According to Crain's Detroit, the decision to honor the third and final year of the broadcast rights deal was announced by station owner Greater Media Inc. and the Pistons’ parent company, Palace Sports & Entertainment LLC.
Greater Media opted to flip on-air content — a new long-term programming format hasn’t been disclosed, nor a timeline for a switch — because of WMGC’s consistent low ratings since the station converted to sports talk in August 2013 after being a soft rock station known for many years as Magic 105.
The current off-season Pistons shows will continue to air on WMGC, the station’s management said. What the Pistons will do for a radio broadcaster after the 2016-17 season wasn't immediately clear.
Pistons games had been on WXYT for five years until WMGC won the broadcast rights in April 2014.
Under the deal, the Pistons retain all radio advertising revenue from the live broadcasts of the 82 regular season games and all preseason and playoff games. The station earns incremental revenue based on broadcast and other metrics, which were never publicly disclosed.
“Representatives from Greater Media have informed us about the programming change for Detroit Sports 105.1 FM,” PS&E said in a statement. “While we are disappointed the format is changing, we believe in the power of Greater Media, its popularity across multiple demographics, and we intend to honor the remaining year of our contract.
“We entered the rights agreement with Greater Media knowing its multiple radio stations would support a layered business strategy of cross-promotion between our sports and entertainment assets. We will blend Pistons game coverage and independently produced content throughout the new format at 105.1 FM while continuing to utilize WCSX and WRIF to promote all areas of our sports and entertainment business.”
Greater Media/Detroit also owns classic rock station WCSX 94.7 FM and rock station WRIF 101.1 FM.
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