, de Castro said Thursday.

Technically a low-powered TV station, Tribune Media has been operating WGWG through a local marketing agreement with Los Angeles-based Venture Technologies Group, which owns the frequency. The lease agreement runs through Sept. 2015, and de Castro wasn't sure what, if anything, will be on the station come January.

The Game didn't gain much traction in its short run, ranking tied for 34th among Chicago stations with a 0.5 share in the latest Nielsen listenership survey. WSCR-AM 670, owned by CBS Radio, has a 2.5 share, while ESPN's WMVP-AM 1000 has a 1.6 share, according to Nielsen.

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