Las Vegas Radio: CBS Rescinds Ban On Local NHL Team

CBS Radio Las Vegas has backed down from its intention to ignore the Golden Knights NHL team in their inaugural NHL season, according to The Washington Post.

In April, the Vegas Golden Knights announced their games would be aired locally on radio stations owned by Lotus Communications, namely its Fox Sports Radio affiliate that has signals on both the AM and FM. According to the Review-Journal, Lotus beat out bids from CBS Radio Las Vegas and Beasley Broadcasting for the right to air the NHL expansion team’s games and related radio content such as pregame and postgame shows.

Last week CBS Radio Las Vegas Operations Manager J.B. King sent out an email to all CBS Radio Las Vegas employees, telling them that, in their world, the Golden Knights do not exist.

The eMail:

"Just wanted to pass along this info….a decision has been made that effective immediately, there are to be no further mentions of the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team on any CBS/LV radio stations or any of our social media platforms. This includes, but not limited to, on sale ticket mentions, player/coaches interviews, plugging locals to sing national anthem, TV broadcast schedule, etc. It is now the responsibility of the Golden Knights’ chosen radio partner to help accomplish their goals, not ours. We are asking you to include ‘show’ pages, as well. We need to show a united front on this issue. If you have anything already planned around the team, please cancel. If you have any ‘best of’ bits around the team, please do not air and find another piece of content. 

I am out of the office this week, but will answer any questions next week when I return. For any immediate questions, please see Tony. 

Thanks, Have a great week.
JB"

But now, according to a statement by  CBS Radio Las Vegas general manager Tony Perlongo, that position has changed:

“With six radio stations in Las Vegas we have always prided ourselves on informing, educating and entertaining listeners and supporting the local communities we serve. However, we missed the mark in an internal email that instructed our stations to no longer report on certain aspects of the Golden Knights, the city’s first and only major league sports team. 

This was an error in judgment on our part and we deeply regret it. 

We will of course cover the team, first and foremost on Sports Radio 1140 and on our music and news/talk stations as it makes sense for those formats and audiences. We apologize to the Golden Knights, their fans and our listeners and look forward to rooting the team on when the puck drops in a few weeks.”​