It appears WPEN-FM "will retain broadcast rights for at least another year" for the 76ers, according to Jeff Blumenthal of the PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL. WIP-FM on Thursday announced its coverage plans for the upcoming NBA season and in a release stated it is not the team's "radio partner ... and will not broadcast games." WPEN has held the rights "since the tail end of the 2011-12 season," and losing the 76ers "would have been a financial blow" for the station. Keeping the rights allows WPEN to "capitalize on the team's expected rise in the standings and heightened fan interest with pending debuts of top draft choices Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid's return from injury." A source said that WIP Program Dir Spike Eskin "wanted the team back in the fold." Blumenthal noted WIP will air a pregame show hosted by Jon Marks "prior to the start of every game" not preempted by the Eagles or other NFL broadcast. It makes an "unusual move for a station that does not air the team's games." WIP also plans to air an hour-long show on Wednesdays called "Rights to Ricky Sanchez" that is "built around the existing podcast hosted by Eskin and Michael Levin." The station also will debut a partnership with SBNation 76ers blog Liberty Ballers that will include a "weekly one-hour radio show" hosted by Marks and the site's Kyle Neubeck (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/24).
