Birmingham Radio: WJOX's Roundtable Hosts EXIT JOX 94.5

One of the most local sports radio shows in the country is leaving radio.

Jim Dunaway, Ryan Brown, and Lance Taylor Are exiting WJOX 94.5 FM and the JOX Roundtable to start up a show on a digital platform.

The guys on the show confirmed Friday that their last show on JOX was Wednesday.

Brown said the four long-time radio personalities are planning to launch a digital platform, and the split from the Cumulus radio station was amicable.

“The decision for us to leave JOX, frankly, was an incredibly difficult decision,” Brown told AL.com on Friday. “There are no hard feelings. We are not upset with Cumulus or WJOX. In fact, they have been phenomenal to us. It has been among the greatest 21 years of our lives. Combined, we have worked there for 77 years. We are heavily invested in that station, and they are heavily invested in us. But, for anyone who has any sort of entrepreneurial spirit, you stop and say what would it be like if I worked for myself? I think that was the question a lot of us had over the last year.”

Brown said WJOX offered a chance at a sendoff show, but it really wasn’t something they were interested in.

“They were very gracious and offered any number of ways to leave,” he explained. “They offered the concept of doing a good-bye show, several good-bye shows, a week of good-bye shows. They were very generous in offering that. It was much appreciated. Frankly, I just don’t know if that is good radio. Nobody tunes in to hear sappy calls or people complaining or celebrating or whatever. It isn’t the nature of what we do on a daily basis. I just don’t think it was overly appealing to us to do a good-bye show.

“We’re leaving radio but we are still going to be around, and people will still have access to us.”

Wednesday’s final show marks the end of an 11-year run of “The Roundtable” in its current form. Brown, who started at WJOX in 2001, said the move was a surprise for WJOX management.