Entercom Communications Wednesday announced plans to relaunch KEGY 97.3 FM as 97.3 THE FAN, San Diego’s only 24/7, all-sports FM station.
97.3 THE FAN will serve as the flagship home for the San Diego Padres and will broadcast all regular season games, expanded pre and post-game shows and complementary programming throughout the week. The new format will launched today at 5 a.m. PT.
“After a recent off-air tweet, we took the opportunity to step back, listen to the important feedback from the community and our partners, the Padres, and reevaluate the path forward,” said Bob Bolinger, SVP and Market Manager, Entercom San Diego.
“The station was always going to be largely about sports and we determined the right thing to do was to go 100% all-in. We look forward to building 97.3 THE FAN into San Diego’s best sports station, delivering the highest quality content and listening experience for the people of this great community.”
I am very excited about doing mornings again with the best radio team in SD..We at 97.3 "THE FAN" will do everything we can to put the best sports radio on here in San Diego...Its an honor to talk to U in mornings again SD...It starts 5am Thursday on 97.3 "THE FAN"/ @Entercom pic.twitter.com/l4VLDzQs0a— Dan Sileo (@DanSileoShow) April 12, 2018
The new line-up will be headlined by engaging and compelling personalities, including Dan Sileo on the air from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. PT, Jim Rome from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT and Doug Gottlieb from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. PT, and market veteran Chris Ello with Tony Gwynn Jr. from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT. 97.3 THE FAN will also be the new home to the NFL and the NCAA in San Diego, beginning with the 2018-19 season. This will include the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl and NCAA March Madness.
Listeners in the San Diego area can tune in to 97.3 FM, stream at 973TheFanSD.com and connect with the station online via social media at @973TheFanSD on Twitter and @973TheFan on Facebook and Instagram.
A controversial social media post on March 26 by a KEGY 97.3 The Machine morning show host Kevin Klein — who never ended up getting on the air — put the radio station at odds with the Padres just three days before the 2018 season opened.
The club “put them on notice,” Fowler added.
“Should this be the home of what we consider to be family entertainment, Padres baseball? That’s the question,” Fowler said then. “Based on what’s happened the last few weeks, this is almost shock-jock radio. Obviously, that’s not what we intended to be involved in.”
In a statement Wednesday, Fowler said, “We have had numerous discussions over the last two weeks with Entercom’s local and national management about our expectations for the radio home of the San Diego Padres. They have assured us that the challenges we faced with 97.3 FM at the beginning of this season have been addressed and that steps have been taken to make sure they are not repeated.
“We believe that their new format better reflects the values of the Padres and the San Diego community as a whole, and we appreciate Entercom’s willingness to listen to our concerns and adjust their content.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the MLB Padres did not allow employees to go on the station the past two weeks as they work to resolve the situation. A Padres spokesperson now says “Based on the revised format, our meetings and assurances from 97.3 management, the team will be supplying personnel for interviews in the near future.”
With the format change, 97.3 The Fan joins The Mighty 1090-AM and XTRA 1360-AM to give San Diego three all-sports radio stations in what already was considered an oversaturated market segment. NIelsen ratings for February had 97.3 (before its March format change) and 1090 tied for 23rd place with a 1.6 rating among listeners 6 and older and 1360 tied for 28th with a 0.7 rating.
The Padres signed a five-year deal with Entercom that began with the 2017 season.
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