Philly Radio: WPEN The Fanatic Is New Home For MLS Union

The Philadelphia Union have signed a radio broadcast agreement with 97.5 The Fanatic (WPEN-FM) to air all of the team’s matches this season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to The Philadelphia Business Journal.

The team’s games had previously aired on iHeartMedia’s Fox Sports Radio The Gambler (WRFY-FM), with who the team signed its first formal radio broadcast partnership in almost a decade back in 2020.

The Union said its matches will air on Beasley Broadcasting Group owned The Fanatic, the station’s app and website. If a game conflicts with one of the Fanatic’s other partners — the 76ers, Flyers and Temple University — then Union matches will be found only on the app and website. The radio feed will also be integrated and sync’d to action for all Union home matches on MLS Season Pass, giving fans the option to listen to their local commentators while watching.

That could be important to fans this year because Major League Soccer is introducing MLS Season Pass as part of a streaming rights deal with Apple TV. It costs $14.99 per month, or $99 for the 2023 season, and gives fans access to all MLS games. That converts to $12.99 a month, or $79 for the season, if you are already an Apple TV+ subscriber. There will be no local broadcasts of Union games this season, though three games will also air on Fox or FS1.

Union games had been airing in recent years on 6ABC and PHL17 and prior to that on NBC Philadelphia.

For the games on the Fanatic, play-by-play announcer and former television pregame and postgame host for the Union, Dave Leno, and former Union defender Sheanon Williams will be the primary hosts. Williams also provided analysis on the Union’s 2022 pregame and postgame shows. They will be joined by a team of broadcasters, including: ESPN, SEC and ACC broadcaster Jonathan Yardley; CBS sports host and analyst Lisa Roman; former Union star Sébastien Le Toux; and Union Director of Digital and Content Adam Cann.

In a statement, Philadelphia Union President Tim McDermott called The Fanatic “an integral part of the city’s sports ecosystem and will help us ignite passion with our existing fans and inspire a new audience.”

The first broadcast on The Fanatic is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when the Union open their regular season at home against the Columbus Crew. The Union are coming off a 2022 season where they lost the MLS Cup final to LAFC in a penalty kick shootout.