Houston Radio: Gow Media Moving Sports Format To FM

Gow Media announced today it will launch a new sports radio station, SportsMap 94.1 FM on translator K231CN, on October 1st. The signal will be fed via ESPN 97.5 KFNC-HD2.

The new station will be Gow’s second signal on the FM band, as the company also runs ESPN 97.5 FM. As part of this launch, Gow will lease KGOW 1560 AM to another party, and move the lineup of 1560 AM to SportsMap 94.1 FM.

“We are excited to add a second sports station to the FM band,” said David Gow, CEO of Gow Media. “Listenership has been migrating to the FM dial, and we have now secured a strong strategic position with both ESPN 97.5 FM and SportsMap 94.1 FM.”

The lineup on SportsMap 94.1 FM will feature exceptional local talent, including the company’s most recent addition, Charlie Pallilo, who joined Gow Media last month and hosts a show from 11 am-1 pm each weekday. Other Houston-based hosts on the station include Nate Griffin, Patrick Creighton, Barry Warner, Sean Salisbury, Brian Barrett and Robin Carlin. SportsMap 94.1 FM will also air leading national shows from Gow’s own national sports radio network, SB Nation Radio.

Later this month Gow will be announcing details of a new sports site, SportsMap.com, which shares the name of the new station. “We have more sports content creators in our building than anyone in the city, and we have a strong digital platform with CultureMap.com — launching SportsMap.com is a great next step for us,” said Gow.

Gow has tapped Fred Faour, an afternoon drive show host on ESPN 97.5 and former Houston Chronicle Sports Editor, to serve as Editor in Chief of Sportsmap.com.

Gow is bullish about the site’s prospects: “The combined promotional power of all our platforms will propel SportsMap.com to become the leading sports site in Houston.”

K231CN 94.1 FM (99 watts) Red=Local Coverage Area

The imminent additions of SportsMap 94.1 FM and SportsMap.com are the latest in a series of significant moves by Gow Media in 2017, including the acquisition of CultureMap.com; the launch of a new national TV show, The Sean Salisbury Show on BeInSports TV Network; the hiring of Ken Hoffman as a columnist for CultureMap.com and contributor on sports radio; a new content-sharing and cross-promotion partnership with ABC13 KTRK-TV in Houston; and the recent hire of Charlie Pallilo for Gow Media’s sports platforms.

“With a focus on sports and lifestyle content, we are building the leading multi-platform media company in Texas,” said Gow.