CBS Radio will bring Tampa “its first FM sports talk station in August, flipping WSJT-FM from its contemporary hits format into a new station, dubbed Sportsradio 98.7 The Fan,” according to Eric Deggans of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The new station “will face significant challenges,” as success in sports talk “hinges on rebroadcast rights for important sports franchises.” In Boston, WBZ-CBS Radio's FM sports talker is a flagship station for the Patriots; in Dallas, KRLD-FM has a deal with the Cowboys. The move to FM in Tampa “likely signals the company's intention to open up its pocketbook and bid on broadcast rights” for the Rays, Buccaneers or Lightning rights. CBS Radio also needs “a compelling lineup of on air talent to compete with the new all-talk format launched by rival Cox Radio's WHPT-FM anchored by shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.” CBS Radio Tampa Market Manager Ben Hill said that all the on air talent "will be locally-based; many of them will have longstanding ties to the Tampa Bay area” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/21). CBS currently operates WQYK-FM, which airs DirecTV/Fox Sports Radio’s Dan Patrick and “The Commish with Justin Pawlowski.” It is “not clear how or if CBS will integrate the current programming heard on 1010 Sports” (TALKERS.com, 6/21).
