ESPN Radio N.Y. Nears Deal With FM Channel; Move Could Help Secure Yankees' Rights

ESPN Radio is "nearing the completion of a long-sought deal" with a N.Y. FM channel to "give it a clear, full and far-reaching nighttime signal -- something 1050 ESPN could not provide," according to sources cited by Phil Mushnick of the N.Y. POST. The deal, "upon completion -- and that could be by the end of this week -- would give ESPN long-term programming rights on the FM station, allowing the sports network to chase -- and hard -- Yankees rights." The Yankees have been on WCBS-AM since '02, but are "radio free-agents after this season." It is also "fully anticipated that Knicks’ and Rangers’ nighttime radio broadcasts would switch from 1050 to ESPN’s new FM spot." There is "no word, yet, on which FM channel ESPN is close to signing on with," but a source said that one of its options last July, renamed WEMP-FM, is "no longer in the picture" (N.Y. POST, 4/25).